I think this is one of my less amazing chapters. I loved the story . . . but it was so difficult to do since Jessie couldn't venture out with Rory and FitzSimmons.
Let's just get right to it. Here's "The Girl Who Waited!"
***
"Apalapucia!"
Even Jemma, who was normally excellent with words, was surprised when the Doctor suddenly announced the name. "What?"
"Say it again?" Amy tilted her head.
"Apalapucia," the Doctor repeated.
"Apalapu - "
"Chia."
"Apalapucia?" Rory tried.
"Apalapucia!"
"I think they've got it," Jessie smirked.
"Apalapucia," Jemma smiled. "That's pretty."
"Beautiful word," Amy nodded.
"Beautiful word, beautiful world," the Doctor nodded. "Apalapucia, voted number two planet in the top ten greatest destinations for the discerning intergalactic traveler."
"Why couldn't we go to number one?" Rory frowned.
"It's hideous!" the Doctor cringed, which made Jessie frown. Wasn't number one - ? "Everyone goes to number one. Planet of the coffee shops."
"I thought Gemsamoria was number one?" Jessie asked.
"It is," he looked at her. "I lied."
"Why?"
"Gemsamoria is our place."
"And you wonder sometimes why I love you," she smiled.
"Apalapucia," the Doctor repeated, going to the doors to hide his goofy grin, but as Fitz looked at the smile on Jessie's face, he could guess he was grinning goofily. "I give you sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades. I give you - "
He opened the TARDIS door, and everyone blinked at the white space beyond with a single door. "Doors," Fitz deadpanned.
"Doors," the Doctor repeated, heading out. "Yes, I give you doors, but on the other side of those doors, I give you sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades."
Amy patted herself over before frowning. "Have you seen my phone?"
"Your mobile telephone?" the Doctor scowled. "I bring you to a paradise planet, two billion light years from Earth, and you want to update Twitter?"
"Sunsets, spires, soaring silver colonnades," Amy reminded him.
"Everyone on the TARDIS has a camera phone, Doctor," Jemma reminded him.
"On the counter, by the DVDs," Jessie supplied.
"Thank you," Amy nodded, going back into the TARDIS.
"How do we get in?" Rory asked, looking at the door.
"Push a button?" Jemma suggested.
Rory chose the green anchor button, and they entered another stark white room, this time with a glass table and three chairs, a huge magnifying glass on the table. "OK, so rain check on the soaring silver colonnades," the Doctor winced.
"What's a magnifying glass doing here?" Jemma asked.
***
Amy walked out of the TARDIS, carrying her phone, then headed for the door. She tried opening it, then scowled. "Hey?" she knocked. "Hey, it's locked."
"Yeah, push the button," Rory called.
Amy nodded and pushed the red waterfall button, then entered the stark white room. She paused, seeing no one inside. "Rory?" she asked, looking around, but before she could leave, the door slammed shut. "Great," she huffed.
***
"Come on, Amy," Rory rolled his eyes before going to the door and looking outside. "Where is she? Where on wherever we are is my wife?"
The Doctor peered into the magnifying glass curiously, then pressed the green button on it. Suddenly, Amy's face appeared in it, and he started. "Rory, I think I've found her."
"Well, that's definitely Amy," Jessie frowned. "Where the hell is she?"
"I can see her, but she's not here," Rory frowned.
"Where am I?" Amy asked. "In fact, where are you?"
A white robot with no face entered, one red and one green button on its torso, and it held up a hand. "Whoa," Rory blinked.
"Hands," the Doctor observed. "Hands . . . robot with hands, Rory."
"We can see that," Fitz hissed.
"Welcome to the Twostreams facility," the robot said. "Will you be visiting long?"
"Er, Doctor?" Amy called, and the image in the magnifying glass warped. "Something's happening!"
"Er, Amy?" he went back to the magnifying glass. "Stay calm. Stay still . . . ah, time's gone wobbly. I hate it when it does that."
"Will you be visiting long?" the robot repeated.
"Good question," Rory nodded.
"Bit sinister," Jemma frowned.
"Yeah, what's the answer to not get us killed?"
"It's OK," the Doctor said as the image of Amy returned. "I've got you. You're fine."
"Will you be visiting long?" the robot repeated once more.
"Bad Wolf?" Rory turned. "A little help?"
"And where have you been?" Amy glared.
"What do I tell it?"
"I've been here a week!"
"A week?" the Doctor frowned. "A week?"
"Same room, different times," Jessie guessed. "Two different timestreams running parallel, just at different speeds."
"And Amy, you're in a faster timestream," the Doctor nodded.
"Doctor, it's going again," Amy warned.
"Doctor!" Fitz shouted.
"Amy!" the Doctor fumbled for his sonic screwdriver.
"Doctor!" Amy called back.
"Come on," the Doctor used his sonic on the magnifying glass. "Gotcha! There, stabilized, settled, shush."
"Why has this got hands?" Rory frowned.
"Organic skin," the Doctor inspected the robot. "Ultimate universal interface, grown and grafted, not born. I mean, it's actually seeing with its fingers, scanning the room."
"Why not just give it eyes?" Jessie asked.
"Will you be visiting long?" the robot asked.
"As long as it takes," the Doctor answered, going back to the magnifying glass. "Amy, what exactly did you do?"
"I just," Amy shrugged. "I came in and I pressed the door button."
Jessie frowned. "Amy . . . there were two buttons. One was a green anchor, and the other was a red waterfall. Which one did you push?"
"I pushed the red waterfall."
"Fantastic," Jessie stood up and headed out the door. She pressed the red waterfall button, but when she entered, no one was inside. She frowned, then headed back in the other room. "She's not there."
"OK, so we can't follow her directly," the Doctor sighed. "You know, it's never simple. Did you hear that, Handbot?" he asked the robot. "She pressed the wrong button, that's all. We're aliens. We didn't know."
"Statement rejected," it replied. "Apalapucia is under planet-wide quarantine. This is a kindness facility for those infected with Chen Seven."
The Doctor blanched and pulled up his coat to cover his nose and mouth. Barely a second later, Jessie covered her own nose and mouth with her coat as well. Confused, the other three humans did as well. "Chen Seven, hmm?" Jemma asked. She'd never heard of that before.
"The one day plague," the Doctor nodded.
"What, you get it for a day?"
"No, you get it, and you die in a day."
Jemma squeaked, eyes wide, but the Handbot continued. "There are forty thousand residents in the Twostreams Facility. Please remain in the sterile areas. Visiting hours are now."
Jessie blew out a sigh of relief as the Handbot teleported away. "So this is sterile?"
"Yes," the Doctor nodded, dropping his coat. "We're safe."
"Phew," she lowered her coat from her face as well.
"What about me?" Amy asked.
"Chen Seven only affects two-hearted races like Apalapucians," the Doctor explained.
"And Time Lords," Fitz sighed.
"Yeah, like us," the Doctor nodded. "Walk into that facility, we're dead in a day."
"Cheery thought," Jessie mumbled.
"Time moves faster on Amy's side of the glass. Amy, you said you'd been here a week. What did you eat?"
"Nothing," she shook her head. "I wasn't hungry."
"No, because that Red Waterfall time is compressed, that's the point. The Time Glass syncs up the two timestreams for visits. You could be in here for a day and watch them live out their entire lives."
"And watch them grow old in front of your eyes?" Fitz stared. "That's horrible!"
"No, Rory, it's kind," the Doctor shook his head. "You've got a choice: sit by their bedside for twenty-four hours and watch them die, or sit in here for twenty-four hours and watch them live. Which would you choose?"
The Doctor suddenly pulled the Time Glass out of the table, and Amy's eyes widened in horror. "Doctor?" she gasped. "Doctor, no, don't leave me!"
"I'm here," the Doctor frowned. "Amy, I'm right here."
"Where are you?" Amy turned around. "Am I looking at you?"
"The glass vanished on her side," Jessie deduced.
"Turn left just a fraction," the Doctor advised. "Bit more . . . stop. That's it."
"Eye to eye?" Amy frowned.
"Eye to eye to eye to eye to eye to eye," the Doctor nodded as everyone tried to look over his shoulders.
"Hi," they all said.
"Amy, I'm taking the Time Glass back to the TARDIS. Like satnav, I'll use it to get a lock, then smash through using the TARDIS to get you out. Until then, you're on your own."
Jemma frowned as the Doctor used his sonic on the Time Glass. "And what was that?"
"Locking it onto Amy," he explained. "Small act of vandalism. No one'll mind."
Jessie quirked an eyebrow as an alarm went off. "Except the small act of vandalism alarm."
The Doctor sighed and looked into the glass. "Amy, I need you to go into the facility just for a bit. Find somewhere safe and leave me a sign. Remember, you're immune to Chen Seven, but don't let them give you anything. They don't know you're alien. Their kindness will kill you. Now go."
Amy nodded. "Rory, I love you," she said. "Now save me. Go on."
The quintet headed into the TARDIS, and the Doctor settled the Time Glass on the console. "This is locked onto Amy permanently. Play the signal into the console, the TARDIS'll follow it. Now, then," he pulled out a tool box and dug around in it. "I know you're in here . . . ha ha!" He turned around, grinning. "How do I look?"
Jemma blinked. "Those were your last self's glasses!"
"Yes, they were," the Doctor grinned, "that's why I want them back when we're through." He took them off and put them on Rory. "Oh, yes," he smiled. "Hello, handsome man."
"Oh," Rory frowned, a bit put off. "Hello."
"Hello, Rory-cam," Jessie laughed.
"Huh?" Rory blinked, then looked out of the corner of his eye to see the Doctor was in the Time Glass. "Oh, you can see what I see."
"We're breaking into Twostreams," the Doctor nodded. "Now, we can't go in there. The Chen Seven'll kill us, no regeneration. You three will be our eyes and ears."
"Rory-cam, rescue Amy," Rory nodded. "Got it."
"That's the spirit!" the Doctor grinned. "Now, smashing through a timewall could get a bit hairy."
"Is it safe?" Jemma asked.
"Don't know," he shrugged. "Never tried. Best hang onto something."
***
Amy walked into the check-in area, which like everything else, was white. It was also massive, and completely deserted. "What the?" she breathed when she was held in place by a beam of light from somewhere in the ceiling.
"Welcome to the Twostreams Facility," a smooth female voice said.
"Er . . . " Amy looked around. "Who are you, and why can't I see you?"
"I am the interface between yourself and the systems of the Twostreams Facility. I will be your guide, your teacher, your friend."
An image of a young woman appeared at the check-in desk and smiled at Amy. "Welcome to Twostreams. What is your name, please?"
"Amy," she answered. "Amy Pond."
"Welcome, Amy Pond. I see you're traveling alone. As a resident, you will now have access to all of the entertainment zones inside. For a taste of adventure, why not try the mountain zone and explore Apalapucia's famous Glasmir Mountains? Or try our roller coaster zone, authentically modeled on the famous Warpspeed Death Ride at Disneyland, Clom. All that you could wish for and more is through the Departure Gate, provided for you with kindness."
Amy eyed the arrivals area, then entered, and the interface kicked in. "Unexpected visitor. Welcome. Please seek assistance."
"Hello?" Amy called, seeing a robot up ahead. "Hey! Oi, wait!"
The Handbot turned and scanned her. "You are carrying unregistered bacteria. Please let me help you."
"No," Amy backed away. "I'm not from this world. Your medicine'll kill me!"
"Statement rejected. Do not be alarmed. This is kindness."
"No, no, please," Amy shook her head as a needle appeared in the Handbot's hand. "I hate needles."
"Secondary delivery system engaged." Amy's eyes bugged open when the Handbot's head slid open to reveal a needle gun. Amy ducked when the needle was fired, then more Handbots teleported in. "Unauthorized infection on check-in, version two two three."
Amy jumped over the counter and ran into the service area. "Unauthorized resident detected," the interface said.
"Come on," Amy groaned when she saw another Handbot.
"This is a kindness," it said. "Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness."
"Unauthorized resident detected," the interface kept saying as Amy ran from the Handbots. "Unauthorized resident detected."
"No, no, no," Amy looked around, trying to find a place to hide.
"This is a kindness," the Handbot behind her said. "Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness. This is a kindness. Do not be alarmed."
Amy tugged at the mesh screen around a vent. "Come on, please," she hissed, then hurried inside.
The Handbots stopped. "No residents detected," one said. "No residents detected."
Amy's eyes widened. "They didn't see me," she realized. "They didn't see me!"
***
Rory stepped out of the TARDIS first, looking around, then smiled when he saw the red waterfall on the wall. "Red Waterfall," he said as he stepped out all the way, FitzSimmons coming out next, all three with earpieces, Fitz carrying the Time Glass and the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. "We made it."
"Good old us," the Doctor said.
"Do we know that this is the same Red Waterfall as Amy?" Jemma asked.
"Focus on the positive," the Doctor said.
"It's a red waterfall, at least," Jessie agreed.
"And we locked onto Amy's timestream," the Doctor added as Rory considered a Greek-style statue of a woman . . . a topless woman. A moment later, the Doctor snapped, "eyes front, soldier!"
"Right, yes, sorry," Rory turned around quickly, clapping his hands together as Fitz snickered.
"Apalapucians are the great cultural scavengers, Rory," the Doctor lectured as the trio walked down the corridor. "This gallery's a scrapbook of their favorite places."
Fitz inspected a Mona Lisa painting. "Bit of Earth."
"Bit of alien," Jemma examined another piece of art.
Rory grimaced as he looked at . . . something else. "Bit of whatever the hell that is."
***
Amy entered the next room, looking around at the arch-like portals in the room, a central control console in the center of them all. "Interface?" she finally asked.
"I am here, Amy Pond," the female voice answered, and the light came back on.
"Shush, shush," Amy held a finger to her lips. "Turn that light off. So, I'm . . . what is this? How does it work?"
"This is the Gate," the interface answered. "From here, you may depart to any of Twostreams' entertainment zones." Curious, Amy pressed a few buttons on the console. "Cinema. Aquarium. Garden."
"Garden?" Amy asked. "Why not?"
"Garden."
One portal lit up, and Amy ran through, stopping before she fell down the stairs of a terrace. "That is beautiful!" she gasped, looking around the gardens. "I mean, freaky hedges."
"The perfect replica of a Shill Governor's Mansion on Shallanna," the interface explained.
"You really could spend a lifetime in here. Not that I'm going to," she mumbled. "Interface?"
"Amy Pond?"
"Listen, I need somewhere safe to hide and wait for my friends. Where in Twostreams is safe?"
"Twostreams is a safe, nurturing environment."
"You know what I mean," she rolled her eyes. "Where can I go so the Handbots can't find me?" No answer. "OK, before, I was stood by a sort of vent, and there was light and smoke, and the Handbots couldn't see me. Why not?" No answer again. "OK, I will put it another way. What were those vent thingies?"
Finally, the interface answered. "The vents channel the exhaust fumes from temporal engines that hold the multiple timestreams in place."
"And these temporal engines mess up the Handbots' sensors. So where's the temporal engines?"
"Temporal engines held within," the interface answered, pulling up a holographic map.
Amy examined the route, then nodded. "OK."
Two Handbots suddenly teleported in, and she jumped back, startled. "Do not be alarmed," one said. "This is a kindness."
Amy looked at their outstretched hands, then pushed them together. The two robots shorted out, and she grinned. "Ha! Don't like that, do you?"
She entered the door and ran, remembering the route the map had shown her. She opened the door and looked around the temporal engines, smirking. "Temporal engines. Somewhere to hide."
She went back to the door and pulled out her lipstick, then wrote on the door. Doctor, I'm waiting. She drew an arrow to the door handle, then went inside.
***
"Where is everyone?" Jemma looked around the empty corridor.
"Right, Fitz, switch the Time Glass on and sonic it," the Doctor ordered. "I'm sending a command signal to the screwdriver. Amy's here somewhere. If I can just get a lock on her . . . I wonder what happens if we mix the filters?"
As Fitz held up the Time Glass, blurry people suddenly appeared in it. "Wow," Jessie whistled. "Forty thousand time streams overlapping. Red Waterfall isn't one time stream. It's thousands."
"Are they happy?" Rory asked.
"Oh, Rory, trust you to think of that," the Doctor sighed. "Better than the alternative."
Fitz lowered the Time Glass and gasped, seeing a red-haired Samurai-like warrior, her face hidden by a mask. He scurried backwards, and Rory and Jemma flung up their hands. "We come in peace!" Rory stammered. "Peace, peace, peace, peace!"
The woman hesitated, her sword at the ready. "I waited," she said.
Rory blinked. "Sorry, what?"
"I waited for you. I waited for you."
Jemma gasped, eyes wide, as the woman took off her helmet. "Amy?" she asked in disbelief, seeing her older . . . much older.
"Doctor?" Rory asked nervously. "What's going on?"
"Er . . . " was the only reply. Apparently, the Doctor was speechless.
Fortunately, Jessie was not. "I think the timestream lock might be a bit wobbly."
Amy raised her sword suddenly, and Rory held up his hands, frightened. "No, please, please!"
"Duck," Amy said simply.
Startled, Rory did, and Amy plunged her sword straight through a Handbot's head. "Handbots carry a black box in case they go offline," she explained, watching it fall to the floor. "I've changed the cause of termination from hostile to accidental. Easy to reprogram. Used my sonic probe."
"A sonic what?" Jessie giggled.
"Amy," Rory began as Jemma helped Fitz up.
"Rory," she countered.
"Why?"
"Because I've survived this long by making the Handbots think I don't exist," she answered, leading them off. "Don't touch the hands. There's anesthetic transfer on the skin. If they touch you, you go to sleep."
"But you're still here?"
"You didn't save me."
"This is supposed to be the saving," Fitz frowned. "The Doctor just got the timing a bit out."
"Sorry," the Doctor cringed.
Amy glared at them. "I've been on my own here for a long, long time. I've had decades to think nice thoughts about him and the Bad Wolf. Got a bit harder to stay charitable once I entered decade four."
"Forty years?" Jemma gasped. "Alone?"
"Thirty six years, thanks."
"No, right," Rory nodded. "I mean, you look great. Really, really."
"Eyes front, soldier," Amy gave him a look.
He sighed. "Still can't win, then."
"In fact, I think I can now definitely say I hate them. I hate the Doctor and the Bad Wolf. I hate them more than I've hated anyone in my life, and you can hear eveyr word of this through those ridiculous glasses, can't you, Raggedy Man, Frazzly Wolf?"
Jessie sighed. "Putting speaker on."
"You told me to wait, and I did," Amy glared into the glasses. "A lifetime."
"Amy - "
"You've got nothing to say to me."
"Yes, I do. Behind you!"
Amy turned to see two Handbots approaching. She threw her sword to Jemma, who caught it, startled, and Amy made their hands touch, and the robots shorted out. "Feedback," she said. "Knocks them out. Learn that trick on my first day."
"OK, so we just take the TARDIS back to the right time stream, yeah?" Rory asked. "We can stop any of this happening."
"We locked onto a timestream, Rory," the Doctor said. "This is it."
Rory shook his head. "This is so wrong."
"I got old, Rory," Amy rolled her eyes. "What did you think was going to happen?"
"Hey, I don't care that you got old. I care that we didn't grow old together. Amy, come on, please."
"Don't touch me," Amy backed up. "Don't do that."
"It's like you're not even her," Fitz shook his head as they walked out of the corridor.
"Thirty six years, three months, four days of solitary confinement. This facility was built to give people the chance to live. I walked in here and I died. Do you have anything to say?" she looked at Rory's glasses. "Anything, you two?"
"Where did you get a sonic screwdriver?" the Doctor asked.
"I made it. And it's a sonic probe."
"You made a sonic screwdriver?" Rory frowned as they entered a reception area.
"Probe," Amy corrected, pulling the mesh away and entering a dark room.
Jemma followed, then paused, seeing a Handbot with a smiley face drawn on the head with hooks instead of hands. "Oh."
"Don't worry about him," Amy shook her head. "Sit down, Rory."
Rory did - and so did the Handbot. "You named him after me?" Rory blinked.
"Needed a bit of company," Amy shrugged as they all sat.
"So he's like your pet?" Fitz eyed the Handbot. "Is it safe?"
"Yep," Amy nodded. "I disarmed it."
"How?"
"Disarmed," Jemma gestured to the hooks instead of hands.
"Oh, don't get sentimental," Amy rolled her eyes. "It's just a robot. You'd have done the same," she directed the statement at the glasses.
"I don't know that I would have," the Doctor answered.
"And there he is," Amy said dramatically. "The voice of God. Survive, because no one's going to come for you. Number one lesson. You two taught me that."
"Is that really all we taught you?"
"Don't you lecture me, blue-box man flying through time ad space on a whimsey," she glared. "All I've got, all I've had for thirty six years, is cold, hard reality. So no, I don't have a sonic screwdriver because I'm not off on a romp. I call it what it is: a probe. And I call my life what it is: hell."
"Amy Pond, I am going to put this right. You said you learned from an interface. Can I speak with it?"
"Doesn't work here," Amy answered, looking at the time. "2:23. The garden'll be clear now. Stay or go?"
"Sorry, us?" Rory gestured. "No, we're coming with you."
"Then try not to get killed," Amy answered. "Or do . . . whatever."
***
One portal jump later, they were in the garden Amy had found before. "When I first came here, I had to trick the interface into giving me the information, but I've reprogrammed it now," Amy explained. "It'll tell me anything except how to escape."
"You hacked it?" Jemma grinned. "That's genius!"
"Sorry to interrupt that beautiful moment, but temporal engines like that have a regulator valve," the Doctor said. "Has to be kept at a distance from the main reactor, or there'd be feedback. Interface, where's the regulator?"
"The regulator valve is held within," the interface answered.
A diagram popped up, showing a map, and the Doctor whistled. "Oh. Very, very . . . ah. Interface, I need to run through some technical specifications."
"Rory, can you give the glasses to Amy for a moment?"
Rory took off the glasses and handed them to Amy. "Here you go."
Amy took them cautiously, then put them on. "They look ridiculous."
"They looked better on his last regeneration," Jemma nodded, agreeing.
"But anything beats a fez," Rory smirked.
The four of them laughed for a moment, then Amy's face froze. "What?" Fitz asked, looking around. "What is it?"
"I think that's the first time I've laughed in thirty six years," Amy answered.
Rory cleared his throat. "I'll just, er . . . leave you geniuses alone. I'll be back in a minute."
"There's still time, Amy," the Doctor said. "There's still time to fix everything."
Rory frowned, going to the portal and looking around. "How can you have a door without a wall?" He tried to walk around the portal, but hit a wall of some sort. "Oh. Holographic wallpaper? Oh, sorry - argh!"
Jemma turned, hearing Rory's grunt, and she saw a Handbot standing over Rory, who was lying on the ground. "Do not be alarmed," the Handbot said. "This is a kindness."
Amy ran forward quickly and swung her sword, chopping its head off. "Oh," Rory groaned, lolling his head.
"Rory?" Amy looked down at him.
"Glasses."
"You stupid - "
"Oh," Rory looked at the decapitated Handbot on the ground as Jemma helped him sit up. "You saved me."
"Don't get used to it," Amy warned.
"Have you been crying? A little bit."
"Shut up, Rory."
"You have, haven't you?"
"Woman with a sword. Don't push it."
"Don't," Jessie advised. "It doesn't end well."
"OK, so here's the plan," the Doctor said. "Time is always a bit wibbly-wobbly, but in Twostreams, it's extra wobbly." Rory took the glasses back from Amy and put them on. "I've worked out how to hijack the temporal engines and use them to fold two points of Amy's timeline together. We're bringing her out of the then and into the now. Amy, I just need to borrow your brain a minute. It won't hurt . . . probably. Almost probably. And then, Amy Pond, we're going to save you."
"No." That one word from the ginger made them all turn to her, startled. "Time's up," she looked around. "Handbots coming."
"Amy, you've got to help us help you," the Doctor said as they went back through the portal. "I need you to think back thirty six years ago." Amy just ran back towards the temporal engines. "Amy? Amy!"
The three others ran after her, only to see Amy shut a door in their faces. Fitz held up the Time Glass, seeing a lipstick message on the door. "You told her to leave us a sign, and she did, and she waited."
Rory went inside and hesitantly walked up to Amy. "Oh, Amy, why won't you help yourself?"
"They want to rescue past me from thirty six years back, which means I'll cease to exist," she answered. "Everything I've seen and done dissolves. Time is rewritten."
"Is that good or bad?" Jemma asked.
"I will die," she said bluntly. "Another Amy will take my place, an Amy who never got trapped at Twostreams, an Amy who grew old with you," she looked at Rory. "And she, in thirty six years, won't be me."
"But you'll die in here!" Rory shook his head.
"Not if you take me with you. You came to rescue me, so rescue me."
"Leave her and take you?" Fitz frowned, exchanging looks with Jemma.
"We could take this Amy with us, easy, but if we do, our Amy has to wait thirty six years to be rescued," Jessie offered.
"So I have to choose," Rory frowned. "Which wife do I want?"
"She is me," Amy pointed to herself. "We're both me!"
"You being here is wrong," Rory shook his head. "For a single day, an hour, let alone a lifetime. I swore to protect you. I promised."
"Rory - " Jessie began.
"This is your fault," Rory tried to find something reflective to glare into.
"No, it's mine," the Doctor admitted. "I'm the one that drove. I'm so sorry, but Rory - "
"You should look in a history book once in a while, see if there's an outbreak of plague or not!" Rory shouted.
"That is not how we travel."
"Then I do not want to travel with you!"
Rory threw the glasses aside, watching them clatter away. After a small moment, Jessie's voice came over cautiously. "Fitz? Is the Time Glass still on? If the link's still active . . . I think I can hear Amy, our Amy."
Fitz looked at the Time Glass, then held it up. His eyes widened, seeing Amy standing nearby and crying. "Oh, God," he put a hand over his mouth. He narrowed his eyes, then turned to the older Amy. "Look me in the face and say you won't help her."
She did just that. "I will not help her.
"OK, OK . . . look me in the face and say it now." Except this time, he held up the Time Glass so it was in front of his face, and so the older Amy could see her younger self crying.
"Fitz?" the Amy in the glass sniffed, looking around. "Fitz, is that you?" Fitz held up the sonic screwdriver and used it on the Time Glass, and soon, the past Amy was looking through her own Time Glass. "Fitz, where are you? Where's everyone else?"
"Same place as you, and a bit ahead," Fitz answered, gesturing Rory and Jemma over.
"I remember this," the older Amy whispered, moving behind them.
"But, who's she?" Amy saw her. "There's no one else here but . . . " She blanched. "Me? Why are we still here?"
"Because they leave you," older Amy answered as Rory the Handbot handed Rory the human his glasses. "Because they get in their TARDIS and they fly away."
"No," Amy shook her head. "Rory wouldn't, not ever. Something must have stopped him."
"You did. Or rather, the old version of you. The me version of you. I refuse to help them. I won't let them save myself."
"Why?"
"If you escape, then I was never trapped here. The last thirty six years of my life rewrites, and I cease to exist. That's why old me refused to help them. That's why I'm refusing to help now. And that's why you'll refuse to help when it's your turn, and nothing you can say will change that."
Amy frowned. "Three words: what about Rory?"
"Rory?" older Amy blinked. "I called my robot Rory."
"You called your robot Rory? Oh, so you didn't call it the Doctor, or the Bad Wolf, or Biggles, our favorite cat?"
"Do you, er . . . do you remember that summer when he came back to school with that ridiculous haircut?"
"He said he'd been in a rock band," Amy laughed.
"Liar. And, and then he had to learn to play the guitar."
"So we wouldn't know he couldn't play it. Mmmhmm."
"All those boys chasing me, but it was only ever Rory. Why was that?"
Amy thought long and hard. "You know when sometimes you meet someone so beautiful, and then you actually talk to them, and five minutes later, they're as dull as a brick? Then there's other people, and you meet them and think, not bad, but they're OK. And then you get to know them, and their face just sort of becomes them, like their personality's written all over it, and they just turn into something so beautiful."
"Rory's the most beautiful man I've ever met," they said at the same time.
Rory blushed, touched, and Jemma squeezed his hand. "Please?" Amy asked. "Do it for him."
Older Amy stared long and hard at her. "You're asking me to defy destiny, casuality, the nexus of time itself, for a boy."
"You're Amy, he's Rory, and oh, yes, I am."
Older Amy thought, then headed to where Rory was in the engine room. "I am going to pull time apart for you," she decided, kissing him. Rory the Handbot turned its back on them, making Jemma giggle. "OK, Doctor," older Amy backed up, heading to the arrivals area, the others following, including past Amy. "Twostreams is back on air. Right, OK, so this is big news. This is temporal earthquake time. I am now officially changing my own future. Hold on to your spectacles. In my past, I saw my future self refuse to help you. I'm now changing that future and agreeing. Every law of time says that shouldn't be possible."
"Yes, except sometimes knowing your own future's what enables you to change it," the Doctor said. "Especially if you're bloody minded, contradictory, and completely unpredictable."
"So, basically, if you're Amy, then," Fitz nodded.
"Yes, if anyone could defeat predestiny, it's your best friend."
"It's not about what I'm doing, but who I'm doing it for," older Amy said. "I'm trusting you to watch my back, Rory."
"Always," he nodded. "You and me, always."
"Because here's the deal: you take me, too, in the TARDIS. Me, too."
Jemma blinked. "But that means that there'll be two of you, permanently, forever."
"And that way we both get to live."
"Two Amys together," Rory mused. "Can that work?"
"I don't know," the Doctor answered. "It's your marriage."
"Bad Wolf?"
"I don't know," she answered.
"Perhaps . . . " The Doctor's voice trailed off. "Maybe if we shunted the reality compensators on the TARDIS, recalibrated the Doomsday bumpers and jettisoned the karaoke bar . . . yes! Maybe . . . yes, it could do it! The TARDIS could sustain the paradox!"
"Right," Rory looked into the Time Glass to see Amy waiting. "Amy and Amy, the wife and the wife. Right . . . right . . . "
"OK, Amy," the Doctor said. "Past Amy, stand by the door. Future Amy, you too. Future Amy, can I borrow your sonic scr - probe."
"It's a screwdriver," Amy sighed.
"Fitz, sonic it. Double our power. Amy Now, you're our link to Amy Then. We need to get a signal through, and that signal will be a thought. Amy Now and Amy Then, share a thought. Something so powerful that it can rip through time. Fitz, sonic the plinth front. Inside, you'll find three levers and a jumble of wiring. That's the regulator valve. After we reroute it, you have ten minutes to get back to the TARDIS."
"OK," Fitz looked into the plinth with Jemma, Rory looking over their shoulders.
"Pull out the red and green receptors. Reroute the blue into the red and the green into blue. Leave the red loose, and on no account, touch the yellow."
"OK," Fitz reached inside and made the adjustments. "Blue into red, and then green . . . "
"Yes yes yes yes yes!" the Doctor cheered.
"All right, now the levers, throw them in order," Jessie ordered. "Amys, start thinking the most important thought you ever had, and hold it in your head and do not let it go. Lever one."
"Macarena," the Amys said together, and they even started dancing a little bit as Jemma threw the levers. "Macarena."
"She's doing the Macarena," Rory blinked.
"Macarena . . . Macarena."
"Your first kiss," Fitz remembered.
"Lever two, Jemma," Jessie said. "And lever three."
The Time Glass suddenly blew out, and so did the screen in the reception area. Soon enough, the younger Amy faded into view next to her older self. "Oh, Amy," Rory's eyes widened.
The two Amys looked at each other and said in sync, "Oh, my God."
Rory hugged the younger one, then stopped, looking back at the embarrassed older one. "Sorry."
"Hello," older Amy told herself.
"Hello," younger Amy nodded.
"I don't know what to - " both said at once.
"Weird," Fitz looked between them.
"OK, this is weird," they said together again. "Right, just stop doing that."
"How about Amy One speaks first?" Rory suggested.
"Which one's Amy One?" they looked at him.
"Well - "
"I am." They glared at each other. "No, I am." They turned again. "Rory? Rory, just stop doing that."
The glasses started sparking suddenly. "Rory!" Jessie shouted. "Rory, take those glasses off. You're getting temporal feedback."
Something went bang on the other end. "Whoa!" the Doctor shouted. "Calm down, dear. Rory, Amy, FitzSimmons, we've created a massive paradox, and the TARDIS hates it. She's self-phasing, trying to get out of here. Rory, you've got eight minutes left. I'm sorry. You're on your own now."
The glasses exploded, and Rory nodded. "I'm not on my own. I've got my wives and FitzSimmons."
"Do not be alarmed," a Handbot said as it beamed in.
"Incoming!" Jemma looked around as more teleported in.
"This is a kindness."
"With me," older Amy went to the side, finding a staff of some sort.
"Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness. This is a kindness."
"Amy," older Amy jogged back. "Kate Hayler, ten year hockey."
"Go for the shins," younger Amy nodded, taking the staff.
"This is a kindness."
The two Amys worked together, disposing of the Handbots, but more kept teleporting in. "They're cutting off the departure gate," Jemma checked. "We can't get back to the TARDIS."
"Side door," older Amy looked. "We'll go behind them."
"So, you think you're going to come with us, just like that?" younger Amy asked as they headed up the staircase.
"Yeah," she nodded. "Just like that."
Younger Amy turned. "Rory, talk to her."
"Rory, talk to her," older Amy turned as well.
"Now, ladies," Rory began.
"Where are you going to live?" younger Amy interrupted.
"Not with you, don't worry," older Amy shook her head. "I'll go traveling. Pop back for Christmas, maybe Easter."
Fitz grinned. "You always did say, Amy, cooking Christmas dinner, you wish there was two of you."
Rory looked around the gate room as they entered. "Can't we just teleport in?"
"It's not a teleport," older Amy shook her head. "It's a time jump."
"They can't shunt within the same timestream," younger Amy translated.
"Yes."
"The TARDIS is in the gallery," Jemma supplied.
Older Amy messed with the console, then the interface kicked in. "Gallery closed."
"The controls are stuck," older Amy shook her head. "They've locked them from outside."
"Can you unlock them?" Rory asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "Give me a minute and your cutest smile." Rory blinked, then tried to smile. "That's the one."
"Can you stop flirting with me? You're old enough to be my - "
"I've known you my whole life. How many games of Doctors and Nurses? Shush. Don't get coy now."
Younger Amy frowned. "Er - "
Other Handbots were dispatched from the other portals. "Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness. Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness. Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness."
"No!" older Amy brandished her sword as Fitz hurried to sonic the console.
The right portal flared, and Jemma turned. "Come on!"
"Go!" older Amy waved at them. "I've got your back!"
More Handbots were waiting in the gallery when they arrived. "Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness."
Younger Amy gasped when she was touched by one of the hands, and she slumped forward, landing on the floor. "No!" Rory shouted, grabbing the Mona Lisa painting and smashed it over the Handbot's head before picking Amy up and running for the TARDIS.
Jemma watched her go, then turned to see older Amy watching with a sad look on her face. She and Fitz went to the TARDIS, older Amy fending off the remaining Handbots. "Ah, it's just an anesthetic," the Doctor was saying as they entered, Jessie leaning on the console, looking at the scanner. "She'll be fine." Jemma frowned, seeing Jessie was watching older Amy run for the TARDIS, then she turned to see the Doctor take the door handle. "I'm sorry," he told older Amy before shutting the door in her face.
"What?" Fitz shouted, running for the door.
"What are you doing?" Rory stared.
"I lied to her, Rory," the Doctor answered. "There can never be two Amys in the TARDIS. The paradox is too massive."
"You can't leave her! She'll die!"
"Doctor!" older Amy banged on the door. "Let me in!"
"No," Jessie shook her head. "She'll have never existed. When we save our Amy, this future won't have happened."
"But she happened!" Rory pointed to the door. "She's there!"
"Yes, I can hear that," Jessie winced, but still didn't move from the console.
"She's not real," the Doctor shook his head.
"She is real!" Jemma shouted. "Let her in!"
"Look, we take this Amy, we leave ours," the Doctor folded his arms. "Only one Amy in the TARDIS. Which one do you want?" He took Rory's hand and led him to the door before putting his hand on the latch. "It's your choice."
Rory glared. "This isn't fair! You're turning me into you!"
"No, Rory," Jessie shook her head, finally turning to look. "It's just your choice."
Rory swallowed hard. "I . . . er . . . "
"Doctor? Bad Wolf? Doctor!" older Amy kept shouting before she stopped. "Rory, please. The look on your face when you carried her . . . me, her, I'd forgotten how much you loved me. I'd forgotten how much I loved being her. Amy Pond, in the TARDIS, with Rory Williams."
"I'm sorry, I can't do this," Rory shook his head, about to open the door -
"If you love me, don't let me in," older Amy said. "Open that door, I will, I'll come in. I don't want to die. I won't bow out bravely. I'll be kicking and screaming, fighting to the end."
"Amy," Rory whispered, heartbroken. "Amy, I love you."
"I love you, too. Don't let me in. Tell Amy, your Amy, I'm giving her the days. The days with you. The days to come."
"I'm so, so sorry."
"The days I can't have. Take them, please. I'm giving you my days."
"I'm so, so sorry."
Rory staggered backwards as Jessie flipped a lever, making the TARDIS dematerialize. "Did you know?" Jemma finally asked. "Did you always know it would never work? Saving both Amys?"
"I never made that promise of saving both," she turned. "The Doctor did."
"I promised you I'd save her, and there she is, safe," the Doctor gestured to the Amy lying on the ground.
"Yeah," Rory nodded, crouching by her as she stirred. "There she is."
The Doctor stuck his tongue out at Amy as she woke up. "We'll leave you alone."
The Time Lords left as the humans remained by the doors. "You all right?" Jemma asked, looking her over.
"Mmhmm," Amy nodded, looking around hazily.
"How are you feeling?"
Amy finally looked at her. "Where is she?"
None of them answered.
***
I have nothing to say, really. Nothing big in this chapter . . . just that Karen Gillan did an awesome job being two Amys.
On the other hand, my friend shavingforsherl0ck and I had fun having no life and coming up with wacky shipnames. Guess who's who and say which is your favorite, name or ship in general: Whiskears, Spacewolf, and Raggedy Frazzly. *facepalms* Thank God school is back, or I'd die of boredom.
One interlude to go . . . but then I'd check in on "Apocalypse Rising" if I were all of you. ;)