"Bring me death! Bring me glory! My master, my lord, I'm here! Come to me. I'm waiting here for you. He has promised me a glorious death. Give it to me now. I want him to know my devotion" Howie says, Rory is armed with a mop and stands outside a door, Amy and Rita run into a room and lean against the door, they spot a sad clown, sitting on the bed.
"Anything to do with you?" Rita asks Amy, who shakes her head "how's it going?"
"Don't talk to the clown" something with hooves stomps past the door, its horns scraping on the ceiling, and into the Spa room where the Doctor and I were waiting.
"Praise him. Praise him" Amy gets a baton of wood. Rita shuts the Spa doors and Amy jams the wood through the handles.
"Rory, he's in!" he uses the mop to jam the other door. The Doctor and I turn out the lights.
"Let his name be the last thing I hear. Let his breath on my skin be the last thing I feel. I was lost in shadows, but he found me. His love was a beacon that led me from darkness to light, and now I am blinded by his majesty. Humbled by his glory! Praise..."
"That's quite enough of that," the Doctor says.
"...Him" the Doctor pulls out the wires.
"Nothing personal. We just think we should take things slowly. Get to know each other. You take people's most primal fears and pop it in a room. A tailor-made hell, just for them. Why?" I ask, the Minotaur answers in snarls.
"Did you say they take? Ah, what is that word? The guard? No, the warden? This is a prison" the Doctor says.
"So. what are we, cellmates? Lunch? We are not... ripe" I say "that's what Joe said, that we weren't ready. So, what, what, you make us... ready. You what? Replace? Replace what, fear? You have lived... so long even your name is lost. You want this to stop. Because you are... just instinct. Then tell me. Tell me how to fight you."
"My master, my lord. I'm here! Oh, bring me death."
"No, no, no, no, no! Rory, watch out!" the Doctor shouts, Amy and Rita burst in "stay back!" the Minotaur smashes a glass door and knocks Rory down.
"Pond, bring the fish" I say as the Doctor and I run to Rory.
"What, the fish? Oh, the fish."
"Where'd he go?" the Doctor asks.
"Somebody hit me. Was it Amy?" the Doctor and I give chase and find Howie's broken glasses, we soon find Howie's body and I return his glasses, Amy, Rory and Rita stop at one end and the Doctor shakes his Gibbis approaches from the opposite direction.
"He got free. He overpowered me" the Doctor and I look at him before walking towards Amy. Rory and Rita "It might leave us alone now. Maybe now we'll be safe. Wait!" he runs to catch up with them.
*Time skip*
Howie's photograph is on the wall, Rory, the Doctor and I stand in front of it.
"Have you found your room yet?" I ask looking at Rory.
"No. No. Is that good or bad?"
"Maybe you're not scared of anything," the Doctor says.
"Well, after all the time I spent with you two in the TARDIS, what was left to be scared of?"
"You said that in the past tense" I say.
"No, I didn't" the Doctor and I walk away from the picture "you know, Howie had been in speech therapy. He'd just got over this massive stammer. What an achievement. I mean, can you imagine? I'd forgotten not all victories are about saving the universe" the Doctor and I smile slightly. Howie has been placed next to Joe, Amy puts the goldfish bowl from the Spa on a side table in Reception.
"Rita! Brilliant! How are you? Not panicking, are you? Good, good. Because we are literally an otter's toenail away from getting us out of here" the Doctor says.
"Why?" Rita asks.
"Excellent question. Excellent question. Why what?"
"Why is it up to you to save us? That's quite a God complex you have there" Rita says.
"We brought them here. They'd say it was their choice but offer a child a suitcase full of sweets and they'll take it. Offer someone all of time and space and they'll take that, too. Which is why you shouldn't. Which is why grown-ups were invented" I say.
"All of time and space, eh?"
"Oh, yeah. And when we get out of this, we'll show you too."
"I don't know what you're talking about, but whatever it was, I have a feeling you just did it again" the Doctor spots the CCTV camera "right down to the smallest detail. Got you, Mister Minotaur" the Doctor and I go back downstairs.
*Time skip*
"Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him" I look over my shoulder and both the Doctor and I are drawn to Room 11, I open the door, the sound of the TARDIS bell is heard.
"Of course. Who else?" the Doctor mutters, he shuts the door and puts the Do Not Disturb notice on it.
*Time skip*
Nine screens in a bank on the wall.
"Oh, you beauty. Come on, big fellow, where are you? Rita, where are you going?" I phone room 311. Rita hears it and stops.
"Come on, come on, come on! Come on" the Doctor mutters, the phone is answered.
"Rita, where are you going? Can you take the phone into the corridor? Will it reach?" I ask, Rita walks out of the room 'you started to praise it, didn't you?" Rita nods "Rita, come back, please. We'll find a way to stop it, I swear to you."
"No, I need to get as far away from you all as possible" Rita says.
"No, no, no, you don't. The creature only wants whoever's praising it."
"And then you'll put yourselves in its way."
"We're coming to get you. Block out the fear and stay focused on your belief."
"The hotel will keep us apart. I could be fifty miles away by now" there's a growl
"I want you to do me one last favour. I can feel the rapture approaching, like a wave. I don't want you both to witness this. I want you to remember me the way I was" Amy and Rory enter.
"What's going on? Rita's disappeared. What's she doing there?" Amy asks.
"Rita. Rita, please. Let us find you" I say.
"You stay where you are. Please, let me be robbed of my faith in private."
"Look, Rita. Rita. Go into the room. Lock the door."
"I'm not frightened. I'm blessed, Seer" the Minotaur is close "I'm at peace. I'm going to hang up."
"No. No, no, Rita!" I shout.
"Goodbye, Seer."
"Rita!"
"Thank you for trying."
"Rita, please! Please! Please!" I beg, Rita puts down the phone and waits, smiling, I put the phone down as the shadow of the Minotaur is casts over Rita. The Doctor sonics the monitor off, Rory, Amy and the Doctor stand stunned, Gibbis is raiding the kitchen. Rita's body is next to Howie's. I am smashing breakables in frustration, the Doctor stands in front of Amy and Rory who are listing, the Doctor walks over to me and grabs my hands stopping me from breaking anything else a while later everyone is sitting down.
"Ok. It preys on people's fear and possesses them. But Rita wasn't afraid. She was brave and calm. Maybe it's something to do with the people, some connection between the four of you that'll tell us how to fight it" the Doctor says.
"Yes, you both keep saying that, but you never do. And while we wait, people keep dying. And we'll be next" Gibbis says.
"Look, they'll work it out. They always do. Just let them riff and move anything expensive out of their way" Amy says.
"Oh, no. Oh, no, no" I mutter.
"Alex, what's wrong?" Amy asks.
"It's not fear. It's faith. Not just religious faith, faith in something. Howard believed in conspiracies, that external forces controlled the world. Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horseshoe. He was a gambler. Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose. Gibbis has rejected any personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to oppress him and tell him what to do. They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them. That's what it replaces. Every time someone was confronted with their most primal fear, they fell back on their most fundamental faith. And all this time, we have been telling you to dig deep, find the thing that keeps you brave. We made you expose your faith, show them what they needed" I say.
"But why us? Why are we here?" Rory asks.
"It doesn't want you. That's why it kept showing you a way out. You're not religious or superstitious, so there's no faith for you to fall back on. It wants her" I point to Amy.
"Me?" Amy gets up and walks over to me who's sat at the bar "why?"
"Your faith in the Doctor and me. That's what brought us here."
"But why do they lose their faith before they die and start worshipping...it?" Rory asks.
"It needs to convert the faith into a form it can consume. Faith is an energy, the specific emotional energy the creature needs to live. Which is why at the end of her note, Lucy said..." I trail off.
"Praise him."
"Exactly" everyone is silent for a moment, Rory and I look at each other, before turning to Amy.
"No. Oh, please, no" Rory says, footsteps can be heard, we run.