(Edited)
.Amy's Choice.
~Catherine Wood~
I woke up with my head pounding. Wasn't it all fake pain? Well, I supposed, now that I knew the truth and that I was now partly in control of the dream, that could mean my brain energy was running out quicker, and since I was only part Eternl, my brain energy was wearing thin. When I awoke, or mainly switched dreams, I awoke in the Doctor's arms, bouncing up and down, so I only assumed he was walking. He seemed to carry me with ease and I wondered why he was carrying me instead of just waiting. My eyes fluttered open and I stirred, letting him know I had awoken. He stopped and let me down to stand up straight.
"Why didn't you fall asleep as quickly as us?" he asked.
I shrugged, rubbing my temples to silence the pain. It quickly ceased. "The Maker wanted me to know something," I told him truthfully.
"What was it?"
Classic Doctor, always full of questions wanting to know how the world worked. That was why I loved him so much. No .. wait .. I didn't love him. This is all a dream, remember?
"If I told you, you wouldn't like it," I said, simply.
Satified with at least that, he nodded and moved over to the swings where he sat down. Amelia was already sitting there, looking grumy. I laughed and pushed her in the swing slightly, getting her attention. Surprised, she turned to me.
"Finally!" She sighed. "You're awake."
"What's wrong?" I asked, ignoring her comment.
"Do you find this dull?" she asked back.
I shook my head. "It's Leadworth. What's dull about it. Compared to the TARDIS, yeah, dull, but not dull dull."
Amelia gave the others a proud smile. "See. My life is not dull."
"Now, we all know there's an elephant in the room," The Doctor said, ignoring Amy who gave him a glare.
"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby," she said.
I laughed, knowing that was not what the Doctor meant.
"No, no. The hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention that 'The Maker', or whatever she is calling herself, said that Catherine had figured this all out."
My eyes widened. He remembed. The Maker had slipped. I didn't know what I would say without giving myself away. They each looked at me and I shrugged.
"Perhaps The Maker is lying," I said. "She's not necissarily good ..."
What did I say about lying? Yeah ... I guess I was lying. The Doctor stood, peering at me curiously. My breath hitched in my throat and just when I thought he was going to chew me out, he turned, looking over at the bridge leading to some of the sights.
"I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs Poggit as a babysitter," he told Rory suddenly. "What's she doing? What does she want?"
Mrs. Poggit looked over her shoulder and noticed us looking. I urged her to go on and she continued walking up. The sudden tweet of birds filled the air and it was too late. I thanked the air and dropped to the ground, the Doctor catching me before I fell unconcious.
*~~~~~*~~~~~*
When I woke up, cold filled my body and I immediately blocked it out, feeling warm again. I didn't care if the others were cold. Their pain wasn't real, but I wouldn't let myself stay cold when I could feel warm. The point was for them to feel it.
"It's really cold," Amy complained, rubbing her arms. "Have you got any warm clothing?"
The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair, still on the ground.
"What does it matter if we're cold?" he spat. "We have to know what she is up to and what Catherine isn't telling us."
I placed a consoling hand on his shoulder and he softened, realizing he had been rude. He looked to Amelia and Rory and saw their horrified faces.
He sighed and stood. "Sorry, sorry. There should be some stuff down there. Have a look." He pointed to the downstairs and Amy and Rory headed down there.
I didn't follow them, but stayed with the Doctor in order to comfort him. He walked toward the stairs as well and went under the console, bringing me with him. He opened a little box, breaking the handle and started playing with the items in it.
"What aren't you telling me, Catherine?" The Doctor asked me without looking, his voice carrying desperation.
I had to tell him, but I couldn't.
There was the fwip of a television, and I turned to see The Maker standing there, in her purple dress, her arms crossed over her chest. She gave me a nod and mouthed two words. 'Go ahead'.
I shook my head. I couldn't tell him yet. Not when he was apart of the variables. The Doctor trusted me. He thought we were engaged. I couldn't just change everything for that. He wasn't the best at keeping secrets. This was his test to. The Maker disappeared and I turned back to see him looking at me expectantly.
"I know who she is," I told him, not wanting to give away more.
"Well then, who is she?"
I shook my head. "If I told you, it would change things," I promised. He gave me a look and placed his hands on my shoulders, looking between my two eyes. He leaned forward and kissed my forhead.
"Nothing you could ever say would change anything I think of anyone. Most of all, you."
I looked away, playing the part. Why was it so agrivating to lie to him. I was acting as though she was the bad guy. She gave me permission to tell him so why wasn't I?
"It's me," I said suddenly after a pause. "The Maker is me ... my dark side .. my ... evil twin, you could say."
The Doctor's look softened and he made me meet his eyes. "It may have twisted you, but she is not you. You are you, and that is all you will ever be."
I smiled, glad to hear that he cared. When he bent down next, instead of kissing me forhead, he laid his lips on my cheek, brushing them against me delicately. My face went bright red and I had to remind myself that he thought we were engaged. I just gave him a smile and hoped the darkeness of the dead TARDIS hid the blush in my cheeks.
Taking the items from the box, he headed up the stairs. I caught a glimpse of The Maker who gave me a double thumbs up and sent a wink my way. I rolled my eyes and followed my dream fiance up the steps. He handed Rory the contraption he had made while Amelia handed me a dark blue blanket. I quickly wrapped it around myself and she shook her head, disappointed before handing me a pair of scissors.
"Cut a hole in the top," she ordered me.
I peered at her oddly and shook my head like she had. "To make it a poncho?"
She nodded.
"No way! That's a fashion mistake I am not willing to make."
Amelia laughed. "Just do it. It'll keep you warm."
I rolled my eyes and took the scissors to cut a hole big enough for a head to fit. Amelia pointed at the other blanket and I cut that one as well.
"I was promised amazing worlds," Rory burst. "Instead I get duff central heating and a weird, kitcheny wind-up device."
The Doctor sighed. "It's a generator. Get winding."
Rory did so, but it was slow.
"Rory, wind."
"Why is The Maker picking on you?" he asked. "Why us?"
The Doctor and I shared a look and I shook my head. From that, he understood that he shouldn't tell. I was glad he did becuase I didn't understand what would happen if Amelia and Rory found out. This certainly would all go to waste. Thankfully, the Doctor didn't even have to answer because the monitor flashed on revealing a bright blue object hanging there in space. I knew immediately it was what was making the others cold. A sun? That could burn cold? I tried to think of all the scientific explinations for it, but it was hard to find any. Classic me, invent something and make the others believe it was real.
"What is that?" Amelia wondered.
"Trouble," the Doctor answered.
"A star. A cold star," I added.
The Doctor ran to the door, pulling it open. A freezing breeze burst in, making us all shiver. Though I didn't feel it, I pretended I did anyways, for the act.
"That's why we're freezing. It's not a heating malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. There's our deadly danger for this version of reality."
It was a really good idea, actually. The Doctor shut the door again, letting us all try and warm back up. I grabbed my blanket from the console and threw it over myself. The Doctor gave me an odd look.
"So this must be the dream," Amelia decided. "There's no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn."
"So's this one," The Doctor told her. "It's just burning cold"
"Is that possible?" Rory asked.
I shrugged. "Theoretically, yes. Heat is energy. When things burn, that fire is releasing energy into the air. This ... star, is doing the same thing, just the opposite. It's taking in energy rather than releasing it, making everything cold, including us. The TARDIS is just a hot spot. That's probably why she died."
It made sense in my head, and everyone looked at me in surprise. I was a English nut, not a Science geek.
I shrugged again. "What? I liked chemistry."
"I'd say we've got about fourteen minutes until we crash into it," The Doctor decided, taking his spot behind me and looking at the monitor, estimating. "But that's not a problem."
"Because you know how to get us out of this?" Rory hoped.
"Because we'll have frozen to death by then."
"So what do we do?" Amelia questioned, putting her faith in the Doctor. She always did that. She needed to learn that she couldn't have faith in him anymore. I suddenly had a brilliant idea, I just had to figure out how to go through with it.
"Stay calm," the Doctor advised. "Don't get sucked into it, because this just might be the battle that we have to lose."
Rory sighed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest to keep him warmer. "Oh, this is so you, isn't it?" he spat.
The Doctor gave him a confused look. "What?"
"Huh, what? A weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live and only one man to save the day, huh? I just wanted a nice village and a family."
Amelia placed a careful hand on his shoulder and he relaxed a little. I did the same for Doctor, but out of comfort.
"Oh dear, Doctor," a new voice said. We all turned to see the Maker, giving us a evil smile. "Dissent in the ranks. There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and-" The tweet of the birds filled the TARDIS. "Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here." The others dropped to the ground and just as I was about to, she finished by saying. "I see your idea. I'll see what I can do."
*~~~~~*~~~~~*
The Doctor immediately ran up the bridge, trying to follow Mrs. Poggit who was obviously gone. So were the children, and upon seeing the piles of ash and the remnants of back packs on the ground, I knew what had happened.
"Where have the children gone?" The Doctor asked.
"Don't know," I said instead. "Play time's probably over."
He ran around, pointing his sonic at the ashes and scanning them. I knew it would be only seconds till he found out. I turned and surveyed the horizon, next to Amelia. She turned, having finished a conversation with Rory who looked highly offended. Classic Amelia. She probably said something about the only reason she got pregnant was to here him not do something.
"Doctor, what are you doing?" she asked. "And what are those piles of dust?"
The Doctor stood straight and swallowed. Here came the truth. "Play time's definitely over."
Amelia's jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh!"
"What happened to them?" Rory asked next.
A marching of feet across the road made us all look over to the houses across the way. The old people, every single one of them, were marching up the street, coming into the park. A shiver ran up my spine.
"I think they did."
Amelia stalked down the bridge towards the park, Rory following her closely. The Doctor and I took off after her. Amelia placed her hands on her hips and kept walking toward the older folk who continued making their way toward us.
"They're just old people," Amelia complained.
The Doctor shook his head and passed us all to get a better look. "No, they're very old people," he told her before glancing over his shoulder to Rory. "Sorry, Rory, I don't think you're what's been keeping them alive."
The Maker appeared next to us and walked alongside the Doctor, her dress no longer purple, but she was wearing a suit much like the Doctor's with a bowtie to top off the look.
"Hello, peasants," she greeted, throwing me a wink. "What's this, attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amelia?" She asked, turning to the redhead. "Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the Tardis! You first!" She smirked and the Doctor gave her a glare.
"Leave her alone," he growled. The Maker put her hands on her hips.
"Do that again," she purred. "We love it when he does that. Tall dark hero. Leave her alone," she mimicked in a deep tone.
"Just leave her," Rory repeated.
The Maker wiggled a finger in his direction. "Yes, you're not quite so impressive, but I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amelia Pond?"
I gave the Maker a look. What was she doing? Her goal was to try and get Amelia to truly love Rory, but that was definitely not what she was doing.
"Shut up. Stop calling me Amelia and just shut up. Leave me alone."
The Maker shook her head. "But listen. You're in there." She pretended to tap on his head. "Loves a redhead, the Doctor. Has he told you about Elizabeth the First? Well, she thought she was the first."
The Doctor was fuming now and I was sure he might have exploded and throw a punch into her skull if he was able to touch her. The Maker laughed lightly, a laugh like honey. A laugh that was familiar to me. The laugh of my mother.
"Drop it!" he yelled. "Drop all of it. I know who you are."
"Course you do," she said simply with a purse of her lips.
"Course I do?" he spat. "No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who should hate me as much as you do."
The Maker shook her head with a laugh. "Never mind me. Maybe you should worry about them." She turned, pointing to the old people who had suddenly grown so much nearer. With a television pop, she was gone, leaving us to face the old people alone.
I pushed past Amelia and Rory, coming into step with the Doctor and taking his hand like the good dream fiance that I was. The Doctor gave them a fake smile and straightened his bowtie with his free hand when they had stopped in front of us, looking grim and very murderous.
"Hello," he said nicely. "We were wondering where you went. To get reinforcements, by the look of it." His smile dropped. "Are you all right? You look a bit ... tense."
Rory walked forward, giving the man closest to him a smile. I wanted to warn him off, but I reminded myself that I had a plan. So instead of pulling away from the man, I let him approach him.
"Hello, Mister Nainby," he welcomed.
"Rory," the Doctor warned.
"Mister Nainby ran the sweet shop," Rory explained. "He used to slip me the odd free toffee."
Lift him in the air and throw him back, I thought.
Mister Nainby, if that was his name, gave me a slight glance, as if confused for a moment. However, I knew he had heard my thoughts.
Just as a warning, I added.
Mister Nainby did just that and grabbed Rory by the front of the shirt and threw him to the ground with miraculous strength.
Sputtering, Rory, getting up from the mud, stood there with his jaw dropped. "How did he do that?"
"I suspect he's not himself," I suggested, muttering a quick Thank you inside my head. "Don't get comfortable here. We may have to run, fast."
Amy gave me a death glare and I slapped myself mentally, realizing what a mistake I made. Amelia was pregnant. She couldn't run!
"Can't we just talk to them?"
As a response, the old people's mouths opened, widening till a green, alien-like being popped out of their mouths. Though it only looked like an eye. I knew it must have been dangerous.
"There is an eye in her mouth," Amy noticed, pointing to Mrs. Poggit.
The Doctor nodded. "There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting."
Rory cringed and took a step forward. "That is disgusting," he spat. "They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else, are they?"
Mrs. Poggit's mouth widened a bit and a green fog immited from the eye in her mouth, spreading the material at us. I shoved my arms in front of everyone and pushed them back, as if I knew what was going to happen. Thankfully, the mist missed us narrowly. Mrs. Poggit scowled.
"Run," the Doctor commanded and Amelia and Rory took off.
The Doctor pulled his hand away from mine and tried to push me in their dirrection, but I stood firm, not wanting to leave his side. If I wasn't there he was destined to do something stupid. "Okay, leave them, leave them. Talk to me. Talk to me. You are Eknodines. A proud, ancient race. you're better than this. Why are you hiding away here? Why aren't you at home?"
"We were driven from our planet by-"
"Upset neighbors," I finished.
Mrs. Poggit looked at me, clearly interested.
"So we've-"
"Been living here inside the bodies of old humans for years," I interrupted again.
The Doctor nodded his head, getting it now. "No wonder they live so long. You're keeping them alive."
"They were humbled and destroyed. Now they will do the same to others." The words slipped from my mouth before I could stop them. I realized that I could feel them. I could feel their pain. I could feel their hate. Was this dream of the Maker's giving me the ability to use my Eternality? But why? For only a short time, why would she give me such a thing when I would miss it more when it was all over. I didn't realize that a tear had slipped down my cheek till the Doctor wiped it away.
A newspaper boy rode up past us and got off his bike, waving a hello and not even seeming to notice the dangers around us. I wanted to warn him that there was trouble, but I reminded myself he wasn't real. Mrs. Poggit opened her mouth and spritsed him with her fog and he melted into a gray dust like the gray dust we had seen up by the castle.
With a hard look, The Doctor turned back to the Eknodines. "You need to leave this planet," he insisted.
I tugged on his arm, dragging him away from them a bit.
"There's no point," I hurried. "They won't listen. We have to run."
I pulled him away and we ran into the village and down the streets, finding a good place to hide or escape. The bird's song echoed through the town, dragging the Doctor down. I ignored them and put my arm under his for support. The Eknodines were chasing us and if we fell asleep there we would surely be killed. I knew my job wasn't done here yet. The Doctor stumbled in my grip, but I held him firm. My head was starting to ache and I knew I wouldn't be able to hold on much longer from the birds. Finding the closest building, I dragged the Doctor into a butcher's shop and shut the door. The Doctor pulled himself from my grip and pushed himself up against the door, flipping the sign, glancing at it for a moment as if it were the most odd thing he had ever seen. I looked for a good place to stash ourselves, knowing the Eknodines would be upon us at any moment.
"Oh, I love a good butcher's, don't you?" A voice said, startling me.
I turned a bit and saw the Maker standing there. The birds' call seemed to louden at her presense and I steadily held myself up, trying not to fall asleep and submit to the drowsiness of my eyelids. The Doctor moved over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist sleepily. I patted his face and he snapped awake, realizing what he was doing, he pulled away quickly and slapped his own face.
"We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. Oh, but you're probably a vegetarian, aren't you, you big flop-haired wuss?"
I shook my head. She was really getting wrapped up in this whole thing wasn't she?
"Oi!" I called. "Shush. You're making it harder to hide."
The Maker scoffed. "Maybe you need a little sleep," she decided.
The Doctor dropped to the floor and I sighed, trying to lift him up again, but he was gone, asleep. I dragged him into the room further down the hall, giving the Maker a glare.
"Oh, wait a moment. If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye things."
"I know this is a dream!" I screamed at her, starting to sweat with the effort of carrying the Doctor's body.
"I feel like you're not just making this about Amelia. Why do you have to make it harder on me too? This is my dream!"
The Maker shook her head, giving me a pittying look. "Oh darling," she said softly in a voice my mother would use. It only made me fume more. "Don't go there. This isn't about Amelia. Haven't you figured it out by now. This is about you. This is about what you're hiding. Not from anyone but from yourself."
I continued dragging the Doctor's body and looked down, wondering what The Maker could have meant. The purple ring on my finger seemed to glow brighter with her words. I didn't notice, but the material seemed familiar to me. Why was it sparkling so much?
"Even now you deny it. When all you need is a little push, jump before they have time to do it and the choice you make will be your own. Isn't that what she said?"
I paused and the tweets became louder.
"Your mother?"
I shook my head, pushing away the memory and kept going, dropping the Doctor's body for a moment and trying the freexer doors. The first one was locked but the second one was not.
"Just let go, Catherine. Maybe that's what you're looking for."
I ignored the woman and pulled the freezer door open, keeping my foot in the way so it didn't close and picked up the Doctor again. There was banging on the door and The Maker invited the old people in, wisking them around the corner of the counter towards us. I pulled the body in and shut the door, digging in the Doctor's pocket for his screwdriver which I pointed at the door, locking it. Finally, as I thought my head would explode from pain, I sank next to the asleep man and let my eyes shut. Why was this always about me?
*~~~~~*~~~~~*
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Peace out
~Cassie
Word Count : 4,143