"Thea!" the Doctor jumped up and ran to the girl sides from where they had landed on the ground, "Thea, are you alright? You didn't land funny or on your arm did you?"
"No, I'm fine." she stared at him for his fretting, pulling her arm back as he checked it for any bruises, "shouldn't you be checking on Amy, she's the human, more breakable."
The Doctor looked at her as she pulled her arm back, rubbing her elbow where he knew she had landed on it. It was why he checked her first, because he saw her land on it, it would likely only bruise but still, he just wanted to check it didn't hurt too much. She had trusted him to get them out without hesitation, the least he could do was make sure she didn't get hurt from trusting him and yet she had pulled away.
"Up!" the Doctor shouted, "Look up!"
"What happened?" Amy frowned.
"We jumped." River said simply.
"Jumped where?"
"Up!" the Doctor repeated, "Up. Look up!"
"Where are we?" Amy shook her head, looking around.
"Exactly where we were." River realised.
"No we're not."
"Blowing up the gravity globe gave us the uplift." Thea explained to her, "look," she pointed and Amy followed her gaze to see the statues still on the ground.
"Move your feet." the Doctor nudged Amy aside from where she stood on a circular hatch and began to use the sonic to get it open.
"Doctor," Octavian called, "the statues. They look more like Angels now."
The others look up to see the statues starting to from as angels, some with more defined facial features, others with half formed wings on their backs.
"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."
He got the hatch open revealing a corridor inside the ship as the lights flickered
"They're taking out the lights. Look at them." the Doctor ordered, "Look at the Angels. Into the ship, now. Quickly, all of you."
"How?" Amy looked over as Thea dropped down into the hatch and the Doctor followed. "Doctor!" She peered down to see them standing in the corridor, though from her point of view they were on the side wall.
"It's just a corridor." Thea rolled her eyes.
"The gravity orientates to the floor." the Doctor explained to her, "Now, in here, all of you. Don't take your eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move." He turned to a keypad as Amy, River and the clerics followed them down.
"Okay, men. Go, go, go!" Octavian followed after them, "The Angels. Presumably they can jump up too?"
The hatched closed behind them and the lights flickered.
"They're here, now." the Doctor muttered, "in the dark, we're finished. Run!" he took Theas hand, running down the corridors to a large archway only for a door to roll shut, trapping them.
"Oh, great." Thea muttered.
"This whole place is a death trap!" Octavian cried.
"No, it's a time bomb." the Doctor shook his head, "Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic." he spun to see them all relatively calm even as the Angel banged on the door, "Oh, just me then."
"What's through here?" Thea wondered, resting an ear against the door.
"Secondary flight deck." River answered.
"Okay. So we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah?" Amy looked at the Doctor, as River started to try and bypass the power, "So what if the gravity fails?"
"I've thought about that." he nodded.
"And?"
"And we'll all plunge to our deaths. See? I've thought about it."
"And didn't speak it aloud because its not a cheerful thought." Thea added.
"The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them. It's impossible."
"How impossible?" River looked over from her work.
"2 minutes." Thea murmured, "not that we have that long."
The engines hummed, powering down and the hatch opened so they could see the cavern outside.
"The hull is breached and the power's failing." Octavian reported as the lights flickered and an Angels arm appeared in the opening.
"Sir, incoming." a cleric reported.
"Doctor?" Amy gasped, "Lights."
The Doctor flashed his sonic on some wires desperately trying to get the lights to stay on, they flickered and an Angel began to climb in, four more starting to follow.
"Clerics, keep watching them." Octavian ordered.
"And don't look at their eyes." Thea added, staring at the Angels as an extra pair of eyes for the clerics, "Anywhere else. Not the eyes."
"I've isolated the lighting grid." the Doctor remarked, "They can't drain the power now."
"Good work, Doctor." Octavian nodded.
"Yes. Good, good, good. Good in many ways. Good you like it so far."
"So far?" Amy raised her eyebrows.
"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." Octavian nodded, "fine. Do it."
"Including the lights." the Doctor winced, "All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights."
"How long for?"
"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."
"Doctor, we lost the torches." Amy reminded him, "We'll be in total darkness."
"I've got my phone, it's not much, but..." Thea pulled her phone from her pocket, turning on the small torch light, "its better than nothing."
"Brilliant." the Doctor smiled, turning to Octavian for his thoughts of the plan, "Bishop?"
"Doctor Song," he turned to her, "I've lost good Clerics today. You trust this man?"
"I absolutely trust him." she didn't hesitate to reply.
"He's not some kind of madman, then?"
"I absolutely trust him." She repeated, "You'll find, Bishop, that there is a very thin line between madness and genius."
"Well said." Thea murmured.
"Excuse me." the Doctor turned back to the door.
Octavian pulled River to the side, speaking quietly, knowing that the Doctor was too busy working to eavesdrop but he had already been warned about the girl. "I'm taking your word, because you're the only one who can manage this guy." River rolled her eyes, knowing just how much Thea had the Doctor wrapped around her finger, or at least she would do one day, "But that only works so long as either of them don't know who you are. You cost me any more men, and I might just tell them. Understood?"
River swallowed, glancing to the Time Lords as the Doctor continued on the door and Thea flashed the sonic on her phone to try and brighten it, "Understood."
"Ok, Doctor." Octavian stepped back, "We've got your back."
"Bless you." the Doctor smiled, "Bishop."
"Combat distance, 10 feet. As soon as the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shot gun protocol. We don't have bullets to waste."
"Amy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release." the Doctor told her, "Spin it clockwise 4 turns."
She nodded, "10."
"No, 4. 4 turns."
"Yeah 4. I heard you."
"Ready!" the Doctor shouted.
"Whenever you're ready Bishop." Thea called to him.
"On my count, then." Octavian began as they faced the Angels, "God be with us all. Three, two, one, fire!"
The Doctor flashed the sonic and the lights went out leaving them in darkness apart from the tiny light from Theas phone, the clerics rapidly firing at the Angels.
"Turn!" the Doctor shouted as he, Amy and River struggling to turn the wheel and get the door open.
"Doctor, its opening!" Amy stated to smile, "its working!"
River and Amy slipped through the small gap in the door as Thea backed up against it, her small light still on the Angels.
"Fall back!" the Doctor ordered as the clerics and Octavian moved through the gap as the Doctor pulled Thea through with him and quickly shut the doors on the Angels.
"Never lose that phone." the Doctor grinned at Thea.
"Never!" she swore. She used that torch light for more than she honestly would care to admit. She just...she really didn't like the dark, could put on a brave face but like the Weeping Angels, you never knew what was lurking in the shadows.
Oh she knew she should be over her fear of the dark, a silly childish fear that her parents had tried very hard to get her to grow out off, only she was pretty sure they made it worse.
They ran down the corridor, quickly opening the other leading them right to the Secondary Flight Deck, looking in disrepair as wires and cables hung out from the control panels.
"Doctor!" Amy gasped as the doors hatch began to turn. Octavian stepped up and placed a device on the door, "what are you doing?"
"Magnetized the door." he replied, activating it, "Nothing could turn that wheel now."
"Oh, yeah." Thea breathed, not underestimating the Angels.
"Dear God!" Octavian exclaimed as the wheel started to slowly turn.
"Ah, now you're getting it." the Doctor patted his back, "you've bought us time though. That's good. I am good with time."
"Doctor!" Amy called as a wheel on another door started to turn.
"Seal that door!" Octavian instructed, "Seal it now." another cleric placed a magnetic device on the other door.
"We're surrounded." River turned to the third door as the wheel began to spin.
"Seal it. Seal that door." another cleric sealed it, "Doctor, how long have we got?"
"5 minutes, max." the Doctor told him.
"9." Amy nodded.
"5." Thea corrected, eying her curiously.
"5. Right. Yeah."
"You said 9." She accused.
"I didn't." Amy shook her head, giving her an odd look.
"We need another way out of here." River cut in as the Doctor eyed Amy.
"There isn't one." Octavian argued.
"Yeah, there is. Course there is." the Doctor countered, "This is a galaxy class ship. Goes for years between planet falls. So," he snapped his fingers, "what do they need?"
"Of course..." River breathed as the realisation dawned on her.
"Of course what?" Amy frowned, "What do they need?"
"Can we get in there?" Octavian asked.
"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow. This whole wall should slide up." he ran a hand along the wall, scanning it with the sonic.
"Clamps!" Thea spotted them, "release the clamps!"
"What's through there?" Amy asked as the Doctor flashed his sonic on the clamps, unlocking them, "What do they need?"
"They need to breathe." River smiled as the wall slowly slid up to reveal a lush forest with trees and moss covered ground.
"But that's..." Amy gaped, "that's a..."
"It's an oxygen factory!" Thea grinned.
"It's a forest."
"Yeah, it's a forest." River agreed, "It's an oxygen factory."
"Or even better," Thea twirled on the spot, "an escape route."
"If we're very lucky." The Doctor laughed.
"8." Amy said.
"What did you say?" River looked at her sharply.
"Nothing."
The Doctor frowned at her a moment before turning to Octavian, "is there another exit? Scan the architecture, we don't have time to get lost in there."
"On it." he nodded, stepping into the forest, "Stay where you are until I've checked the Rad levels."
"But trees, on a space ship?" Amy nearly scoffed.
"Oh, more than trees." the Doctor laughed, "Way better than trees. You're going to love this. Treeborgs. Trees plus technology. Branches become cables become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. This vault is an ecopod running right through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle on a space ship in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?"
She nodded, "7."
"7?" Thea frowned at her.
"Sorry, what?" she looked at her.
"You said 7." the Doctor eyed her closely.
"No. I didn't."
"Yes. You did." River agreed, eying her cautiously.
"Doctor!" Octavian shouted, running back, "there's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."
"Oh, good." the Doctor nodded, not taking his eyes off Amy, "That's where we need to go."
"Plotting a safe path now."
"Quick as you like."
"Doctor?" Bobs voice came over the comm, "Excuse me? Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir."
"Ah. There you are, Angel Bob." the Doctor picked up the comm, stepping over to the captains' chair and plopping down in it, "How's life? Sorry, bad subject."
"The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve."
"Achieve?" the Doctor scoffed, "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 Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world. And all the stars and worlds beyond."
"Well, we've got comfy chairs. Did I mention?"
"We have no need of comfy chairs."
The Doctor grinned over at Thea, "I made him say comfy chairs."
Amy chuckled "6."
The Doctor quickly stood, "Okay, Bob, enough chat. Here's what I want to know. What have you done to Amy?"
"There is something in her eye." Angel Bob said.
"What's in her eye?"
"We are."
"What's he talking about?" Amy swallowed, "Doctor, I'm 5. I mean, 5." she shook her head as everyone stared at her, "Fine! I'm fine."
"You said 5." Thea stared at her.
"You're counting." River noted.
"Counting?" Amy scoffed.
"You're counting down from 10." Thea murmured.
"You have been for a couple of minutes." the Doctor added.
"Why?" Amy asked.
"I don't know."
"Well, counting down to what?"
"I don't know."
"We shall take her." Angel Bob said, "We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space."
"Get a life, Bob." Thea rolled her eyes, "oh, wait." she grinned, "sorry, couldn't resist."
The Doctor sat in the chair again, "There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much."
"With respect, sir, there's more power on this ship than you yet understand." Angel Bob continued.
River gasped as a horrible, loud screeching sound reached them, "What's that? Dear God, what is it?"
"They're back." Octavian called.
"It's hard to put in your terms, Doctor Song," Angel Bob spoke again as the screeching died down, "but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing."
"Laughing?" the Doctor frowned.
"Because you haven't noticed yet, sir. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed."
"Noticed what..." Thea trailed off as her gaze shifted to the wall, like it was being pulled over to look, her eyes widening at the sight of the large glowing crack on the wall above them, exactly like the crack from Amy's wall. It even gave of the same uncomfortable feeling as last time. "But that's..." she breathed, the Doctor slowly turned to see what she was looking at.
"That's," Amy swallowed at the sight, "that's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl."
"Yes." the Doctor breathed.
"Okay, enough." Octavian cut in, "We're moving out."
"Agreed." River nodded, moving to Theas side, seeing how much she really didn't like the crack "Doctor?"
"Yeah, fine." he waved her off, scanning the crack with the sonic.
"What are you doing?"
"Right with you."
"We're not leaving without you!" Thea refused.
"Oh yes, you are." he murmured, glancing over to Octavian, "Bishop?"
He gave a curt nod, "Thea." he reached out to pull her back, "Miss Pond, Doctor Song, now!"
"No, but..." Thea tried to stay back with the Doctor, but River took her hand and pulled her off into the forest, knowing she would be carried off by one of the men if it came to it.
"So, what are you?" the Doctor murmured, looking at the results on the sonic, "Oh, that's bad. Ah, that's extremely very not good." he turned to find himself surrounded by Angels. Well, at least Thea wasn't here. He had a duty of care to the girl now, he was trying to keep her out of the worst of the danger. "Do not blink." slowly climbing over the console to get past them, only for one to grab him by the back of his jacket.
~.~
Thea glanced back, not even needing to have her mind open to know the Doctor had gotten himself surrounded by Angels. That seemed like a typical thing to happen to him.
She turned around again, she, Amy and River surrounded by the clerics as Amy's slowed down, starting to look almost sick. "Amy?"
"Amy?" River grabbed her arm as she stumbled, "what's wrong?"
~.~
"Why am I not dead then?" the Doctor wondered, glancing back to see the Angels reaching for the crack, "Good, and not so good. Oh, this isn't even a little bit good. I mean, is that it? Is that the power that brought you here? That's pure Time Energy. You can't feed on that. That's now power, that's the fire at the end of the universe. I'll tell you something else..." There was a loud rumbling giving the Doctor the perfect chance to get out of his jacket, "Never let me talk!" he yelled, running into the forest, leaving his jacket in the hands of the Angels.
~.~
"Amy, what's wrong?" River asked as Amy stumbled into a rock, look dazed.
"4." she mumbled as Thea helped her to lay down on a large moss covered rock.
"Med scanner, now!" River shouted, and one of the clerics quickly grabbed one and handed it over as River scanned the woman while Thea sat on the ground besides her, holding her hand.
"Doctor Song, we can't stay here." Octavian warned, "We've got to keep moving."
"We wait for the Doctor." Thea stated. She could feeling him quickly catching up, they wouldn't have to wait long and they couldn't exactly let Amy walk by herself. He would know what to do.
"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralise the Angels. Until that is achieved..."
"Father Octavian," River cut him off, "when the Doctor or Thea are in the room your one and only mission is to keep them 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 caught sight of Thea biting her lip, looking at something behind her, "and, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"
"Oh, yeah." his voice called.
She turned to see him standing on top of a log in a small clearing, "I hate you."
"You don't." he countered.
"I love you." Thea told her honestly. River Song just made her feel so good about herself, always mentioning her like she was just as good and important and the Doctor, not like the Angels that had completely blanked her.
"Oh, I know." River winked at her.
Thea grinned, biting her lip.
"Bishop, the Angels are in the forest." the Doctor informed him, moving to Amy's side and crouching before her.
"We need visual contact on every line of approach." Octavian called to the clerics.
"How did you get past them?" River asked him.
"I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe." he said simply.
Thea blinked at that, "And is it the end of the universe?"
"Yes." he took the med scanner from River, "Let's have a look, then."
"So, what's wrong with me?" Amy mumbled.
"Nothing." River lied, "You're fine."
"Everything." the Doctor frowned, "You're dying."
"Doctor!"
"Yes, you're right. If we lie to her, she'll get all better."
"You didn't have to say it quite so bluntly." Thea chastised.
"Oh and you have a kinder way to say it, do you?"
She poked him, "not the point."
"Right." he nodded slowly, "Amy, Amy, Amy. What's the matter with Amelia? Something's in her eye. What does that mean? Does it mean anything?"
"Doctor..." Amy began.
"Busy."
"Scared."
"Course you're scared. You're dying. Shut up."
"Okay, let him think." River tried to sooth Amy.
"What happened? She stared at the Angel."
"She looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long." Thea added.
"Sir! Angel incoming." a cleric warned as an Angel appeared behind a tree.
"And here." another shouted.
"Keep visual contact." Octavian commanded, "Do not let it move."
The Doctor started pacing, slapping his cheeks, "Come on, come on, come on. Wakey, wakey. She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and...and..."
"The image of an Angel is an Angel." Amy recited.
"A living mental image in a living human mind. But we stare at them to stop them getting closer. We don't even blink, and that is exactly what they want. Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind."
"3." Amy whispered, "Doctor, it's coming. I can feel it. I'm going to die."
"Please just shut up. I'm thinking. Now, counting. What's that about?" he pulled out the comm, "Bob, why are they making her count?"
"To make her afraid, sir." he replied.
"Okay, but why? What for?"
"For fun, sir."
The Doctor glared at the communicator before throwing it away in anger.
"Doctor, what's happening to me?" Amy swallowed, afraid, "Explain."
"Inside your head," he sighed, "in the vision centres of your brain, there's an Angel. It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut you off."
"Then what I do?"
"Close your eyes." Thea suggested.
"No." Amy shook her head, "No, I don't want to."
"More the reason to close them." She told her, "That's the Angel not wanting you to close your eyes. Close your eyes."
Amy hesitated, Thea squeezed her hand in reassurance as she shut her eyes, the scanner beeping, her result returning to normal.
"She's normalising." River breathed in relief, "Oh, you did it." she grinned at Thea, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, "You did it!"
"Brilliant!" the Doctor cheered, pulling her into a hug from behind himself, "how did you know that would work?" he asked.
"I just..." she shook her head. "It was like earlier with the Angel coming out the screen, it needed to be switched off. How do you turn a human off? Close your eyes."
"Brilliant!" he praised as she smiled.
She honestly hadn't really known why she told Amy to close her eyes at first. It was like her mouth had just gone rambling on before giving her brain a chance to catch up. She told Amy to close her eyes before even she knew why she should.
"Sir?" a cleric yelled, "Two more incoming."
"Three more over here." another added.
"Still weak." River sighed, putting the med scanner away, "Dangerous to move her."
"So, can I open my eyes now?" Amy wondered, slowly sitting up.
"Amy, listen to me." the Doctor knelt before her, "If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die. The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of paused it. You've used up your countdown. You cannot open your eyes."
"Doctor, we're too exposed here." Octavian called, "We have to move on.
"We're too exposed everywhere." Thea countered, "And Amy can't move."
"And anyway, that's not the plan." the Doctor added.
"There's a plan?" River raised her eyebrows, sharing a look with Thea who could only shrug in response.
"I don't know yet." he muttered, "I haven't finished talking. Right!" he jumped up, "Father, you and your Clerics, you're going to stay here, look after Amy. If anything happens to her, I'll hold every single one of you personally responsible, twice. River, you and me and the kid..."
"The kid?" Thea repeated, crossing her arms, "I have a name, you know."
He continued as though she hadn't interrupted, "We're going to find the Primary Flight Deck which is..." he licked his finger and held it up. "A quarter of a mile straight ahead, and from there we're going to stabilise the wreckage, stop the Angels, and cure Amy."
"How?" River asked.
"I'll do a thing."
"What thing?"
"I don't know." he huffed, "It's a thing in progress. Respect the thing."
"If this thing in progress means blowing up the ship, I am so down!" Thea grinned.
"Oh, I'm with you on this." River agreed.
"We are not blowing up this ship," the Doctor pointed at her warningly, "Moving out!"
"Sir, yes, sir!" Thea straightened and saluted.
"Stop that."
"Doctor, I'm coming with you." Octavian stepped forwards, "My Clerics'll look after Miss Pond. These are my best men. They'd lay down their lives in her protection."
"I don't need you." the Doctor shook his head.
"I don't care. Where Dr Song goes, I go."
"What? You two engaged or something?"
"Yes, in a manner of speaking." Octavian replied curtly.
"Really?" Thea looked between them, not really able to see what River saw in him but there was something else. Was she...no, she couldn't be jealous could she? No, of course not. River Song seemed like a remarkable woman who was definitely would have many men after her. She glared at Octavian as he turned to one of his clerics.
"Marco, you're in charge till I get back."
"Sir." the man saluted as Octavian turned and walked off with River.
"Doctor?" Amy called quietly, "Please, can't I come with you?"
"You'd slow us down, Miss Pond." Octavian replied as he waited in a small opening between the trees.
"I don't want to sound selfish, but you'd really speed me up."
"You'll be safer here." the Doctor told her, crouching before her despite she cant see him, "We can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you soon as I can, I promise."
"You always say that." she muttered.
"I always come back. Good luck, everyone. Do not let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Amy, later. Thea, hand."
"what about my hand?" She asked innocently.
"I want to hold it."
"Why?"
"So I know you're still with me. I made a promise to Sarah Jane I'd watch over you. The hand holding makes me feel better."
"Or I could walk in front of you." She countered, but held out her hand for him to take.
"Thank you. River, going to need your computer!" and with that they hurried to catch up with Octavian and River.
~.~
Octavian led the way through the trees, the Doctor holding Rivers small hand held computer as it beeped.
"What's that?" River glanced back.
"Er, readings from a crack in the wall." the Doctor replied.
"How can a crack in the wall be the end of the universe?"
"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?"
"How can you be engaged, in a manner of speaking?" Thea countered before shaking her head, not quite sure herself why she was so caught up on that. Just, River and Octavian, to her it didn't work and she was a romantic, constantly tried to get Clyde and Rani to admit they liked each other. Hard that she originally thought, but one day! One day those two would admit it and kiss and she couldn't wait!
"Well, sucker for a man in uniform." River smirked.
"I mean, yeah, but Octavian..." Thea pulled a face looked over at the man.
"Thea..." the Doctor began.
"What?" she blinked, "I can't help that I'm a romantic at hearts. I'm old enough to be married, I should be married by now." she sighed, "I'm so ready to be married. I should be married."
"Doctor Song's in my personal custody." Octavian marched over, "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 asked River, his eyes slightly narrowed at that bit of information but he had no time to think of that as the device beeped.
"What?" Thea asked, seeing him frowning at the results, "What is that?"
"The date." he murmured, "The date of the explosion, where the crack begins."
"And for those of us who can't read the base code of the universe?" River asked.
His eyes widened at the date, 26/06/10, "Amy's time!" They had picked Amy up April 25th, that very night. Something about that didn't make much sense.
It didn't take them long to reach the Primary Flight Deck, River standing guard as Octavian tried to find them a way inside.
"It doesn't open it from here, but it's the Primary Flight Deck." Octavian reported, "This has got to be a service hatch or something."
"Hurry up and open it. Time's running out." River remarked.
"What? What did you say?" the Doctor turned to her, "Time's running out, is that what you said?"
"Yeah. I just meant..."
"I know what you meant. Hush. But what if it could?"
"What if what could?"
"Time. What if time could run out?"
"Well, won't it eventually?" Thea shook her head, "I means, time isn't going to continue once the universe is ended, is it?"
"Got it." Octavian called.
"Cracks. Cracks in time." he muttered, pacing, unable to stay still as his mind raced, "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?"
"Oh, and she didn't recognise the Daleks!" Thea reminded him.
"Okay, time can shift. Time can change. Time can be rewritten. Ah. Oh!"
"Doctor Song, get through, now." Octavian held the hatch open, helping the woman through, "Pan," the girl followed through and he looked back at the Doctor, "Doctor."
"Time can be unwritten." the Doctor breathed, "It's been happening all around me and I haven't even noticed."
"Doctor, we have to move."
"The CyberKing." he muttered, "A giant Cyberman walks over all of Victorian London and no one remembers."
"We have to move it. The Angels could be here any second." Octavian put his hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged him off.
"Never mind the Angels. There's worse here than Angels."
The lights went out for a moment and the Doctor spun to see an Angel with its arm around Octavian's neck, "I beg to differ, sir." he gasped out.
The Doctor flashed his sonic at it, "Let him go."
"Well, it can't let me go, sir, can it? Not while you're looking at it."
"I can't stop looking at it, it'll kill you."
"It's going to kill me anyway. Think it through. There's no way out of this. You have to leave me."
"Can't you wriggle out?" he asked.
"No, it's too tight. You have to leave me, sir. There's nothing you can do. Sir, there's nothing you can do." He insisted as the Doctor refused to leave him.
"You're dead if I leave you." the Doctor argued.
"Yes. Yes, I'm dead. And before you go..."
"I'm not going."
"Listen to me, it's important. You can't trust her."
"Trust who?"
"River Song. You think you know her, but you don't. You don't understand who or what she is."
"Then tell me.
"I've told you more than I should. Now please, you have to go. It's your duty to your friends.."
"Just tell me why she was in Stormcage?" he asked, glancing toe flight deck where Thea was currently inside alone with River Song.
"She killed a man." Octavian stated, "A good man. A hero to many."
"Who?" he frowned, that description sounded very familiar.
"You don't want to know, sir. You really don't."
"Who did she kill?"
"Sir, the Angels are coming. You have to leave me."
"You'll die."
"I will die in the knowledge that my courage did not desert me at the end. For that I thank God, and bless the path that takes you to safety."
"I wish I'd known you better." the Doctor muttered.
"I think, sir, you know me at my best." Octavian murmured.
"Ready?"
He closed his eyes, "Content."
The Doctor nodded and quickly ran for the hatch, hurrying through, closing his eyes hearing the Angel snapping Octavian's neck. He quickly flashed his sonic at the hatch to keep the Angels from following.
"There's a teleport." River told him, standing at one of the control panels, "If I can get it to work. We can beam the others here."
"Where's Octavian?" Thea breathed, not even really needing to ask, but still, he shouldn't be left never mentioned about again.
"Octavian's dead." the Doctor swallowed, moving to the second control panel, "so is that teleport. You're wasting your time."
Thea crossed her arms, looking at him with sheer determination, "please don't underestimate me, Doctor."
"Fine." the Doctor rolled his eyes, "give it a go. River, I'm going to need your communicator." he didn't wait for an answer, snatching the communicator from River and flashing his sonic on it, speaking to Amy, "Amy? Amy? Is that you?"
"Doctor?" she replied.
Thea got to work with trying to get the teleport working knowing that would be the best way to get Amy to them. They couldn't leave her there, the Clerics had all gone to inspect the crack following them and as a result were erased from existence. It was slowly catching up to Amy and so he rigged the communicator Amy had, connecting it to his sonic to help her walk to them with her eyes closed. The sonic whir directing her to them and a beeping to warn of Angels nearby.
"That Time Energy," River began as the Doctor continued speaking to Amy as she made her way to them, trying to keep her calm despite the danger surrounding her, "what's it going to do?"
"Er, keep eating." the Doctor shook his head.
"How do we stop it?" she asked, holding some wires as Thea went under the console to get the teleport working.
"Feed it."
"Feed it what?"
"A big, complicated space time event should shut it up for a while."
"Like what, for instance?"
"Like me, for instance!" he suddenly shouted.
Thea swallowed at that, either of them would be able to shut the crack. Just a Time Lord in general, all that time travel, though the Doctor would probably keep it shut longer than herself, what with him having travelled for much longer. She didn't want to think about that, she could here the communicator beeping, warning them of the Angels. She winced, crossing some wires together hearing Amy panic over the comm. having fallen and now couldn't find the comm. the Angels would soon realise she couldn't see them and go in for the kill.
"Thea!" River called urgently.
"Now!" she shouted, connecting two loose cables together as River slammed on her hand on the teleport button.
A second later Amy appeared in the room and River rushed to steady her, "Don't open your eyes. You're on the Flight Deck. The Doctor and Thea are here. We teleported you. See?" she looked over at the Doctor, "Told you I could get it working."
"Excuse me?" Thea scoffed.
"Yes, alright." She rolled her eyes, "You got in working."
"Thank you." she beamed.
"You two are bloody brilliant." the Doctor told them. They actually seemed to work rather well together.
Thea was clever, well, as Time Lords they were naturally brilliant, but she had got that teleport working all by herself with just her hands, if it had been him he would have been relying far too much on his sonic.
River looked up sharply as an alarm suddenly blared, "What's that?"
"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power," the Doctor explained, "which means the shield's going to release." the back wall slowly opened to reveal the neverending gathering of Angels on the forest, all facing them with the bright light of the crack behind them, "Angel Bob, I presume." she eyed one Angel at the front, holding a comm.
"The Time Field is coming." he said, "It will destroy our reality."
"Yeah, and look at you all, running away. What can I do for you?"
"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close, and they will be saved."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do, could do that. But why?"
"Your friends will also be saved."
"That would do it." Thea muttered.
"I've travelled in time," River cut in, "I'm a complicated space time event too. Throw me in."
"No!" Thea exclaimed, "sorry, it's just...you can't." she finished lamely. She wanted to say River couldn't get thrown in because that would mean the Doctor never met her before hand (how could he ever have met her if she never existed) but she just didn't like the idea of River getting thrown into the crack. Didn't like the thought of the Doctor getting thrown in either, but she just wanted to get to know River more.
"Oh, be serious." the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you, and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip."
"Doctor, I can't let you do this." River told him.
"No, seriously, get a grip."
"You're not going to die here!"
"No." Thea offered River a small smile, working out the Doctors plan as she helped Amy hold onto a railing on the console, "literally. Get a grip."
"Oh, you geniuses." River breathed, turning and grabbing into the console.
"Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now." Angel Bob said.
"Thing is, Bob," the Doctor smirked, "the Angels are draining all the power from this ship. Every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels."
"You hold on tight and don't you let go for anything." River warned Amy, as the girl kept her eyes tightly shut still.
"Night, night."
The Doctor easily leaned back, grabbing the railing as the gravity failed due to the loss of power and the Angel were sucked back into the crack.
There was a burst of light and then the crack snapped shut.
~.~
Amy sat in a rock, a blanket over her shoulders, back on the beach near the TARDIS, "Ah. Bruised everywhere." she moaned.
"Me too." the Doctor agreed.
"You didn't have to climb out with your eyes shut."
"Neither did you. Thea kept telling you. The Angels all fell into the Time Field. The Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now."
"Then why do I remember it at all?" she frowned, "Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other."
"You're a time traveller now. Amy. It changes the way you see the universe, forever. Good, isn't it?"
"And the crack, is that gone too?"
"Yeah, for now. But the explosion that caused it is still happening. Somewhere out there, somewhere in time." he looked out to the ocean for a moment before looking over seeing Thea speaking to River.
"The rumours aren't true, you know." River remarked.
"What rumours?" Thea blinked. She always heard a lot of rumours about a lot of things.
"That I'm the woman the Doctor marries." she laughed as Thea scrunched her nose in disgust.
"Well, maybe I'll marry you instead." She joked.
"Maybe when you're older." River smirked, rolling her eyes as she was put in handcuffs, "Jen says hello, by the way."
"Jen?" Thea frowned, running through names of people, she couldn't recall anyone called Jen, obviously a nickname for Jenny, especially one who knew she wasn't human.
River winced, "too early. Oh I'm going to kill her, she was insistent that you knew about her even this early."
Thea laughed seeing River getting angry over this Jenny person and seemingly far too happy to give out spoilers compared to River who kept them so tightly, "well I look forwards to meeting her. She sounds chaotic."
"Almost as much as you." she agreed, "oh and here comes the old man. You me, handcuffs," she smirked as the Doctor and Amy walked over, "must it always end this way."
"If you like." Thea grinned.
"What now?" the Doctor asked
"The prison ship's in orbit." River replied, "They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see."
"Octavian said you killed a man." the Doctor eyed her.
"Yes, I did." she swallowed hard.
"A good man."
"A very good man. The best man I've ever known."
"Who?"
"Eh, well find out one day." Thea shrugged, allowing River to keep her secrets.
"It's a long story." River agreed with a sighed, "It can't be told, it has to be lived. No sneak previews. Well, I gave Thea one, I suppose it's only fair I give you one too," she smirked lightly, "You'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens."
"The Pandorica." the Doctor scoffed, "Ha! That's a fairy tale."
"Aren't we all? I'll see you there."
"Can't wait." Thea grinned.
"I remember it well."
"Bye, River." Amy offered, feeling a bit awkward standing in the middle of their conversation.
"See you, Amy." River nodded to her, as her cuffs beeped, "Oh, I think that's my ride."
"Can I trust you. River Song?" the Doctor asked.
"If you like." she laughed, "Ha, but where's the fun in that?"
Thea laughed with her as the woman was teleported away in a swirl of sand, "she's great."
"What are you thinking?" Amy frowned seeing the Doctor looking deep in thought.
"Time can be rewritten." he muttered.
~.~
"So you're telling me every time I walk past the church, those Angels standing in the graves could easily be Weeping Angels and send me back to the past?"
Thea rolled her eyes as she held her phone to her ear, listening to Clyde after she told them about the day. She had only rung them to tell them about River Song, had accidently gone onto a very long rant about how amazing the woman was before Rani got her back to the topic of the Angels.
"And technically the gargoyles on the church."
"I am never going near a church again." Clyde determined.
"It's not every Angel, though." Luke pointed out.
"But any." Rani added, laughing lightly as she teased Clyde.
"I'm just going to avoid stone," Clyde muttered, "and maybe never blink again."
"I'd like to see you try to not blink." Thea laughed as she headed into the console room, only to frown seeing no one there.
Strange.
The Doctor never really left the room unless he went to eat or on the rare occasion sleep. It wasn't even late, she had only gone for a shower to fresh up before ringing the gang.
"Harder than it looks, you know." Thea told them, switching on the monitor to see they had landed in Amy's bedroom.
That was weird. Her bedroom of all places. It wasn't like the woman needed clothes, the TARDIS had a wardrobe full of the short skirts she was fond of.
Was she leaving?
Was having an Angel in her mind too much for her to handle? Were they saying goodbye. She didn't would to randomly burst out there and interrupt so she fiddled with the monitor to get the outside camera on...only to regret that as she saw what was happening outside.
"Thea!"
Thea blinked at Lukes' sudden shout, "Sorry," she shook her head, "I'm going to have to cut this short."
"Something wrong?" he asked
"I'll speak later." was all she said as she hung up, staring with disgust at the scene before her.
Amelia Pond was trying to made advances of the Doctor, despite his obvious discomfort.
She gasped, quickly switching the screen off as the doors burst open and the Doctor ran back in with Amy, "oh," she blinked, "sorry. I...I'm going to bed."
"Nothing happened!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Amy she..."
"I saw." she muttered, "none of my business. I just...night!" she called and quickly hurried back down the corridor.