Rising From The Ashes (Book Five of the Bad Wolf Chronicles)

The Big Bang

The First Bad Wolf's eyes narrowed. "You did what?!"

"Oh." He cringed. "But she's traveling in an opposite direction. Sorry."

"You . . . " The First Bad Wolf growled. "Idiot."

"So I've been told. But, these guys." The Doctor tapped a Dalek on the head. "History has collapsed. Whole races have been deleted from existence. These are just like after-images. Echoes. Fossils in time. The footprints of the never-were."

"Er . . . " Rory turned to the First Bad Wolf. Even a past version of his current Pilot made more sense than the Doctor. "What does that mean?"

"The universe never happened," she answered.

Rory blinked. "So . . . how can we be here? What's keeping us safe?"

"Nothing," the Doctor answered. "Eye of the storm, that's all. We're just the last light to go out . . . " His eyes widened, realizing something. "Amy. Where's Amy?"

***

The Doctor looked at Amy in horror as the First Bad Wolf watched sadly from where she sat on one of the arches. "I killed her," Rory answered.

"Oh, Rory," the Doctor sighed.

"Doctor . . . what am I?"

"You're a Nestene duplicate. A lump of plastic with delusions of humanity."

"That was our first blind date," the First Bad Wolf recalled.

"But I'm Rory now," Rory insisted. "Whatever was happening, it's stopped. I'm Rory!"

"That's software talking," the Doctor shook his head.

"Can you help her? Is there anything you can do?"

"Yeah, probably . . . if I had the time."

"The time?" Rory repeated angrily.

The Doctor huffed, standing and rolling his eyes. "All of creation has just been wiped from the sky. Do you know how many lives now never happened? All the people who never lived?" He shook his head. "Your girlfriend isn't more important than the whole universe - "

Rory grabbed his arm, whirled him around, and sucker punched him in the jaw, sending him stumbling away. "She is to me!" he yelled.

The First Bad Wolf burst out laughing, nearly falling off of her perch as the Doctor hopped back up, grinning wildly. "Welcome back, Rory Williams!" he whooped, patting him on the back. "Sorry, had to be sure. Hell of a gun-arm you're packing there. Right, we need to get her downstairs," he nodded at Amy before pointing at Rory's dumbstruck face. "And take that look off your plastic face. You're getting married in the morning!"

***

"So you've got a plan, then?" Rory asked as the Doctor fastened Amy into the Pandorica.

"Bit of a plan, yeah," he nodded. "Memories are more powerful than you think, and Amy Pond is no ordinary girl. Grew up with a time crack in her wall. The universe pouring through her dreams every night. The Nestenes took a memory print of her and got a bit more than they bargained for, like you. Not just your face, but your heart and soul." He put his fingers to her temples and concentrated. "I'm leaving her a message for when she wakes up, so she knows what's happening." He took his sonic screwdriver and closed up the Pandorica with her inside.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Rory scrambled to try and stop him. "What are you doing?"

"He's saving her," the First Bad Wolf answered. "The Pandorica is the ultimate prison. You can't even escape by dying. It forces you to stay alive."