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licklesoxyTitle: Comfort Zone (Chapter 2)
Fandom: Doctor Who
Chapter Word Count: 3,333
Total Word Count (so far): 7,233
Pairings: Eleven/River, Amy/Rory
Rating: PG-13
Previous Chapters: One
Summary: The TARDIS has kicked the Doctor out, right onto River's temporary doorstep, and she wants to find out why, while all he wants to do is get back to his ship and companions.
-o-
Chapter Two
There was something strange coursing through her, an off putting trace of an idea running into her thoughts, but Amy couldn't quite work out what it was. She had woken up with a stiff neck, while her muscles were protesting from what she had done earlier that morning. Having known when she'd first dropped stomach down onto her bed that she would pay for it later, it had also been painfully obvious that remaining in her skirt and tights would just make her uncomfortable upon waking up. Not letting her head rest on a pillow hadn't exactly been a bright idea either, if the ache in her shoulders and neck could be used as evidence. Of course, Amy was aware that all the hurt her body was currently enduring was her own fault, but that didn't matter. She was allowed to be annoyed, had the right to moan and grumble.
The thing was, at the time of wanting some sleep, Amy really hadn't cared about anything that didn't involve going directly into a deep slumber. She'd been exhausted, and the sleep had been needed rather than wanted. That fact didn't help ease her irritation right now, though. Feeling the repercussions of her actions was not nice, and she wished she had taken the time to at least remove her clothes before collapsing onto the bed.
Groaning loudly, exaggerating the noise quite spectacularly, Amy rolled onto her back and moved her arm up to cover her eyes when a bright light flooded instantly into her sight. Features contorting into a grimace, she began a slow count to five in her head, before letting out a bored sigh. This was not going to be a good day; the ache in her entire body was proof of her assumption. Gritting her teeth together, Amy moved her arm away from her face and straightened it and her other arm above her head in a long stretch. Legs straining outwards also, she arched her back as the pleasurable feeling of her muscles pulling just the right amount was created. Sighing again, more because of content than contempt, she let her body relax and fall back properly against the mattress.
Craning her neck sideways slightly so she could see the clock that stood on her bedside table, Amy's lips formed a thin line, while her eyes closed in disbelief. It was pathetically early in the morning and, considering it had been after midnight when she'd stumbled into her room, it meant that she'd gotten less than five hours of sleep. Opening her eyes once more, she couldn't stop the pout.
Great.
The sarcastic thought was followed by an eye roll. Amy hated not getting enough sleep. Shaking her head in a quiet loathing at how unfair everything was being to her, she grabbed her pillow and placed it firmly under her head; she wasn't going to make that mistake again. Closing her eyes yet again, trying to drift back off to sleep even though she knew it wouldn't work, the microscopic feeling of wrong that she'd first had after having just woke up suddenly returned. Eyes snapping open in surprise, features scrunching up in confusion, Amy wasn't able to stop her mind from mocking herself for being stupid.
Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Amy's gaze darted absently around the blue walls of the room, her bemusement only increasing as she took in every detail of her location. Upon speculation, she realised she should have spotted what was wrong the moment she'd opened her eyes for the first time.
"Why aren't I in the TARDIS?"
-o-
"Where are we?"
River eyed the Doctor with concern. Those were the first words that he had spoken since waking up. Asking him if he had wanted any food or water had failed to gain any kind of response, as had gentle teasing and her outright demands that he speak to her. Having not gotten any sleep last night, instead opting to watch over him to make sure he got the rest he needed, she had been extremely agitated when he had chosen to ignore her for the better part of an hour. Though, as stressful and irritating as it had been, River couldn't deny that worry had also crept into her own words and actions when, time and again, her attempts to get him to acknowledge her presence had failed to work.
Pulling in a deep breath to try and calm herself down, letting the air back out slowly, she tried to ease her nerves slightly to see if her heart rate would decrease in speed a touch. She was too tense, unable to relax for some reason. She truly needed to try and force her body to loosen up its stiffness as soon as possible, because the Doctor had finally talked to her; if she shouted or yelled at him now, it would certainly just cause him to shut her out again.
"Somewhere near Kidderminster, I think."
A nod was the only reply the Doctor gave, and his eyes never once left the spot on the wall that, in River's opinion, he'd spent far too long staring at.
River's eyes closed as she willed herself not to sigh or show any outward reaction to the prolonged blank awareness that was being offered by him. All she could do was wait, really, because it was the best option. At least, it was a better tactic than lashing out at the stubborn idiot, at any rate. In complete honesty, River hadn't thought of any other way of dealing with the Doctor right now that didn't involve arguing or physical contact of an unfriendly kind. Slapping him would be a mistake, one that she was not willing to make, no matter how quickly it would direct his attention to her. Patience was the key to getting him to open up, so that was what she was going to be.
Having contemplated how she would go about getting information out of the Doctor while he'd been asleep, River's mind was still working hard to figure out a way that would effectively get him to speak up without hesitation. With reluctance came withheld facts, and with withheld facts came lies, and those were two things River did not want to deal with.
Given that the Time Lord sitting in the lounge with her now did not truly know her very well simply added to the ever growing concerns and list of questions River had. Taking into account the fact that it was the TARDIS that had dropped the Doctor off here, finding out why the ship had done that was possibly the most bewildering thing of all, considering River hadn't been aware that the ship was actually capable of doing something like that. What was worrying, too, was that the TARDIS couldn't land anywhere right now, not without a pilot inside of her. Yes, the TARDIS was a wonderful machine, but she needed guidance and a hand to control her.
And, obviously, there was a final question that needed to be answered, which was probably the most important one: if the Doctor was travelling with companions when the TARDIS dumped him here, what had happened to them?
Shaking her head to try and clear those thoughts from her mind for the time being, River opened her eyes and reached out to place a hand on the Doctor's arm. The move had two separate meanings - a silent gesture of support, or an action that represented River's desire to hold a conversation with him - and it gave the Doctor the choice to react in one way or another. In all honesty, River wanted him to begin opening up to her, but she wasn't stupid. There was a high chance he wouldn't say anything else about his latest trip in the TARDIS, and that was something she had no control over.
Willing her features to not give away what she was feeling when he turned his gaze from the wall and locked his eyes with her own, River couldn't prevent her body from relaxing slightly from sheer relief. His face, once she could see it properly, had fallen into a mask of fake innocence while he stared at her, and instantly River felt a sense of familiarity about the switch of emotion wash over her. She could handle him when he was like this. She knew how to deal with him when he was in this state of mind. This, right now, although a rapid change, was within her powers to cease and mould into whatever she wanted. She smiled. Without realising it, the Doctor had just handed control over their current situation to her.
"You think you can play that game with me, honey?"
"Game?" Almost immediately his expression lowered into a frown, forming the perfect disguise of confusion. It made River's smile rise into a grin. This was brilliant. He was so inexperienced, utterly out of his depth. The Doctor was actively, and willingly, giving her ammunition that she could use to her advantage. Bringing her hand up to lightly tap her palm against his cheek a couple of times, ignoring the tiny slapping sound created as flesh hit flesh, River scoffed. He was making this too easy, and she was loving it.
"That works on everyone but me. I think it best I tell you now, dear, save you the trouble," she said, her grin all but disappearing as her expression became stern. Being a mockery of real anger that fell very short of being serious, a strong feeling of glee poured into River when the Doctor's lips lifted into a small smirk, while his eyes narrowed in response to the challenge.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
It was a dare, one that River had taken up many a time. Whether she won or lost, it didn't matter, because it was always wonderful fun having power over the conversation given and received depending on who had the greater knowledge and better comebacks. She couldn't remember if the Doctor had won more times than her, though she understood that the actual man standing in front of her now had never played this before; it was far too early for him. Thinking about it, River realised that it would be startlingly simple to succeed and claim victory in this particular instance, yet she had to decline. She did want to play, very much so, because her massive advantage was too rare to pass up on. But she couldn't indulge him, nor could she indulge in her own desires.
Important information was required about what had caused him such upset, even if bringing up the event would destroy the beautiful mood that had materialised in the span of a few short seconds. The Doctor had to get everything out in the open, so he could start forgiving himself and begin forgetting about the pain. If he didn't, then it would eat away at his mind, would cause him to falter and make terrible mistakes, before escalating into a disaster that River never wished to witness.
Blinking to stop the sudden staring contest she found herself in, River slowly lowered her gaze to the floor as she attempted to collect her thoughts together. The question she was about to ask needed to be worded in a delicate way, so as to not scare him off. The precise structure had to be perfect, and it had to be spoken in a tone that showed she was willing to listen. Wiping a hand over her neck, lifting her gaze back up to his once more, she steeled her features into something quite fierce, something that she hoped looked confident.
"Doctor, what happened with those kids?"
Not subtle in the slightest, the bluntness of the question made River want to curse out loud at how incredibly lacking she was in the skill of sentence manipulation. Words weren't her strong point, and it was clear from the Doctor's expression that he too thought her abilities in the art of forming questions was rather terrible.
Almost as quickly as he'd been ready to challenge her, the Doctor backed off when the sudden change of subject became clear. Jumping up from his seated position on the sofa, he stepped over to the window. His hands dropped to his sides as he did this, and River could see how stiff his posture had gone. Obviously, he did not like where their conversation had ended up.
"It doesn't matter."
"Excuse me?" The hot anger that coursed through River was sudden, and just a little unexpected. Rising out of the seat, stalking over to the Doctor with fury, face undoubtedly becoming pink as it flushed with rage, she watched with a sneer as the Doctor lowered his head a fraction and turned it in her direction.
"I shouldn't think I'd have to repeat it, River," he said, his voice hard, patronising.
River didn't bother to give a warning before grabbing his shoulder and turning him around roughly until he was facing her. Triumph seeping into her when the move made him stumble slightly, revelling a touch in the way his eyes had widened, River had to force herself not to smile when both reactions indicated that she had caught him off guard with that gesture.
"Now you listen to me, sunshine. I can help. The TARDIS kicked you out here for a reason, so stop being ridiculous and talk to me!"
The swipe of the Doctor's arm was fast and precise as it came up to forcibly push River's hand away so it was no longer in contact with his shoulder. River was unable to hide the tiny jerk of surprise she made in response to the action. Leaning in close, the Doctor's breath was warm against her cheeks, and his eyes were cold and menacing as they locked onto her own.
"If I'd wanted your help, I would've asked. I don't even know you. You may as well be a stranger."
River took an involuntary step back, while her mind repelled against what he had just said. The statements hurt, more than they had any right to.
Pulling back with an odd grace, the Doctor tore his gaze away from River, before he moved around her and walked towards the door. Feet treading lightly on the carpet, he said nothing more as he left the room without another glance in River's direction.
Frozen on the spot as her mind tried to process a way to counter the argument, as her thoughts attempted to deny the fact that, for the man she was currently interacting with at least, everything he had said was true, River felt her mouth open and close without any sign of what she wanted to say being present. Shock had hit her in an instant, making her muscles tense up and her body go cold. All she could do was gaze blankly at the area the Doctor had just vacated.
What had happened? How had the end results of her question veered off course that much, turning it into this horrid outcome?
-o-
"Where are we this time?" Amy asked.
"Amy, Rory, welcome to Puiot'os Ggruei!" The Doctor's gleeful declaration was followed by a grand gesture towards the large city in front of them. "Quite a nice establishment they have here, even if they had to manually move the planets. Their previous location wasn't pleasant, mind you, so I don't blame them for wanting to move here. This place is much nicer!"
Rory frowned. "Manually. They moved the planets... manually."
"Of course. What, did you expect six planets to move from one solar system to another all on their own? Really."
Amy vaguely remembered the conversation after that. Consisting mainly of fake nods of interest and baffled glances directed at Rory, Amy hadn't even tried to understand the babble of information about how the system of Puiot'os Ggruei worked as it had spewed from the Doctor's mouth. All she had managed to catch was that Planet Alpha, conveniently named for tourists who didn't have the vocal capability to pronounce the real name of the planet, was the one closest to the sun, and it had been the place in which the TARDIS had landed.
Smiling as she recalled being fascinated by the strange array of buildings and aliens that had surrounded them at the time, Amy jumped slightly when a sharp pain suddenly shot through her mind. A sense of foreboding washing over her immediately, Amy felt a rush of terror seep into her as she attempted to remember what had happened after that primary introduction to the planet.
For some reason, it seemed as though there was something not quite right about the memories.
Frowning, Amy began to feel confused as she tried to figure out what was wrong with the images flashing across her mind. Far too rapid for her to comprehend, the memories were crossing through her thoughts as though she was watching a slideshow of blurry pictures. There were a couple of things she could make out - buildings that appeared to be dissolving, people screaming - but they didn't make any sense. It was all too much, too fast. Cringing, Amy closed her eyes and tried to put the memories into some sort of order, just to see if she could regain control of them. Gasping when the sharp pain returned, her hands came up to hold her head when a burning sensation started crawling up the back of her neck.
Yelling in pain when the burning intensified, Amy shook her head and attempted to come up with an explanation as to how memories were causing her physical pain. It wasn't possible, seemed pathetic, in complete honesty. It was her own mind, they were her own experiences, so how on Earth could they be hurting her?
She needed to remember what had happened. Something horrible had occurred in the system of Puiot'os Ggruei, if her current predicament was anything to go by. No matter how hard she tried, though, Amy couldn't bring forth the information she wanted to remember. As though everything about Planet Alpha had been sealed away, it felt as if her mind had been messed with, changed and moulded to erase whatever had happened during their visit.
Letting out a whimper, Amy's mind continued its impossible task of figuring out how to unlock the memories. Another scream escaped her throat when the pain increased exponentially, as though reacting against her battle to remember. Whatever had gone on when they'd been on Planet Alpha, it seemed that something - or someone - truly didn't want her knowing about it.
"Okay, I'll stop!"
Amy was not a person who gave up easily. In fact, she couldn't think of a time in which she had ever given up a fight; this was different, far too intense for her to handle. Letting her mind wander away from any thoughts of Puiot'os Ggruei was the best option, and one that would hopefully stop the pain. Features contorting in defeat and anger, Amy found it extremely simple to close all thoughts of Planet Alpha away.
At once the pain faded, leaving relief and confusion to replace the panic that Amy had felt mere seconds ago. Almost immediately forgetting how much it had hurt, Amy scowled. This was ridiculous, practically pathetic. What the hell was going on? Moving her hands back down to her sides, she glanced around her bedroom with a growing helplessness. She hated it when she couldn't understand something, especially when that lack of understanding came from an unknown force physically preventing her from gaining the knowledge she desired to know.
"One thing at a time, Amy," she muttered to herself. If she wasn't allowed to remember the events of Puiot'os Ggruei, then she'd just shift her focus to what, she assumed, was the more pressing issue at hand right now: where were Rory and the Doctor?
To Be Continued
-o-
Fandom: Doctor Who
Chapter Word Count: 3,333
Total Word Count (so far): 7,233
Pairings: Eleven/River, Amy/Rory
Rating: PG-13
Previous Chapters: One
Summary: The TARDIS has kicked the Doctor out, right onto River's temporary doorstep, and she wants to find out why, while all he wants to do is get back to his ship and companions.
Chapter Two
There was something strange coursing through her, an off putting trace of an idea running into her thoughts, but Amy couldn't quite work out what it was. She had woken up with a stiff neck, while her muscles were protesting from what she had done earlier that morning. Having known when she'd first dropped stomach down onto her bed that she would pay for it later, it had also been painfully obvious that remaining in her skirt and tights would just make her uncomfortable upon waking up. Not letting her head rest on a pillow hadn't exactly been a bright idea either, if the ache in her shoulders and neck could be used as evidence. Of course, Amy was aware that all the hurt her body was currently enduring was her own fault, but that didn't matter. She was allowed to be annoyed, had the right to moan and grumble.
The thing was, at the time of wanting some sleep, Amy really hadn't cared about anything that didn't involve going directly into a deep slumber. She'd been exhausted, and the sleep had been needed rather than wanted. That fact didn't help ease her irritation right now, though. Feeling the repercussions of her actions was not nice, and she wished she had taken the time to at least remove her clothes before collapsing onto the bed.
Groaning loudly, exaggerating the noise quite spectacularly, Amy rolled onto her back and moved her arm up to cover her eyes when a bright light flooded instantly into her sight. Features contorting into a grimace, she began a slow count to five in her head, before letting out a bored sigh. This was not going to be a good day; the ache in her entire body was proof of her assumption. Gritting her teeth together, Amy moved her arm away from her face and straightened it and her other arm above her head in a long stretch. Legs straining outwards also, she arched her back as the pleasurable feeling of her muscles pulling just the right amount was created. Sighing again, more because of content than contempt, she let her body relax and fall back properly against the mattress.
Craning her neck sideways slightly so she could see the clock that stood on her bedside table, Amy's lips formed a thin line, while her eyes closed in disbelief. It was pathetically early in the morning and, considering it had been after midnight when she'd stumbled into her room, it meant that she'd gotten less than five hours of sleep. Opening her eyes once more, she couldn't stop the pout.
Great.
The sarcastic thought was followed by an eye roll. Amy hated not getting enough sleep. Shaking her head in a quiet loathing at how unfair everything was being to her, she grabbed her pillow and placed it firmly under her head; she wasn't going to make that mistake again. Closing her eyes yet again, trying to drift back off to sleep even though she knew it wouldn't work, the microscopic feeling of wrong that she'd first had after having just woke up suddenly returned. Eyes snapping open in surprise, features scrunching up in confusion, Amy wasn't able to stop her mind from mocking herself for being stupid.
Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Amy's gaze darted absently around the blue walls of the room, her bemusement only increasing as she took in every detail of her location. Upon speculation, she realised she should have spotted what was wrong the moment she'd opened her eyes for the first time.
"Why aren't I in the TARDIS?"
"Where are we?"
River eyed the Doctor with concern. Those were the first words that he had spoken since waking up. Asking him if he had wanted any food or water had failed to gain any kind of response, as had gentle teasing and her outright demands that he speak to her. Having not gotten any sleep last night, instead opting to watch over him to make sure he got the rest he needed, she had been extremely agitated when he had chosen to ignore her for the better part of an hour. Though, as stressful and irritating as it had been, River couldn't deny that worry had also crept into her own words and actions when, time and again, her attempts to get him to acknowledge her presence had failed to work.
Pulling in a deep breath to try and calm herself down, letting the air back out slowly, she tried to ease her nerves slightly to see if her heart rate would decrease in speed a touch. She was too tense, unable to relax for some reason. She truly needed to try and force her body to loosen up its stiffness as soon as possible, because the Doctor had finally talked to her; if she shouted or yelled at him now, it would certainly just cause him to shut her out again.
"Somewhere near Kidderminster, I think."
A nod was the only reply the Doctor gave, and his eyes never once left the spot on the wall that, in River's opinion, he'd spent far too long staring at.
River's eyes closed as she willed herself not to sigh or show any outward reaction to the prolonged blank awareness that was being offered by him. All she could do was wait, really, because it was the best option. At least, it was a better tactic than lashing out at the stubborn idiot, at any rate. In complete honesty, River hadn't thought of any other way of dealing with the Doctor right now that didn't involve arguing or physical contact of an unfriendly kind. Slapping him would be a mistake, one that she was not willing to make, no matter how quickly it would direct his attention to her. Patience was the key to getting him to open up, so that was what she was going to be.
Having contemplated how she would go about getting information out of the Doctor while he'd been asleep, River's mind was still working hard to figure out a way that would effectively get him to speak up without hesitation. With reluctance came withheld facts, and with withheld facts came lies, and those were two things River did not want to deal with.
Given that the Time Lord sitting in the lounge with her now did not truly know her very well simply added to the ever growing concerns and list of questions River had. Taking into account the fact that it was the TARDIS that had dropped the Doctor off here, finding out why the ship had done that was possibly the most bewildering thing of all, considering River hadn't been aware that the ship was actually capable of doing something like that. What was worrying, too, was that the TARDIS couldn't land anywhere right now, not without a pilot inside of her. Yes, the TARDIS was a wonderful machine, but she needed guidance and a hand to control her.
And, obviously, there was a final question that needed to be answered, which was probably the most important one: if the Doctor was travelling with companions when the TARDIS dumped him here, what had happened to them?
Shaking her head to try and clear those thoughts from her mind for the time being, River opened her eyes and reached out to place a hand on the Doctor's arm. The move had two separate meanings - a silent gesture of support, or an action that represented River's desire to hold a conversation with him - and it gave the Doctor the choice to react in one way or another. In all honesty, River wanted him to begin opening up to her, but she wasn't stupid. There was a high chance he wouldn't say anything else about his latest trip in the TARDIS, and that was something she had no control over.
Willing her features to not give away what she was feeling when he turned his gaze from the wall and locked his eyes with her own, River couldn't prevent her body from relaxing slightly from sheer relief. His face, once she could see it properly, had fallen into a mask of fake innocence while he stared at her, and instantly River felt a sense of familiarity about the switch of emotion wash over her. She could handle him when he was like this. She knew how to deal with him when he was in this state of mind. This, right now, although a rapid change, was within her powers to cease and mould into whatever she wanted. She smiled. Without realising it, the Doctor had just handed control over their current situation to her.
"You think you can play that game with me, honey?"
"Game?" Almost immediately his expression lowered into a frown, forming the perfect disguise of confusion. It made River's smile rise into a grin. This was brilliant. He was so inexperienced, utterly out of his depth. The Doctor was actively, and willingly, giving her ammunition that she could use to her advantage. Bringing her hand up to lightly tap her palm against his cheek a couple of times, ignoring the tiny slapping sound created as flesh hit flesh, River scoffed. He was making this too easy, and she was loving it.
"That works on everyone but me. I think it best I tell you now, dear, save you the trouble," she said, her grin all but disappearing as her expression became stern. Being a mockery of real anger that fell very short of being serious, a strong feeling of glee poured into River when the Doctor's lips lifted into a small smirk, while his eyes narrowed in response to the challenge.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
It was a dare, one that River had taken up many a time. Whether she won or lost, it didn't matter, because it was always wonderful fun having power over the conversation given and received depending on who had the greater knowledge and better comebacks. She couldn't remember if the Doctor had won more times than her, though she understood that the actual man standing in front of her now had never played this before; it was far too early for him. Thinking about it, River realised that it would be startlingly simple to succeed and claim victory in this particular instance, yet she had to decline. She did want to play, very much so, because her massive advantage was too rare to pass up on. But she couldn't indulge him, nor could she indulge in her own desires.
Important information was required about what had caused him such upset, even if bringing up the event would destroy the beautiful mood that had materialised in the span of a few short seconds. The Doctor had to get everything out in the open, so he could start forgiving himself and begin forgetting about the pain. If he didn't, then it would eat away at his mind, would cause him to falter and make terrible mistakes, before escalating into a disaster that River never wished to witness.
Blinking to stop the sudden staring contest she found herself in, River slowly lowered her gaze to the floor as she attempted to collect her thoughts together. The question she was about to ask needed to be worded in a delicate way, so as to not scare him off. The precise structure had to be perfect, and it had to be spoken in a tone that showed she was willing to listen. Wiping a hand over her neck, lifting her gaze back up to his once more, she steeled her features into something quite fierce, something that she hoped looked confident.
"Doctor, what happened with those kids?"
Not subtle in the slightest, the bluntness of the question made River want to curse out loud at how incredibly lacking she was in the skill of sentence manipulation. Words weren't her strong point, and it was clear from the Doctor's expression that he too thought her abilities in the art of forming questions was rather terrible.
Almost as quickly as he'd been ready to challenge her, the Doctor backed off when the sudden change of subject became clear. Jumping up from his seated position on the sofa, he stepped over to the window. His hands dropped to his sides as he did this, and River could see how stiff his posture had gone. Obviously, he did not like where their conversation had ended up.
"It doesn't matter."
"Excuse me?" The hot anger that coursed through River was sudden, and just a little unexpected. Rising out of the seat, stalking over to the Doctor with fury, face undoubtedly becoming pink as it flushed with rage, she watched with a sneer as the Doctor lowered his head a fraction and turned it in her direction.
"I shouldn't think I'd have to repeat it, River," he said, his voice hard, patronising.
River didn't bother to give a warning before grabbing his shoulder and turning him around roughly until he was facing her. Triumph seeping into her when the move made him stumble slightly, revelling a touch in the way his eyes had widened, River had to force herself not to smile when both reactions indicated that she had caught him off guard with that gesture.
"Now you listen to me, sunshine. I can help. The TARDIS kicked you out here for a reason, so stop being ridiculous and talk to me!"
The swipe of the Doctor's arm was fast and precise as it came up to forcibly push River's hand away so it was no longer in contact with his shoulder. River was unable to hide the tiny jerk of surprise she made in response to the action. Leaning in close, the Doctor's breath was warm against her cheeks, and his eyes were cold and menacing as they locked onto her own.
"If I'd wanted your help, I would've asked. I don't even know you. You may as well be a stranger."
River took an involuntary step back, while her mind repelled against what he had just said. The statements hurt, more than they had any right to.
Pulling back with an odd grace, the Doctor tore his gaze away from River, before he moved around her and walked towards the door. Feet treading lightly on the carpet, he said nothing more as he left the room without another glance in River's direction.
Frozen on the spot as her mind tried to process a way to counter the argument, as her thoughts attempted to deny the fact that, for the man she was currently interacting with at least, everything he had said was true, River felt her mouth open and close without any sign of what she wanted to say being present. Shock had hit her in an instant, making her muscles tense up and her body go cold. All she could do was gaze blankly at the area the Doctor had just vacated.
What had happened? How had the end results of her question veered off course that much, turning it into this horrid outcome?
"Where are we this time?" Amy asked.
"Amy, Rory, welcome to Puiot'os Ggruei!" The Doctor's gleeful declaration was followed by a grand gesture towards the large city in front of them. "Quite a nice establishment they have here, even if they had to manually move the planets. Their previous location wasn't pleasant, mind you, so I don't blame them for wanting to move here. This place is much nicer!"
Rory frowned. "Manually. They moved the planets... manually."
"Of course. What, did you expect six planets to move from one solar system to another all on their own? Really."
Amy vaguely remembered the conversation after that. Consisting mainly of fake nods of interest and baffled glances directed at Rory, Amy hadn't even tried to understand the babble of information about how the system of Puiot'os Ggruei worked as it had spewed from the Doctor's mouth. All she had managed to catch was that Planet Alpha, conveniently named for tourists who didn't have the vocal capability to pronounce the real name of the planet, was the one closest to the sun, and it had been the place in which the TARDIS had landed.
Smiling as she recalled being fascinated by the strange array of buildings and aliens that had surrounded them at the time, Amy jumped slightly when a sharp pain suddenly shot through her mind. A sense of foreboding washing over her immediately, Amy felt a rush of terror seep into her as she attempted to remember what had happened after that primary introduction to the planet.
For some reason, it seemed as though there was something not quite right about the memories.
Frowning, Amy began to feel confused as she tried to figure out what was wrong with the images flashing across her mind. Far too rapid for her to comprehend, the memories were crossing through her thoughts as though she was watching a slideshow of blurry pictures. There were a couple of things she could make out - buildings that appeared to be dissolving, people screaming - but they didn't make any sense. It was all too much, too fast. Cringing, Amy closed her eyes and tried to put the memories into some sort of order, just to see if she could regain control of them. Gasping when the sharp pain returned, her hands came up to hold her head when a burning sensation started crawling up the back of her neck.
Yelling in pain when the burning intensified, Amy shook her head and attempted to come up with an explanation as to how memories were causing her physical pain. It wasn't possible, seemed pathetic, in complete honesty. It was her own mind, they were her own experiences, so how on Earth could they be hurting her?
She needed to remember what had happened. Something horrible had occurred in the system of Puiot'os Ggruei, if her current predicament was anything to go by. No matter how hard she tried, though, Amy couldn't bring forth the information she wanted to remember. As though everything about Planet Alpha had been sealed away, it felt as if her mind had been messed with, changed and moulded to erase whatever had happened during their visit.
Letting out a whimper, Amy's mind continued its impossible task of figuring out how to unlock the memories. Another scream escaped her throat when the pain increased exponentially, as though reacting against her battle to remember. Whatever had gone on when they'd been on Planet Alpha, it seemed that something - or someone - truly didn't want her knowing about it.
"Okay, I'll stop!"
Amy was not a person who gave up easily. In fact, she couldn't think of a time in which she had ever given up a fight; this was different, far too intense for her to handle. Letting her mind wander away from any thoughts of Puiot'os Ggruei was the best option, and one that would hopefully stop the pain. Features contorting in defeat and anger, Amy found it extremely simple to close all thoughts of Planet Alpha away.
At once the pain faded, leaving relief and confusion to replace the panic that Amy had felt mere seconds ago. Almost immediately forgetting how much it had hurt, Amy scowled. This was ridiculous, practically pathetic. What the hell was going on? Moving her hands back down to her sides, she glanced around her bedroom with a growing helplessness. She hated it when she couldn't understand something, especially when that lack of understanding came from an unknown force physically preventing her from gaining the knowledge she desired to know.
"One thing at a time, Amy," she muttered to herself. If she wasn't allowed to remember the events of Puiot'os Ggruei, then she'd just shift her focus to what, she assumed, was the more pressing issue at hand right now: where were Rory and the Doctor?
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Date: 25/06/2011 22:32 (UTC)no subject
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