━━━━━∙⋆⋅⋆∙━━━━━
THE WEEPING
ANGELS
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They all began to head up the maze, the Doctor ahead with Octavian while Hollie hung back with River, Amy a little behind her.

"You two all right?" River asked Amy who rubbed her eye and Hollie who was being a little quieter than she was used to.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Amy nodded and looked at River. "So, what's a Maze of the Dead?"

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds." River shrugged. "It's just a labyrinth with dead people buried in the walls. Okay, that was fairly bad. Right give me your arm. This won't hurt a bit." Amy complied and gave River her hand, she yelped when River stabbed her with a needle. "There, you see. I lied. It's a viro-stabiliser. Stabilises your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship."

Amy stared at her for a moment. "Okay..." She looked to Hollie before gesturing towards the Doctor holding a scanner not too far away. "Well, I'm just going to go see if the Doctor needs any help." She muttered before heading off.

River raised a brow at Hollie who shrugged and gave her arm to the woman. "My turn I guess."

River shook her head. "Alright." She injected the girl making her grit her teeth as the needle went in.

"Done."

"Thanks." Hollie lightly rubbed her arm before she sighed. "Sorry." She looked at the ground for a moment. "I know you probably won't be able to tell me anything but what is he like in the future?"

"The Doctor?" River guessed. "Well, the Doctor's the Doctor."

"Oh. Well, that's very helpful." She rolled her eyes. "Of course I shouldn't have asked, silly me."

River shook her head and looked at the Doctor, noticing how he was standing their, looking at the device in his hands. "Yes, we are."

"Sorry, what?" The Time Lord mumbled from where he stood, not even looking up at them.

"Talking about you."

"I wasn't listening." He muttered, not even glancing at them ."I'm busy."

Hollie frowned. "Didn't you hold that the other way up River?"

River chuckled and shook her head. "You two are adorable."

Hollie blinked and the Doctor narrowed his eyes at River before he turned the portable computer the other way. "Thanks, Holls."

"Amy thinks you're married to him in the future." She crossed her arms and nodded at the Doctor who huffed.

Rivers eyes widened as she stared at the blonde before she laughed. "Oh if only she knew how wrong she was."

"So you're not married to the Doctor?"

"Oh no." She laughed. "Definitely not."

"Right." She frowned. "What is it then?" She crossed her arms. "Because you're definitely more than just his friend, I can tell."

"Well that would be telling a spoiler but I can tell you this: it is the Doctor we're talking about. Do you really think it could be anything as simple as 'marrying' him?"

"I don't know." She frowned. "He seems pretty annoyed at you whenever you're in his eyesight."

She nodded. "He doesn't like that I have foreknowledge, it's dangerous."

"But doesn't it help him?" She questioned.

"Sometimes yes, but sometimes it makes it worse because I know what is going to happen and I can't do anything about it."

"Oh." Hollie looked at her and swallowed. "Right."

The Doctor, River Hollie and Amy all quickly ran back to the group as gunfire echoed around them.

"Sorry, sorry." A young Celtic appologised as he lowered his gun from one of the Aplan statues, bullet holes in the head. "I thought it looked at me."

"We know what the Angel looks like." Father Octavian spoke up. "Is that the Angel?"

"No, sir..."

"No, sir, it is not." Father Octavian cut in. "According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil, so it would be good, it would be very good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of decor."

Hollie narrowed her eyes at Father Octavian for a moment before walking up to the Celtic. "Sorry, what's your name?"

"Bob, ma'am."

"Just Hollie, thanks." She scrunched up her nose at the formality. "I like the name though, me and Amy had someone in our school named bob, thought he was funny."

"He wasn't really was he?" Amy hummed.

"No." Hollie chuckled.

"It's a Sacred Name." Father Octavian cut in. "We all have Sacred Names. They're given to us in the service of the Church."

"Sacred Bob." Hollie frowned. "A bit more like Scared Bob now I guess."

"Yes." Bob lowered his head slightly in shame.

"Isn't being scared good though?" She questioned, looking at Octavian. "I remember reading stories, it was always the cocky ones who died."

Octavian narrowed his eyes at the blonde for a moment. "Scared keeps you fast." The Doctor cut in, walking up to them. "Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron." He looked at Father. "Carry on."

"We'll be moving into the maze in two minutes." Father Octavian told the men. "You stay with Christian and Angelo." He told Bob. "Guard the approach."

The Doctor glanced at Hollie before taking her hand and pulling her away from Octavian. "That was brave."

Hollie shrugged. "I don't like bullies."

The Doctor smiled. "Neither do I."

---

"Isn't there a chance this lot's just going to collapse?" Amy asked as she, Hollie, and River followed the Doctor and Father Octavians men in the maze. "There's a whole ship up there."

"Incredible builders, the Aplans." River smiled.

"Had dinner with their Chief Architect once." The Doctor explained. "Two heads are better than one."

"What, you mean you helped him?" Amy questioned.

"No, I mean he had two heads." The Doctor replied. "That book, the very end, what did it say?"

"Hang on." River muttered, pulling the book out of her pocket and flipping to the end page.

"Read it to me." The Time Lord instructed.

"What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of Angels."

"Well that's cheery," Hollie muttered making the Doctor chuckle slightly.

Amy sighed, dragging her legs along to keep up with the three. "Are we there yet? It's a hell of a climb."

"The Maze is on six levels, representing the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go." River answered.

"Lovely species, the Aplans. We should visit them sometime." The Doctor glanced at Hollie.

The blonde nodded. "I can't imagine having two heads." She shook her own head. "That must be annoying at times."

"I thought they were all dead?" Amy frowned.

"So is Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team. Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. Well, that's having two heads, of course." He nodded at Hollie. "You're never short of a snog with an extra head."

Hollie snorted before frowning as her eyes caught one of the statues. "Hollie?" River frowned seeing her suddenly change from calm to tense. "You don't like it do you?"

"No," Hollie confirmed. "I can't-"

"Exactly." River nodded. "I don't know what it is."

"What?" Amy frowned looking between both the blondes.

"Yeah, there's something wrong." The Doctor confirmed. "Don't know what it is yet, either. Working on it." He frowned. "Of course, then they started having laws against self-marrying. I mean, what was that about? But that's the Church for you. Er, no offense, Bishop."

"Quite a lot taken, if that's all right, Doctor," Father muttered. "Lowest point in the wreckage is only about fifty feet up from here. That way."

"The Church had a point, if you think about it. The divorces must have been messy." Amy added.

"Oh." The Doctor whispered, glancing at River as he grabbed Hollie's hand, the blonde swallowing as she suddenly realised what was wrong.

Amy sighed. "Will, someone tell me what is going on?"

"Oh," River added, now understanding as well.

"Exactly."

"How could we have not noticed that?" River asked.

"Low-level perception filter, or maybe we're thick."

"How did I notice it?" Hollie frowned. "I'm not clever?"

"You are but you're also an artist." The Doctor added with a shrug. "Your mind perceives things that aren't there, it's really what art is all about, creating everything out of nothing."

"So because I draw I understood what was going on?"

"That and you were exposed to a perception filter for twelve years whenever you went round Amy's house." He explained.

Father Octavian looked at the Doctor in confusion. "What's wrong, sir?"

" Nobody move." The Doctor ordered. "Nobody move! Everyone stay exactly where they are." He then looked from the men to Father Octavian. "Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in terrible danger."

"What danger?"

"The Aplans." River stated.

Father Octavian frowned as he repeated what she had just said: "The Aplans?"

"They've got two heads."

"Yes, I get that. So?"

"The statues only have one..." Hollie added, swallowing hard as she fort hard to keep calm.

The Doctor shone the light at a clear patch of the cave as he began to move towards it, dragging Hollie with him. "Everyone, over there. Just move. Don't ask questions, don't speak." The men followed after River and Amy. "Okay, I want you all to switch off your torches."

"Sir?" One of the men questioned.

"Just do it." The Doctor ordered. Okay. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment.

"Are you sure about this?" River asked him.

The Doctor paused for a moment. "No." He flicked the light off, turning it back on almost instantly.

"Oh, my God." Amy stared as everyone moved back slightly. "They've moved."

The Doctor ran down the passage the group came in seeing Angels completely blocking it. "They're Angels. All of them."

"But they can't be." River frowned./s

"Clerics, keep watching them." The Doctor ordered as he ran to a high point in the main cavern, looking down below he swallowed hard seeing all of the statues were in fact angels that were now climbing up towards them. "Every statue in this Maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us."

"But there was only one Angel on the ship." River protested as the Doctor made his way back. "Just the one, I swear!"

"Could they have been here already?" Amy asked.

"The Aplans. What happened?" The Time Lord looked at River. "How did they die out?"

"Nobody knows." River shook her head.

"We know."

"They don't look like Angels." Father Octavian frowned in confusion.

"And they're not fast." Amy cut in. "You said they were fast. They should have had us by now."

"Look at them." He instructed. "They're dying, losing their form. They must have been down here for centuries, starving."

"Losing their image?" Hollie guessed.

"And their image is their power." He replied before his eyes widened. "Power!"

"Doctor? Amy questioned.

"Don't you see?" He asked. "All that radiation spilling out the drive burn. The crash of the Byzantium wasn't an accident, it was a rescue mission for the Angels. We're in the middle of an army, and it's waking up."

"We need to get out of here fast."

"Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in, please. Any of you, come in." Father Octavian called through the radio comms.

"It's Bob, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you?" Father Octavian asked. "All the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active."

"I know, sir. Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir."

"Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor." The Time Lord snatched the radio off Father Octavian.

"I'm talking to-"

"Where are you now?" The Doctor ignored the Father.

"I'm talking to my-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up." The Doctor replied.

"I'm on my way up to you, sir. I'm homing in on your signal."

"Ah, well done, Bob. Scared keeps you fast. Told you, didn't I. Your friends, Bob. What did the Angel do to them?"

"Snapped their necks, sir."

"That's odd." The Doctor frowned. "That's not how the Angels kill you. They displace you in time. Unless they needed the bodies for something."

"Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs?" Father Octavian asked. "We may be able to initiate a rescue plan."

"Oh, don't be an idiot." The Doctor snapped. "The Angels don't leave you alive. Bob, keep running. But tell me, how did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, sir. The Angel killed me, too."

"What do you mean, the Angel killed you?"

"Snapped my neck, sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected, but it was pretty quick, so that was something."

Hollie swallowed hard as the Doctor kept talking: "If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?"

"You're not talking to me, sir." The voice of Bob answered. "The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion."

"So when you say you're on your way up to us..."

"It's the Angel that's coming, sir, yes. No way out."

"Then we get out through the wreckage. Go! Go, go, go. All of you run."

"Doctor," Amy spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm coming." He waved her off.

"Just go. Go, go, go." He looked at Father Octavian who looked fuming. "Yeah. Called you an idiot. Sorry, but there's no way we could have rescued your men."

"I know that, sir. And when you've flown away in your little blue box, I'll explain that to their families."

Hollie narrowed her eyes. "Angel Bob." The Doctor spoke into the radio. "Which Angel am I talking to? The one from the ship?"

"Yes, sir. And the other Angels are still restoring."

"Ah, so the Angel is not in the wreckage. Thank you." He ran past Amy.

Hollie frowned at Amy who wasn't moving, causing her to stop and come back to her friend while River and Father Octavian with the few men left headed towards the wreckage.

"Don't wait for me." The Doctor told them. "Go, run."

"Amy?" Hollie frowned.

"I can't." She shook her head. "No, really, I can't."

"Why not?" The Doctor questioned.

"Look at it." She nodded. "Look at my hand. It's stone."

The Doctors eyes widened. "You looked into the eyes of an Angel, didn't you?"

"I couldn't stop myself. I tried."

"Listen to me. It's messing with your head. Your hand is not made of stone."

"It is. Look at it."

"Amy it isn't." Hollie protested.

"It's in your mind, I promise you." The Doctor cut in. "You can move that hand. You can let go."

"I can't, okay? I've tried and I can't. It's stone."

"The Angel is going to come and it's going to turn this light off, and then there's nothing I can do to stop it, so do it. Concentrate. Move your hand."

"I can't."

"Then we're both going to die, Hollie go."

"You really think I'm going to leave my best friend?" Hollie questioned.

"Hollie, go." Amy looked at her then looked at the Doctor. "You're not going to die."

"They'll kill the lights."

"You've got to go." She told them. "You know you have. You've got all that stuff with River and that's all got to happen. You know you can't die here."

"Time can be re-written." The Doctor told her. "Hollie go!"

"No!" She snapped, glaring at him.

"Oh you do make everything much more difficult!" He huffed a moment before the light flashed out and then back on showing multiple statues that had now appeared. "Keep your eyes on it. Don't blink."

"Run!" Amy told them.

"You see, I'm not going. I'm not leaving you here."

"I don't need you two to die for me. Do I look that clingy?"

"Amy, I know you can be clingy," Hollie told her.

"You can move your hand."

"It's stone."

"It's not stone!"

"You've got to go. Those people up there will die without you. If you stay here with me, you'll have as good as killed them."

"Amy Pond, you are magnificent, and I'm sorry." He sighed.

Hollie's eyes widened not believing what she was hearing.

"It's okay." She swallowed hard, tears in her eyes. "I understand. You've got to leave me."

"Oh, no, I'm not leaving you, never. I'm sorry about this." The Doctor leaned/ down and bit Amy's hand.

"Ow!" Amy cried pulling her hand away.

"See?" He questioned. "Not stone. Now run!" He ordered grabbing both, Amy and Hollie's hands.

"You bit me!"

"Yeah, and you're alive."

"Look, I've got a mark." She showed Hollie. "Look at my hand."

"Yes, and you're alive. Did I mention?"

"Blimey, your teeth." She looked at the mark. "Have you got space teeth?"

"Yeah. Alive. All I'm saying."

---

"The statues are advancing along all corridors." One of Father Octavians men informed him. "And, sir, my torch keeps flickering."

"They all do."

"So does the gravity globe." River added.

"Clerics, we're down to four men. Expect incoming."

"Yeah, it's the Angels." The Doctor explained, joining the group with Hollie and Amy. "They're coming. And they're draining the power for themselves."

"Which means we won't be able to see them." Father Octavian noted.

"Which means we can't stay here." The Doctor explained.

"Two more incoming." One of the Celtics informed.

"Any suggestions?" River asked.

"The statues are advancing on all sides. We don't have the climbing equipment to reach the Byzantium."

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure, but this is usually when you have a really good idea." She said to the Doctor.

"There's always a way out..." He muttered.

"Hollie?" Bob on the radio called. "Can I speak to Hollie, please?"

The Doctor frowned and answered the radio. "Hello, Angels. What's your problem?"

"Can Hollie hear us?"

The Doctor glanced at the blonde. "I can hear."

"Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry."

"Why are you telling me this?" The Time Lord questioned. "And what has it got to do with Hollie?"

"There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end, ma'am."

"Which is?"

"I died in fear."

"What?"

"You told me my fear would keep me alive, but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down."

Hollie lowered her head. The Doctor stared at the radio in his hands, his grip on it tightening.

"What are they doing?" Amy asked River.

"They're using her to try to make him angry." River answered.

"That's going to work?" Amy questioned.

River continued to watch carefully. "If they're anything like how I know them, yes, it will make him very angry."

"I'm sorry. The Angels were very keen for you to know that."

"Well then," The Doctor looked from Hollie for a moment before looking at the radio. "That's enough talking to Hollie for you. As for the Angels? They've made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier."

"But you're trapped, sir, and about to die."

"Yeah. I'm trapped. And you know what? Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake."

"What mistake, sir?"

The Doctor looked at Hollie. "Trust me?"

Hollie blinked. "Of course."

The Doctor nodded and looked at Amy. "Trust me."

"Trust me?" He finally asked River.

River looked at Hollie before turning to the Doctor. "Yes."

"You lot, trust me?" He looked at Father Octavian and the Celtics.

"Sir, two more incoming." One of the men on guard called to Father Octavian.

The Father nodded. "We have faith, sir."

"Then give me your gun." The Doctor ordered. "I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do, jump!"

"Jump where?" Father Octavian asked.

"Just jump, high as you can." The Doctor demonstrated. "Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal."

"What signal?" He frowned.

"You won't miss it."

"Sorry, can I ask again?" Angel Bob asked through the radio. "You mentioned a mistake we made."

"Oh, big mistake." The Doctor spoke to Angel Bob through the radio. "Huge. Didn't anyone every tell you there's one thing you never put in a trap? If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap."

"And what would that be, sir?"

The Doctor raised the gun up in the air, pointing it right at the Byzantium while he held the radio in his other hand.

"Me." The Doctor shot the gun and everyone jumped.

─── ｡ﾟ☆･*.☽ .* ☆ﾟ. ───