#oc: Avalon Reynolds

[saiilorstars]

• Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist

• 11th doctor x ofc

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Disclaimer: This chapter’s plotline is from Doctor Who’s comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

"I cannot believe I am doing this," Avalon walked tiredly into the TARDIS, tossing her nurse's hat directly at the Doctor. It hit his cheek in the midst of his research on the monitor. "You owe me big time for making me do this!"

The Doctor picked up the nurse's hat off the floor and dusted it off with his fingers. "I think you look positively adorable." His remark was received with a deep frown. "Absolutely sexy?"

Avalon rolled her eyes. Clearly, no kind of compliment would lighten her mood. She detested the stupid nurse costume she was in and much more that she was working as a nurse in a retirement home. "I am a traveler, a mediocre writer—"

The Doctor scowled at the lowball self insult. "Avalon!"

"'—but I am not a nurse!" Avalon finished with a heavy huff. "Why can't we go pick up my grandfather who is an actual certified nurse!?" She stomped her way to the console up to the Doctor, demanding to hear a good answer from him.

"We already started this undercover mission," the Doctor pointed out, "And your grandparents are busy. Besides, I thought this could be a fun trip for the both of us."

Avalon's eyes narrowed. "How is this fun when I'm pretending to be a nurse in a retirement home where you're pretty sure people are being murdered?"

"It's interesting at the very least," the Doctor settled for his new description. "C'mon Ava, you've already been there three days and you've done a beautiful job blending in. Now I'll come in tomorrow and do my part to investigate."

"You mean go straight to the director and tell her what you think you know about her?"

"Absolutely!" The Doctor set the nurse hat back on Avalon's head, an admittedly difficult task given her unruly curls were being extra resistant. Avalon mentioned it took half a dozen pins to keep the hat in place.

Avalon swatted his hands away, effectively making the hat fall to the floor again. "I will do any other kind of UC job but not as a nurse. I don't like it."

"Next time," the Doctor promised her. She grumbled. "How about I draw you a nice bath?" His hands threaded down Avalon's hair. "I can get you those sweet lavender scented soaps and shampoos you love so much?"

"You mean the ones you love so much?" Avalon raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor smiled ever so innocently. "Me? I don't recall, but if you really need my help—"

Avalon's brow furrowed. "I didn't say I needed your help—"

"—then I will of course assist you however I can," the Doctor finished with an even wider smile, more like a grin.

Avalon wouldn't even pretend to be by these antics anymore. After a couple decades, she got too tired. "Yeah, alright," she shrugged.

The Doctor beamed. That had been far too easy!

"But I will need a massage, and a face mask..." Avalon started listing her demands as she headed for the corridors, the Doctor right on her trail.

"Anything you want, love," the Doctor promised, grabbing Avalon by the waist for a moment to kiss the crook of her neck. She smiled to herself. He was much too easy to work.

~ 0 ~

The next morning, Avalon begrudgingly returned to the retirement home just like they planned. This was a ludicrous plan from the start given that it had not been their intention to get involved in the first place. But that's what happens when you're time traveling with your birth mother for "bring your daughter to work" day.

They had stumbled across a much older River Song — she wasn't even in prison anymore! She was Dr. River Song, archaeologist, and she and her team were excavating bodies 200 years from now of the very retirement home Avalon was now walking the hallways of. The issue turned out to be that every coffin was empty which meant that the patients dying right around these days were not being buried. It was a mystery that the Doctor couldn't let go of. So here they were, investigating on their own.

Avalon learned fast that she was not made to be a nurse like her grandfather. It was simply not her vocation. She had little patience for difficult people, she did not like to clean bedrooms, and she didn't like her boss either. At least when it comes to writing, I'm my own boss. However, there was one thing that made the place bearable and Avalon was heading right there.

She met the face of her favorite patient in the entire retirement home and immediately smiled. "Good morning Arthur! I brought you a cup of tea!"

The older man was lying on his bed and watching Avalon's every move. His thick eyebrows knitted together as his eyes squinted.

Avalon walked up to his bedside with a tray in hand. "It's me, Arthur. Nurse Reynolds? Avalon?"

"I'm sorry," Arthur awkwardly smiled back. "Nurse Reynolds…" The recognition glinted in his eyes after a moment and it was then that Avalon set the tray on the bed stand.

"It's alright," Avalon assured him, picking up the cup of tea from the tray. "Believe me, I know a thing or two about losing memories." She presented Arthur with the cup of tea. "No pressure, honest."

"You?" Arthur chuckled lightly. "But you're so young. Your memory's got to be in top shape."

Avalon set her hands on her hips for a moment. "Oh, you would not believe me but I am older than I look."

"Really?" Arthur leveled her with a disbelieving look.

Avalon nodded. "Aha!" She turned away, making her way up to the windows and opening the blinds to let the sunlight in. "I'm nearing 50 now. Had I been a normal human, I would've been wrinkly by now."

"Is that where you're from, then?" Arthur took a sip of his tea.

"I hadn't told you that?" Avalon watched the children below, all playing much too loudly for her taste.

"Uh, maybe you did, but I can't really remember," Arthur smiled apologetically.

"That's alright," Avalon dismissed it. "God, did you get some good sleep with those kids? They're so loud and it's not even nine!"

"I don't mind," Arthur said, "It's good to hear their laughter and games. It can get so quiet here sometimes."

"What—I'm not chatty enough?" Avalon swayed back to the bed. "I feel like I talk your ears off!"

Out of all the patients Avalon had met in the past days, she liked Arthur the best. He was such a sweet gentleman who suffered a form of dementia. He didn't have any family nor friends but he was still so talkative. He was the only patient who had thought to ask Avalon about herself. Everyone else tended to grumble.

"I like it," Arthur nodded, "It's been so long since somebody talked to me. Nobody visits me — well, nobody visits anyone here."

"Yes, I've noticed that," Avalon mumbled under her breath. Three days she had worked at the retirement and not once had she seen a visitor. There were plenty of patients here that would warrant at least one visitor, but nobody had showed up.

"What story do you have for me today?" Arthur curiously asked her.

Avalon's smile returned, a sweet one. She may have also told him several of her written stories as well as her adventures. It passed the long hours for both of them, and Arthur seemed to like them.

"I, uh, I had a bit of a quarrel with my husband," Avalon said, reaching to press Arthur's blanket down. "He's a bit childish, remember?"

Arthur nodded. His tea was half gone already. "He's a traveler, right?"

"Yes, we both are," Avalon reminded him, "I just chose to have a job for a bit...try to, um, set some roots." That was normal, right? She had no idea. Lately, she didn't really know what she wanted to do with her life besides traveling.

She was set on being a writer, at least on some level, but the idea of school was still troubling her. She was never indecisive about anything and yet this one thing bugged her for decades now. The pressure was just there — to do something — with her life. It seemed like Amy and Rory were finally learning how to do that, even Lena now. Avalon now faced a reality she didn't think would ever come: her family was okay, and safe, and now she could do whatever she wanted. It was an odd feeling this way, truthfully. Avalon didn't know what to do with it.

"Is he on a trip right now?" Arthur's question drew Avalon out of her thoughts.

"He was...he's supposed to be in today, actually," she said, "Going to pick me up." This all sounded so blatantly normal that it felt so weird for Avalon. She couldn't imagine having a regular job and having the Doctor waiting outside to "pick her up" after her shift. She almost laughed.

"What's his name, again? I think I forgot…" Arthur attempted to place his cup on the bed stand.

Avalon hurried to take it from him and do it herself. "No, I didn't tell you that. He's a, uh, a doctor. I think you'd be entertained with him."

"My Elsie was the same," Arthur said reminiscently.

"Your wife, right?" Avalon stepped away and put her hands behind her back.

Arthur nodded. "She was a light in every room. She told the best jokes." Avalon smiled at him. "Lost her to cancer years ago."

"I'm so sorry," Avalon sighed. "It must have been so terrible…"

"It was. I don't wish that kind of pain on anyone…" Arthur flashed Avalon a small smile, "Especially good, sweet people like you."

Avalon chuckled. "Well, thank you. Although, don't be fooled again, I'm not that sweet. My husband actually tells me that I have a nasty temper."

"Even then, I'm sure he would miss it greatly if you were gone," Arthur said, pointing a finger at Avalon. "And you would miss his childish ways if he were gone."

"Oh…" Avalon brought a hand to her chest, feeling it constrict at the mere idea of losing the Doctor, "No, I can't even talk about something like that. If I were to ever lose my husband, I think I would die myself."

"Unfortunately, those who remain suffer worse because we're still here...and they're not."

Avalon nodded slightly.

"Nurse Reynolds!" A gruff female nurse called from the open doorway, ignoring the way that Avalon flinched. "If you're quite finished you have duties to perform!"

Avalon could barely hold onto her tongue. She hated Nurse Frost. The name suited her perfectly.

"Of course," Avalon said through gritted teeth. "I will be right there."

"Now," Frost corrected.

Avalon looked at Arthur apologetically. "I'll be back later, Arthur. Would that be alright?"

"Of course," Arthur nodded, "Go, go. I'll be here, waiting for my story."

Avalon promised that she would come up with another story for him in the afternoon. She would follow Nurse Frost out and tend to the other patients, just like she had for the past 3 days.

~ 0 ~

It took very little to get into the retirement home. The Doctor knew it would've probably been easier to get Avalon like this as well but he was guilty of wanting to see her in that hot nurse outfit...and to get deeper information from the inside of course.

He treaded the hallway carefully, keeping an eye open for anything plain strange. Most of the doors on his sides were closed but the few that happened to be opened didn't allow for much view of the patients. Avalon said most patients tended to stay in bed and that seemed about right because there had only been a handful of patients walking the gardens outside.

It was almost as if they were encouraged to stay in their rooms, on their beds…waiting for something…

"Hello there," he startled the woman sitting in the office. She looked up from her dark rimmed glasses and scrutinized the unknown visitor. The Doctor could practically read the woman's thoughts: 'A visitor!?'. He was a novelty not because he was an alien but because he was visiting. That alone waved red flags.

"The name's John Smith…" the Doctor strode into the office waving the psychic paper around. "How are you!?"

The woman barely had a moment to look at the psychic paper before the Doctor stuffed it in his inside pocket. Next thing she knew, the Time Lord was taking a seat on her desk. "Excuse me–" she started, but the Doctor went ahead with his facade.

"And you're clearly the woman in charge of this place! Miss Bruce, isn't it?"

"I—" the woman blinked, "Yes, how do you know that?"

The Doctor pointed to the plaque sitting on the desk.

Miss Bruce flushed. "Right, right. Um, what exactly are you doing here?"

"Doing some investigation of course!" the Doctor hopped off the desk and started pacing in the office. "Because, tell me, bodies disappearing, people vanishing mysterioualy in the night – ring any bells?"

Miss Bruce's face fell grim. A deep crease marked her forehead.

"Wait!" the Doctor exclaimed, his hands flying in front of him, "I know exactly what you're going to say! You have no idea what I'm talking about and deny all knowledge, right?"

Miss Bruce was beginning to hate him by the minute.

"Which means, Miss Bruce, either you're extremely unobservant or you're the one who's trying to cover it up. Let's see, residents going missing from right under your nose – embarrassing! So what do you do?" the Doctor pretended to hum as he feigned thought of all the options Miss Bruce could have in the situation. "You arrange with the local undertakers to bury empty coffins in the churchyard down the road. No one need ever know what's really going on."

"I don't—"

"You're probably wondering how I know all this," the Doctor nodded to himself, bringing his hands behind his back, "Because I was there when one of the coffins was dug up by archaeologists! Well, my mother-in-law but that's another story for another day! But you should know that she was not happy and truth be told, neither was her daughter – my wife – because she was writing an article on it. Had to stop the whole thing."

It had not boded well for anybody in the group when the coffins turned out empty. River Song was finally getting to bring Avalon to some of her "work" and that happened to include one nefarious location that was about to be dug up. The Doctor felt bad for introducing the idea in the first place and see it go horribly wrong. Avalon had no article to submit to the university and because she had always written stories for them, she felt twice as bad. And when Avalon felt bad, the Doctor felt worse.

"So, you see, I've done some thinking, Miss Bruce," the Doctor 'tskd' at the woman who was still blinking widely at him, "And here's my other suppositions about this place. You only take in residents who don't have any friends nor relatives so that when their bodies eventually disappear, there's no one to miss them and most importantly to report them missing. Here's the good news, though," he leaned his hands on the desk, reaching forward until he was face to face with Miss Bruce, "I don't think you're responsible for the disappearances, just the cover up, because if you were responsible for the disappearances, you would've thrown me out by now."

In truth, miss Bruce was like a frozen statue and an unhappy one at that. She let out a heavy sigh, confirming everything the Doctor had just said. "Something else you want to add?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Two things. One: I'll be taking a walk and talk with some of the residents. Two: have you been allowing children into the grounds?"

That was the first time Miss Bruce appeared startled, almost offended. "You're clearly insane, Doctor Smith. There are no children on the premises. It's like you said, I don't admit any resident with families or friends."

~ 0 ~

Avalon followed Nurse Frost into an empty bedroom. If Avalon remembered correctly, it belonged to a patient named Margaret Webster. She was a sweet old woman but she barely talked. She had a fascination with stuffed birds that creeped Avalon out.

"Margaret passed away in her sleep last night," Nurse Frost informed as she turned the lights of the room on, "We need to clear it up for the next patient."

"What – but she passed away last night," Avalon blinked, staying right by the doorway while Nurse Frost started taking the sheets off the bed. "Shouldn't there be, I don't know, studies going on? Like the medical kind to make sure no foul play happened?"

Nurse Frost snorted. "What 'foul play', Reynolds? She passed away. These people here are very old, it happens."

"Still, where's her body?"

"The undertakers have already collected her mortal remains."

"Already?" Avalon made a face. "That's beyond quick!"

Nurse Frost flapped the sheet hard, gesturing for Avalon to come help already. The ginger reluctantly did.

"That isn't your concern nor your job! You're supposed to tidy away the effects of the decease—"

"For the family?"

"She had no family! When you're done here, refresh the sheets. This bed will have a new occupant by this evening!"

"This evening?" Avalon whispered to herself. It truly was beyond fast for a senior center.

"Stop repeating everything I say into a question!" Nurse Frost snapped, throwing the sheet down on the bed for Avalon to take. "And get to it already!" She headed for the door.

"Whatever you say, Cruella De'Vil," Avalon muttered with a roll of her eyes. With a sigh, she started taking in all the personal objects in the room, putting them neatly into boxes. She was slightly quicker with the stuffed birds so she wouldn't have to look at them nor feel their presence.

She stopped by a portrait of a young girl with long ponytails. Judging by the face, Avalon presumed it was Margaret as a child. "You look straight off the 1950s magazines," she chuckled to herself. She turned to bring the frame to the boxes when she came face to face with the same girl…in person. Avalon gasped deeply and let the frame in her hands fall.

The girl was stoic for a moment, not even the thud of the frame pulled her eyes off Avalon. The redhead, on the other hand, was breathing heavily.

"H-how are you here?"

The girl didn't response. Instead, she turned around and walked out the room.

"H-hey! Come back!" Avalon went after her. The girl walked pretty fast, forcing Avalon to pick up her pae as well. "Little girl! Seriously!" The girl made a turn on the corner and just as Avalon did the same, she crashed into Nurse Frost. "Woah!"

"What are you doing here?" Nurse Frost demanded.

"I was just – the girl – where's the girl!?" Avalon peered around Nurse Frost in search of the girl but she had disappeared.

"What are you talking about?" Nurse Frost looked at Avalon like she was crazy.

"The-the girl!" Avalon exclaimed, gesturing behind Nurse Frost. Of course, when the woman looked over her shoulder there was nothing there. Avalon was pointing at thin air.

Stop playing games!" Nurse Frost snapped. "We have a lot of work to do!"

"But I—!"

Nurse Frost seized Avalon's wrist and pulled her in the opposite direction. Avalon kept craning her neck as much as it allowed to see if she could spot the girl again. It truly was like the air had swallowed her up.

~ 0 ~

It took the Doctor a short half hour to find a patient to converse with. He was about the only one who wouldn't give the Doctor suspicious looks. It was always nice talking to someone inviting.

"A police box! That takes me back!" the elderly man gazed appreciatively at the TARDIS parked in the outer parts of the center's gardens. "I haven't seen one of these things in over 40 years! I used to be a bobby myself, just after the war…"

"Arthur, you were telling me about this boy with no face…" the Doctor gently reminded the man. It was the second time he had to nudge the conversations back to the prime topic. Arthur's mind sometimes went.

"Doctor, one of the other residents, a friend of mine, Bert, he said he saw the boy and then he died the next night!" Arthur said, letting out a shudder. "So if I'm seeing the boy now, it means that I'm next!"

"Nonsense," the Doctor waved it off, "You'll be around for a long while yet…probably. Now tell me about these children. You said they've only recently started coming here?"

Because off in the distance, there was a group of singing children dancing around the trees.

"Yes, but they don't like to get too close and…there's something wrong about them…" Arthur admitted.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed, "Their clothes for starters." The children were dressed as if they belonged to an earlier time period, perhaps the 50s if he had to be more accurate. "And no mobile phones or ipods. Just a bat and ball. Odd!"

The Doctor fixed his jacket up before approaching the group of children. As soon as they spotted him getting close, one girl with long pigtails grabbed a younger boy beside her and stepped in front of him.

"Oi Mister! What do you want?" the girl demanded.

The Doctor put on his best smile. "I'd just like to know who you are and why you're here."

"Can't say," the little boy said as he came around the girl, "Grown ups mustn't find out or they'll put a stop to our games!"

"Will they?" the Doctor went along with the boy's game, whatever it was.

"But don't worry, Arthur," the girl smiled at the older man, "You have nothing to fear. You'll be coming to play with us soon." The words had the opposite effect on poor Arthur. He stumbled back a few steps.

The Doctor didn't like the words either. He straightened up and quickly led Arthur away from the children. The elderly man seemed to be having chest pain.

"It's just indigestion," Arthur said, though clutching his chest contradicted his statement, "It comes and goes…"

As they neared the TARDIS, Avalon came running towards them. "Oh my God! There's a girl – I saw her! But that Nurse—" she growled abruptly. "Nurse Frost – she didn't see the girl so she didn't let me follow her! But there's a girl!"

"Well hello there, Nurse Reynolds!" the Doctor waved a hand, "I sense that you saw something strange?"

Avalon deadpanned him. Her hands fell on her hips. "I don't appreciate your sarcasm. I had to roll up sheets of a deceased older lady, so watch it or the next thing I roll up will be your dead body in a sheet!"

The Doctor just smiled in the face of a threat. "That's my wife, Arthur. Isn't she lovely?"

Arthur looked at Avalon — who seemed ready to seethe — and asked her if that was truly her husband.

"Unfortunately, yes," Avalon replied. "He thinks he's so funny but dead people can't be funny."

"Oh, calm down, Avalon," said the Doctor, "You'll be relieved to know that Nurse Frost can't see the child because there's a perception filter on the children."

"Not feeling very relieved here," Avalon said flatly. "And 'alien tech'?"

"Exactly. It's shielding the children and probably their hiding place as well, it's amazing what some people won't notice."

"You don't say. Well, I guess it's like the laundry closet," Avalon said, "People just walk by that room all the time. I hate doing laundry so I do the same thing but at least I can see it."

The Doctor smirked all of a sudden. "I really love you, wife."

"That's great but what did I do?"

"Let's go see that laundry room!"

"What – I don't want to do laundry!" Avalon groaned.

~ 0 ~

Avalon led both the Doctor and Arthur down the hallway towards the laundry room. She slowed her pace, however, when she saw Arthur was walking slower than normal.

"Arthur, really, if you're not feeling well, I can take you back to your room," she said, "Really. The Doctor can go on his own."

"Not a chance, Avalon," Arthur said sternly, "I haven't had this much excitement in years!"

Avalon chuckled. "Well, I can't argue with that sentiment. I'm a girl who loves excitement too. And adrenaline. Lots of it."

"Is that why your stories are simply the best?"

"Hm, if only you knew, Arthur," the Doctor started, "Most of those stories actually happened."

"What?" Arthur blinked. "That can't be!"

Avalon smirked over her shoulder. "Yeah, I don't behave so well sometimes."

"Sometimes!?" the Doctor snorted.

"Oh shush, you're not that better than me!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. He had plenty more to say but they reached the laundry room Avalon talked about. Using the sonic, he led the way inside and found not a laundry room but a huge spaceship-esque room instead.

"Woah…" Avalon breathed in at the sight, eyes wide and matching Arthur's as they both took in the sight, "Had I known this was inside, I would've gone in this laundry room a long time ago. Wouldn't mind washing clothes here."

The Doctor gave her a light push from behind, and exchanged smirks.

Arthur wandered towards one of the walls and noted the weblike structure going across it. There were large pods holding small creatures inside. "This looks like a nest..."

Avalon's head flipped in his direction and frowned. "It does. Doctor, why is there an alien nest hidden in the laundry room?"

"It's not a laundry room, dear," the Doctor said, "It's a nest."

"Yes, but why? And for what?"

"For me," went a new voice, and a gruff one at that.

The trio turned around to find Nurse Frost herself standing in front of them. A second later, the Nurse Frost was morphing into a huge, spiky alien creature with tentacles. "Analysis: you are a threat to the surrogates! All threats must be eliminated!"

"Uh, yeah," the Doctor put his sonic away fast, "We need to run! Now!"

"My husband, ever so smart!" Avalon shot him a mock glare.

"Oh, shut up and run!"

The pair started running back for the door but Avalon looked back to see Arthur struggling to move with them.

"Doctor!" she called and returned to Arthur.

"Engaging defensive weaponry!" the creature declared.

Red lasers shot forwards. Avalon covered her head as energy began striking around them. When she was able to lower her arms, she saw Arthur had collapsed on the floor.

"No!" she ran the remaining length and slid on the floor beside him. "Arthur!?" She checked for his heartbeat and was horrified to find none. "Doctor! He's dead!"

"Avalon, move away!" the Doctor exclaimed, trying to make a run towards her. The lasers were much too close to hitting her.

Avalon shook her head fervently. "No, no, no! Arthur!" She fell back from an electric force that enveloped Arthur's body. "NO!"

A dark haired boy was shooting the electrical current towards Arthur.

"Stop that!" Avalon demanded from the boy. Arthur's body was disappearing before her eyes. "I said STOP!" She scrambled to get up, intending on taking the boy herself when the Doctor arrived to pull her away. "No! No! Stop him! Look what he's doing!"

"I'm sorry but we can't touch him!" the Doctor had a tight hold around Avalon's waist. "He's gone, Avalon!"

"Literally!" Avalon cried as Arthur's body disappeared.

The little boy straightened up and marched up to the pair.

The Doctor set Avalon on her feet and stepped in front of her. "Alright now, you can stop," he warned the boy.

But the boy stopped in front of them then turned to face the creature. "Stop," it commanded, "The Doctor and Avalon are my friends."

"Well…that's unexpected," the Doctor blinked. Avalon wiped the tears from her face and stared at the boy, puzzled.

The creature froze in its tracks. "Doctor, Avalon – designated non-hostile," he repeated.

"You-you're in charge of that thing?" Avalon sniffed. "How the…you're a…I am so confused and tired…"

The Doctor reached over and rubbed her back comfortingly. She really needed her rest.

The boy turned around as did the creature, and smiled at Avalon. "It's me, Avalon. Arthur."

Avalon's eyes widened, as did the Doctor's. They both looked at each other, neither one sure whether to believe the boy.

"No, he was — you're just a—" Avalon rubbed the side of her head. "No, no, you're joking. You can't be Arthur."

The Doctor continued to study the boy and his uncertain self-examination. 'Arthur' kept looking at his hands and then put one over his head, eyes looking up as much as he could.

"Why am I so short now?" he asked.

"Oh dear," the Doctor breathed. It was Arthur, but he had no idea how he'd become a child. "Erm, that's...that's Arthur," he told Avalon.

"What!?"

"On the bright side, he's not dead."

"Doctor!"

The Doctor winced. "Yeah, alright." He cleared his throat and turned to the creature. "If we're non-hostile, then you can start giving us some answers. What's your function?"

"Designation. Vorlax regeneration drone. Function: to provide replacement bodies for infantry terminally compromised in conflict," the creature dutifully responded.

"Doctor – English, please?" Avalon said impatiently. Why couldn't one of their 'enemies' be simple and clear?

"It creates clones that absorb people's consciousnesses at the moment of death. It's brilliant, actually!"

"I don't know if that's the word I'd use for this," Avalon said, "It's not exactly asking for consent, is it?" Her eyes then fixated on the creature. "Technically speaking, Arthur is dead but his consciousness was copied and placed in a clone. Yeah, it's cheating death."

"Well," the Doctor fixed the collars of his jacket, "Can't really say anything there, can I?"

Avalon sighed. "No, I guess not." Her eyes flickered to the creature as well. "So why the hell are you posing as a nurse anyways?"

"Compromised by enemy fire. Teleport drive malfunction. Upon arrival in foreign terrain, activated camouflage protocol."

"And you decided being a bitchy nurse was the way to go?"

"Avalon," the Doctor said. He whipped out his sonic again and used it on the creature.

"And now, neither will you," the Doctor said gleefully. A bright light was taking over the creature from within. "I've repaired the Vorlax's teleport. Programmed it with a new destination and started the countdown for departure!"

"Where's it going to!?" Avalon asked.

"I'm sending it to an uninhabited garden world! Somewhere it can't cause any trouble!"

"Now wait a minute!" Avalon hurried in front of the Doctor, arms open wide on her sides. "That thing about consent – it should involve the rest of the residents! They should have the chance to choose what they want to happen to them and their home!"

"But – Avalon!" the Doctor groaned. He hated when she made sense. He stopped the process and lowered his sonic. "What do you want to do? Ask everybody?"

"Yes, why not?" Avalon raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't they deserve to make the choice? The choice that the others didn't get to make?"

The Doctor bobbed his head. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You should!" huffed Avalon. "Given the fact that you can regenerate, you should've thought about this first."

"You can allegedly regenerate too," the Doctor pointed out solely for the argument's sake. He never wanted to see his wife regenerate. "Alright, fine, let's gather them up and ask."

Avalon grinned and dropped her arms on her sides.

~ 0 ~

As soon as they left the now dozens of children in the new uninhabited planet, Avalon and the Doctor returned to the TARDIS for a much needed rest. Avalon was ecstatic that everyone in the nursing home had decided to run away and become children again – they were going to live a new life! That they chose! She of course took special interest in what little Arthur was going to do now. She might check up on him later in the future.

Much later in the evening, now in the TARDIS, Avalon bobbed her head in front of the bathroom mirror. Her voluminous red curls bounced with her. They were damp from her shower.

"Do you think if I regenerated, I could turn into a, I don't know, a teenager?" She walked into the bedroom and rolled her eyes at the sight of the Doctor lying on their bed, carelessly tossing his sonic into the air relentlessly.

"Why on Earth would you ever want to go back to being a teenager?" the Doctor shuddered. "Talk about awkward!"

"I don't know, maybe to see if this time things worked out in my favor?" shrugged Avalon. "That would be a good story, actually."

The Doctor caught his sonic and pointed it at Avalon, his face dead serious when he warned her: "You better not try to regenerate for the sake of a story."

Avalon smirked. "Don't tell me what to do, Fairy Tale Man. I might just do the opposite now."

The Doctor didn't like that joke on any level. He sat upright, putting his sonic away. "I mean it, Avalon. Your regeneration isn't exactly a stabilized thing. We don't know if you actually can regenerate, alright?"

Avalon shrugged again. "I'd have to find out at some point in my life. How long can you live in one body?" She walked up to the bed, climbing over it to sit beside the Doctor.

With a sigh, the Doctor answered her. "Your first body is always different. You live to a very old age – there's no exact number – but it can be your longest body if you take care of it."

"What about the last one?" Avalon asked quietly.

The Doctor's head lowered. "Like the first one. You can live long as long as you take care of it."

"Really? You're not just telling me that?"

"No."

Avalon scooted closer to the Doctor, bringing one arm over his shoulder and leaning her chin on top. "Good, because when you go…I go too."

"Don't," the Doctor warned her again.

"Well, what would you do if I died? Or if I just couldn't regenerate?"

"I'd die with you, but…that's different," the Doctor said, prompting a hard scoff from Avalon.

"How?"

The Doctor sighed. He moved his shoulder until Avalon pulled her arm from him. "You really want to know?"

"If there's an actual answer behind that other than hypocrisy? Yes, I do," Avalon said, sitting on her knees and promptly waiting for said explanation.

"Fine," the Doctor shifted his body to face Avalon, "If you were to die – which you won't – then I'd have nothing again. I've lived for a very long time, Ava. I know what it's like to be truly alone for ages. The darkness that rears its head around is one that I don't want to face again, not when I've lived such wonderful, amazing years with you."

As touched as Avalon was, and she was, she couldn't fathom the idea of letting him simply die with her. It actually hurt her heart to even think about it. "But you could still have centuries to live after, to find somebody new!"

The Doctor shook his head. "I wouldn't. I know I wouldn't because I've already been everywhere before you. I know what's out there and I'm not interested. But if I were to die, I'd want to you to keep going. You haven't seen a quarter of what I've seen already. You haven't lived like I have. I don't want you to waste your precious years – your regenerations – on me because you deserve to live your years. Centuries. You're an aspiring writer, a traveler, and you have too much to look forward to."

Avalon smiled softly at him. "I appreciate the sentiment but what makes you think that I'd want to do any of that stuff if you're not around?"

"You'd have to," the Doctor said simply, "Because your family wouldn't let you do anything else." He reached for her body, tugging her closer until he brought her down on the bed beside her. He interlaced their hands between them. "That's the difference. For better or for worse, that's it."

"Well, it sucks then because it's not fair," Avalon said, shaking her head, "I'm 50 years old…"

"And I'm 1400, talk about an age gap," the Doctor smiled at her. "But see? You've got so much to do, with or without me."

"I choose with you," Avalon said cleverly, snuggling up to him. She simply couldn't imagine a world where she didn't live with her husband.

It just couldn't happen.

~0~

A few hours ago.

All the new children waved happily at the TARDIS as it disappeared. One brunette girl with pigtails especially liked the dematerialization process.

"It's like magic, huh Arthur?" She looked around for her friend but didn't see him right away. "Arthur?"

The TARDIS had completely disappeared now.

The same girl started looking around more carefully as the other children walked away from the area. "Arthur? Arthur, where are you!?" It was like Arthur had disappeared into thin air. "ARTHUR!"

From a distance, a girl with long black hair smirked. Chiyoko loved seeing history unfold itself. One more to check off the list.

[hogwarts-is-my-wonderland]

For @noble-crescent, who asked for help for her next story cover but to which I misunderstood and went and made an edit for her.

I really hope you like it, I saw your post and I was inspired (your OCs usually do that) to make a cover for Avalon, who is currently suffering (and will continue to do so, according to main plot). You have my explicit permission to use this edit in any way you wish—if you’d like to. 

[ao3feed-doctorwho]

Stars Dance

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2KuqJ4O

by noblecrescent

The Doctor knows she's not the most typical companion but she's the one who needs him most. Avalon Reynolds has grown up knowing the Doctor's stories all her life. Although she's troublesome, she has a heart of gold that the Doctor cannot deny. He brings her, Amy Pond & Lena Reynolds into the TARDIS & in doing so he starts setting the seeds for the biggest stories of his lives.

Words: 15699, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Eleventh Doctor, OC - Character, Original Companion Character(s), Original Characters, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, Original Female Character(s), River Song, Historical Character(s)

Relationships: Eleventh Doctor/OC, Eleventh Doctor/Original Female Character(s), Eleventh Doctor & Original Character(s)

Additional Tags: Fluff, Angst, Mystery, Drama, Fantasy, Friends to Lovers, Frenemies, sassy characters, Friendship/Love, Friendship, Family Secrets, Family Issues, Twins, Jealousy, Heroes, Fairy Tale Style

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2KuqJ4O

[saiilorstars]

• Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist

• 11th doctor x ofc

taglist: @ocappreciationtag​​​​​ @arrthurpendragon​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​ ​ @gloryekaterina​​​​​​​​​​​​ @lenonizi​​​​ @foxesandmagic​​​​​

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

Disclaimer: This chapter’s plotline is from Doctor Who’s comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

P.S.: I want to thank everyone who sent me messages on this series warning me that Plush Books had stolen some of my stories. It seems like they've taken most of the stolen stories down, including all of mine so hopefully that's it for this situation. It was awful seeing my own stories posted and people not knowing that it wasn't theirs. Although I did see many comments recognizing that the story was stolen so thank you for that as well!

"Okay, you're going to need to help me with this," Avalon walked into the console room donning an ancient Greek emerald dress with golden accents on the hemlines. Her curled hair had been left down but pushed out of her face with a golden headband.

The Doctor was dazzled by her choice of fashion and slowly came around the console to get a better look. "Just wow," he sucked in a breath.

With a cheekish smile, Avalon turned around to reveal the backside of the dress had not been zipped up. "Help please? I don't remember Greeks having zippers. You might want to tell your TARDIS about that."

As if to complain herself, the TARDIS hummed.

"I believe that was your other grandmother telling you off," the Doctor moved closer to zip up the dress. His fingers brushed (purposely of course) over Avalon's skin while he slowly - purposely too - pulled the zipper up.

"Having fun back there?" Avalon playfully rolled her eyes after a full minute of still being 'zipped up'.

"Tremendously," the Doctor admitted and turned her right around. "You did that on purpose."

"Me? I have no clue on what you are talking about," Avalon played innocent as best as possible but her smirk gave her up.

"You are one conniving ginger…" the Doctor walked her up to a silver rail, "...sneaky ginger…clever ginger…"

"Are you going to kiss me or just call me names?"

The Doctor pretended to think about it for just two seconds before diving down and kissing her. A muffled giggle escaped Avalon's lips somewhere in-between the kiss but neither could give up their moment to 'laugh', that is until their visitors walked into the room.

"Oh, could you maybe not snog my granddaughter in front of me?" Rory shivered and headed up for the console platform. Avalon rolled her eyes but kept the Doctor close to her. "What do I have to do? Make signs to get the message across?"

"While you do that…" Avalon pointed and made to kiss her husband again when Rory snapped and shouted her name. Laughing, Avalon walked with the Doctor up to the console to finally get going to their destination.

"So where are we going again?" Amy asked.

In response, the Doctor waved a small strip of paper in the air. "Got this, remember?"

"You mean the strange note someone left stuck to the TARDIS door yesterday?" Rory through by reminding them of the unusual manner they'd gotten the warning it would stir some doubt in actually following its instruction. "In a place no one knew who we were?"

"Exactly!" the Doctor exclaimed without a clue. "It's asking us to go to Athens. Apparently someone there needs our help."

And so, the trip was sealed.

~0~

Athens was beautiful in all its glory.

"I can't believe we're actually here," Amy released a girlish giggle as they walked on past Grecians in their daily life. She couldn't help her gaping mouth every time they passed a stone statue or heard mythological warnings.

It was just like the history books said it, but better!

"Ooooh…" Avalon stopped suddenly, and because her hand was clasped with the Doctor's, he was forced to do the same. "Pretty necklaces…" she threw him an innocent glance.

"Avalon I know we did not come to Olympia for you to go SHOPPING shopping," the Doctor already wore an expression of defeat because he knew that no matter how much he pointed out the other best spots of the places, Avalon would discard them all in favor of the 'pretty necklaces'.

"Just for like...five minutes," Avalon promised and rushed off to the stall with the shiny, opal necklaces hanging. Amy discreetly went to do the same.

Rory crossed his arms to wait. "No matter the time, no matter the place, they always find a way to shop."

"Hm," the Doctor looked around and hoped to God Avalon wouldn't take forever. His attention was caught, however, by a familiar man on a bench not too far from them. "Is it…?" he started heading for the bench's direction.

Rory followed since he would basically rather do anything but wait around. "What is it?"

"Who is it," the Doctor corrected.

There was a middle-aged man sleeping on the bench who, frankly, could have seen better days as Rory remarked.

"Mind your tongue, Rory," the Doctor was completely dazzled by the man on the bench. "This is Socrates!" Rory couldn't look less impressed by the sight. The Doctor gently shook 'Socrates' while babbling on how grand he was to Rory. "You'll see! The thoughts this man came up with are phenomenal!"

Socrates' eyes snapped open then, and for some reason Rory didn't quite like the look on his face. It certainly didn't match the face of a man meant to be a grand genius.

"Hello there," the Doctor didn't pay close attention like his companion. He was too excited! He extended a hand to Socrates.

Unfortunately for him, Socrates wasn't in the talking mood. Without warning, he directed a punch right to the Doctor's face.

"Doctor!" Rory went as the Time Lord was knocked to the ground.

"Who are you!? What do you want!?" Socrates began to shout as he backtracked from the two travelers.

As Rory helped the Doctor up, people around them began to look on. Even Avalon and Amy had let go of their necklaces to rush over.

A young man came to Socrates and begged him to come back with him. "Let's go to the tavern, c'mon!" Socrates didn't stop shouting vulgarities at the travelers all the way until he disappeared.

"What the hell just happened?" Avalon faced the Doctor, taking a look at the purplish spot on his face from where he'd been punch. "Two minutes, I literally left you for two minutes and you get into trouble?"

The Doctor gave her a brief look before watching after Socrates again. "Something's not quite right…"

"You're telling me!"

"I need to go find him," the Doctor tried stepping around Avalon but she grasped his arm and gave him a sharp look.

"Are you serious? Did you not just register what happened?"

"Yeah, Doctor, do you think it's a good idea to go after that guy?" Amy raised an eyebrow, her expression matching her granddaughter's.

"This wasn't just any ordinary man, Amy. This was Socrates," the Doctor said like it should have explained everything, and it frankly should have.

"And he's crazy," Avalon said flatly. "Stay away from him."

"I'm going," the Doctor tapped her nose.

"I'll come too," Rory volunteered since he foresaw an argument between the Doctor and Avalon. "Can't get into trouble on his own, right?"

Avalon shook her head. "What could possibly go wrong, right? Rhetoric question, idiot," she said once she saw the Doctor ready to answer the question.

"I'll be extra careful just for you!" the Doctor exclaimed, cheerful despite having been punched not five minutes ago. He pressed a kiss to her lips then started walking in the direction Socrates had been brought to.

"Look after him please," Amy told Rory before he left too.

The two gingers were left to stare at their respective husbands knowing that of course trouble would find them again. In the meantime, they decided to wander off through the various stalls.

"I wish we could buy something…" Amy muttered and was most certainly not expecting for Avalon to pull out the Doctor's psychic paper.

"I think royal status would allow us to get what we want," Avalon flashed a big, cheeky smile.

"Ah, how did you get that?" Amy knew for sure the Doctor hadn't lent it to Avalon.

"When we kiss, my hands wander," Avalon shrugged and went slightly ahead.

"Eugh," Amy crinkled her nose but went after her anyways.

Avalon, however, had come to a stop when she spotted an old woman having a shout-off with a couple of soldiers. The old woman kept pointing at a covered statue that was apparently on its way to being destroyed.

"Quit your shouting you old hag!" went one of the soldiers, Dimitris.

Captain Alexios of the soldiers ordered him not to disrespect the woman. The woman ignored them and yanked off the cover off the statue, revealing a bronze Athena underneath.

"Now that is cool," Avalon gawked with a mouth open. Without thinking, she started going towards the soldiers.

"Avalon!" Amy hissed but her granddaughter paid no attention.

"You really want to destroy this?" Avalon went ahead and cut into the disagreement, not minding the strange looks from some of the officers. "It's gorgeous!"

"It's taking space, ma'am," one of the soldiers spat.

The old woman, Calidora, simply refused it. "You can't melt it down! If you do you are condemning our city to destruction!"

"Now there's a story I'm interested in," Avalon turned to the woman with curious eyes.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but I'm just following orders," Captain Alexios truly meant his words. "Take it away," he told his soldiers.

"No, wait, I want to know the story," Avalon pouted sarcastically until she heard Calidora actually crying. The woman took her statements seriously, apparently. "Hey," she approached Calidora kindly. "What's the big deal if they take the statue away? Couldn't that just mean there's going to be an even better one taking its place?"

Calidora shook her head. "No. Even if your words are true it won't matter."

"Hey, what's going on?" Amy joined them and gave a look to Calidora.

"Apparently taking the statue of Athena away curses this city…?" Avalon still wasn't sure if that was the right story.

"It is," Calidora promised them. "They think that by melting our statue they will gain sufficient money to fund our war. Ridiculous war! It will only provoke the Gods' wrath upon us!"

"I'm sure...that...that we can find a way to get that statue back," Avalon rubbed a hand on the woman's arm, glancing at Amy for some more words of comfort. Amy made a shrug of her shoulders, no clue of course.

"No, it is impossible," Calidora sniffed. She released a small smile at Avalon. "You are very kind, young lady."

"My name's Avalon, and that's my friend Amy," Avalon introduced them. "We can help—"

"You can't," Calidora said, hopelessly. "But I appreciate your attempt to help. Here," she removed a talisman hanging around her neck and held it to Avalon. "Accept this, please."

Avalon's eyes widened. "Um, I-I shouldn't—"

Calidora didn't wait to hear the full rejection. She placed the talisman in Avalon's palms and closed her fingers over it. "It's best if you two get out of here. The Gods—" she tilted her head to the sky, "—are mad. They will soon descend upon us for our sins."

"But—"

Calidora rushed away before Avalon could finish.

Amy snorted. "I'm starting to believe she was really just a crazy bat."

"I don't know…" Avalon raised the talisman to her eyes. "I'm known to go crazy over fairytales. She looked really upset. Athena isn't just a myth, she's a symbol of wisdom. She commands respect and she's about to be melted so that men can continue fighting."

Amy looked around and decided that perhaps shopping just wasn't for that day. "Um, let's just go find the Doctor and Rory. This place is starting to turn out weird even for us."

Avalon figured they could at least tell the Doctor of what they went through and somehow, magically, leave the Athena stone back in its place for Calidora. Calidora was right in that it was stupid to melt down a beautiful statue just so that the war could keep going.

"C'mon," Avalon tied the talisman around her neck and began to walk with Amy.

But, as they walked in back in the direction from which they had come from, the sky became rather quickly gloomy. The sun had disappeared and in its place was a threatening thunderstorm.

Amy came to a stop to examine the new sky. "Where's the—?"

A golden lightning bolt struck right in the center of marker stalls. Both gingers jumped in place while the other people screamed. Lightning by the dozens began clapping down on the area, burning stalls and barrels. People tried getting away but had to change direction every time they had narrowly avoided being hit.

Avalon spotted a child in the midst of the chaos, crying for their mother. Without thinking, she dashed to go help him.

"Avalon!" Amy tried going after her but the force of the lightning that struck just in Avalon's direction forced her back. "AVALON!" Amy screamed but the billowing smoke prevented her from seeing what was of Avalon.

Instead, a new noise erupted from the sky. Amy narrowed her eyes at the large male face projected. The man commanded silence.

"I am Zeus!" roared the man. "This city's sins have awoken me from my slumber. You dared commit blasphemy by betraying my trust. Now, you shall all pay."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Amy knew for sure this wasn't Zeus but of course everyone from the village would believe it.

"Kito!" a middle-aged woman cried out, attracting Amy's attention. Her boy was being helped up by none other than Avalon.

Seeing her well and alive, Amy ran towards them. "Avalon! Thank God!" she pulled her granddaughter into a tight hug. Avalon groaned but nonetheless laughed.

"Thank you," the mother of the boy Avalon had saved broke them apart. She was holding her son tightly in her arms. "We owe you his life."

Avalon smiled at them. "It was nothing. You're welcome."

Amy pulled her into a speedy walk, hands clasped tightly. "We both know you got hit by lightning!"

"Yup," Avalon nodded.

"So how the hell did you survive?"

"Like many things about me, I have no idea."

~0~

Since the projection of 'Zeus', the Doctor had done many things. First of all, he had found Socrates again (with his student Plato!) and received a full apology...from Plato. Secondly, he had discovered the reason behind Socrates' alcoholic lifestyle and now felt a sudden rage towards Athens for being so cruel. Lastly, he'd seen a great big farce of 'Zeus' in the sky.

All in all, it had been an eventful day.

His last plan had brought him and Rory to acropolis to talk to 'Zeus', but surprise, surprise there had been no answer.

"You're telling me that was a 'screen saver'?" Rory tried wrapping his head around that idea when he and the Doctor returned to the city.

"Yes, Rory, like a computer does. Don't you use those all the time?" the Doctor shot him a condescending glance.

Rory rolled his eyes. "Well, you at least shut it down so it means no more false projections."

"Yes but that won't stop the people from going crazy with terror," the Doctor noted the scrambling Athenians rushing past them. There were men just nearby trying to bring down a library because they thought it would somehow help dissuade Zeus' rage.

Rory recognized the path to Socrates' home once they made a final turn. "No, we're not really going back there, are we?"

"Yes, we have to figure out what's going on," the Doctor didn't even bother knocking on the door and simply barged in. However, he came to a very ginger surprise inside. "Avalon? How'd you get in here?"

Avalon and Amy shook their heads in the same manner.

"It's not that difficult finding the home of a famous drunk," Amy said.

"Oh, but surprise," Avalon cut in, "I got struck by lightning...and I survived!"

Both the Doctor and Rory stared blankly at her, probably waiting for her to admit it was a joke. When Avalon said nothing, though, Rory broke the silence.

"No, sorry, did you just say you were struck by lightning?"

"Yeah, and I survived. I could be the next frikin Flash if you're not careful," Avalon huffed.

The Doctor rushed up to her and began inspecting her for any injury. "How did it happen?"

"I was getting some kid out of the way amongst the chaos that faulty Zeus created - by the way, what even was that?"

"A projection," Rory replied since he knew Amy was about to agree with the question. "Doctor's destroyed the projection already."

"Great, so we're done here?" Amy looked around for either Plato or Socrates. "Because no ofence but this place creeps me out."

"I've only destroyed the projection but we still have to find out who created it in the first place," the Doctor stopped with Avalon and gave her the 'okay'. "But you really have to tell me what happened. And where did you get that from?" he pointed to Avalon's newest accessory around her neck.

"Some lady gave it to me after I stood up for her to some soldiers," Avalon touched the pendant. "It's actually pretty sad. You know they're going to melt down some golden Athena statue just for war?"

"Actually," Amy said thoughtfully, "the woman who gave Avalon the necklace was arguing that they should keep the statue. Melting it down would cause fury from the Gods."

The Doctor turned in her direction. "Possible suspect?"

"Maybe…" Amy shrugged but Avalon outright refused.

"No!" she turned the Doctor back to her. "She was an old lady!"

"Let's not forget that old ladies have turned out to be aliens," Rory raised a finger to remind them of their past travels. "Evil aliens."

"Yeah, but, this one was actually an old lady," Avalon rolled her eyes. "Doctor, she's not a suspect. Look," she held out her talisman, "she gave me this because I stood up for her. Bad guys don't do that." The Doctor gazed at the talisman for the first time. He reached to touch it and grazed a finger over it. Avalon recognized his suspicious face and groaned. "Oh no, what now?"

"This isn't normal gold," he revealed and quickly pulled it over Avalon's head.

"Hey!" cried the ginger but he continued to examine it. "You better not lick it!"

"This is...this is what saved you from the lightning bolt," he turned to her with rapid, blinking eyes. "It saved your life."

Avalon smiled nervously because she didn't know what the hell was going on. "She just...she just gave it to me, though. How could she have known I would need it?"

"Maybe she didn't," the Doctor tossed the talisman back to her. "Maybe it was just coincidence."

"Okay, well, what do we do, then?" Amy asked.

"We gotta talk to that woman, first of all," Avalon made a face at her talisman.

"Where does she live?" the Doctor asked but of course no one knew the answer. "Great."

Someone cleared their throat and gained the group's attention. It was Plato, of course, who was gazing at the group of travelers with curiosity. "Shall I get you something to drink, or—"

The Doctor disregarded the question and strode up to him with the sense of urgency radiating off him. "Woman who owned this—" he raised the talisman, "—lives where?"

Plato took one gaze at the talisman and recognized it. "Calidora? The old woman crying Gods fury? She lives at the end of the market. But why-"

The Doctor turned away from him to start giving out the plan. "He's taking you—" he nodded to Amy and Rory, "—to find the woman."

"Uh, no, I'm going," Avalon raised a hand in the air. "She gave the talisman to me. It's my responsibility now."

"Alright fine," the Doctor didn't want to start a senseless argument with her. "But don't get struck by lightning anymore."

A smirk spread across Avalon's face. "Don't worry, next time I'm gonna get bit by a spider and then I'll be Spiderwoman."

The Doctor didn't find her amusing.

~0~

With Plato's help, Avalon and Amy found Calidora's house. They knocked and knocked but no one answered. Eventually, Plato kicked open the door and the trio hurried in.

What they found was not pleasing.

"Oh my God!" Avalon gasped and rushed to Calidora's unconscious body on the ground. She turned the woman on her back and checked for a pulse.

"Don't bother," Plato walked over to the table near them. He raised a couple of herbal leaves and shook his head. "She used hemlock."

"She killed herself?" Amy gaped. "But why would she do that!?"

To that, no one had the answer...yet.

~0~

The Doctor, Rory, and a half drunk Socrates arrived at the foundry where the metal of the Arena statue laid. Only after a minute of their arrival, there was a loud able on the ground. They rocked back and forth.

"What the hell is happening now!?" Rory clung to wall. He happened to look out the window and see the cause of the rumble. "Cyclops…"

"What!?" the Doctor scrambled to the window and saw a great big Cyclop heading for the city, along with same-sized Gargoyles and the famous Cereberus.

Socrates followed the two men and gawked at the window. "Have I finally drank too much!?"

"Doctor, how do we stop that!?" Rory panicked. "Amy and Avalon could get hurt there!"

The Doctor turned away from the window and began to pace, indicating his thought process was about to begin. He waved Calidora's talisman in the air and rambled about what they'd learned so far.

"What is he doing?" Socrates asked Rory who instantly shushed him.

"It's how he works."

The Doctor stopped pacing and ran over to the leftover metal. There was a poker covered by the metal. "Transmitter!" he exclaimed.

"Transmitter for what?" Rory made a face. "There's a transmitter in Ancient Greece?"

"Rory, perspective taking!" the Doctor waved a hand at the window where they could still see the great big monsters. "The metal can't be just metal. It's the same as the talisman and the talisman has to hold some sort of anti energy. If we use that I can disrupt whatever signal that is keeping those monsters."

He pulled out his sonic and stuck the talisman to the fire poker, making sure both were practically fused together. He then activated the required signal and let the energy burst from it. It went through roof and into the sky.

"Rory!?" the Doctor called, giving the order for Rory to see the status of their plan.

"I guess...uh...working!" Rory stared out the window and saw some of the creatures beginning to stop.

The Doctor decided to amplify the sonic's power and hopefully it would be enough to cut the signal to the monsters.

~ 0 ~

"Ancient Greece gets more and more interesting," Amy was the one staring out the window in Calidora's house. From there she could, much more upclose, the monsters threatening to bash them.

"I'll say," Avalon was sifting through some papers of Calidora with Plato. "I never thought I'd be reading a suicadal woman's suicide note."

"I think the Doctor's taking care of the monsters - or whatever the hell those things are," Amy turned away from the window. "So, what do we got over there?"

"Listen to this," Avalon gestured to the current paper in her hand. "Calidora wrote about a golden egg she found that fell from the sky…"

"That's not the golden egg story I've heard," Amy crossed her arms with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Definitely not," Avalon agreed then continued to explain. "Calidora thought the golden egg was like some gift from the Gods. She buried it - or most of it anyways - in the most sacred place of this city."

"Most of it?" both Amy and Plato repeated.

"She kept a part of the gold from the egg and her dad - a blacksmith - used some of it to make the statue of Athena we all know and most want to destroy."

"So she wasn't completely crazy then…" Plato blinked with honest surprise.

"After that, the little part of gold leftover was used to create the talisman she gave me."

"But that doesn't explain why she killed herself," Amy briefly glanced at the dead woman still on the ground.

"Amy, she was clearly upset over the statue being destroyed. No one else knew that it contained some special gold," Avalon sighed and gently put the letter down on the table. "So when the statue was destroyed she thought the Gods would reign hell on the city...so what's the solution?"

"She kills herself to appease the Gods," Plato answered before Amy could. "Sensible action but...not at all the one I would have taken."

"If she would have just said something…" Avalon lamented the woman's decisions.

"Stop," Amy said before Avalon's thoughts could go any further. "She would have done this either way. It's not on us."

Plato cleared his throat and set the rest of the papers on the table. "I believe this is all we're going to find here. It is best if we find the others."

Amy agreed with a nod. "Yeah, let's go."

The two started to walk out but Avalon doddled as she kept staring at Calidora. "I'm so sorry," the ginger whispered before following the others.

The moment they came out, they witnessed the sky once again thundering with rage. This time it was no image - a voice rang in every corner.

"War shall rain upon this city of sinners! Ares will come for you all!"

And, just like that, the voice went silent.

~ 0 ~

After reuniting in the shaken city, Avalon explained what they had discovered at Calidora's house - apart from finding the woman dead at her own hand.

"Golden egg?" Rory was as stumped as Amy had been after first hearing it. "I'm sorry are we sure we're in ancient Greece?"

"Why do you keep saying 'ancient' Greece?" Plato raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind that," the Doctor waved him off and focused on what he'd listened. "Okay, so strange alien—"

"Alien?" this time it was Socrates who interrupted him.

The Doctor groaned and waved an aggressive hand at him to keep quiet. "Strange alien egg falls from the sky and ordinary Greek woman finds it and buries it…"

"In the most sacred place of the city," Avalon helped out a bit.

"Sacred place…" the Doctor repeated, nodding his head, "...sacred...place…"

"Got to be the Acropolis, hasn't it?" Socrates spoke again and almost had the Doctor on him when the alien realized what Socrates said.

"You're right! It's got to be!" the Doctor beamed. "Alright then! Here's what we're going to do - we need to get that egg and cut off the signal it's still transmitting to the city."

"What's it transmitting exactly?" Plato wondered. The city had gone rather quiet after the first monsters disappeared.

"Well, you've got Zeus threatening war so what do you think is coming next for the city?" the Doctor left him to make the connection.

"Ares," Avalon shivered. "So, the God of War is coming for us all. Neat."

"But they're not real, can they actually hurt the city?" asked Amy.

"The monsters sure seemed capable to," Rory said.

"Okay, so we need to find that egg and then make sure Ares doesn't hurt anybody here," Amy nodded her head. "Split up again."

"We have to be careful about this," the Doctor warned them before they came up with anything else. "Now these Gods - they think they're real. It's the technology but...we still have to be careful."

"Is this a classic case of the computer has now got a mind of its own?" Amy offered as an alternative way to think about it. It would make a lot more sense.

"Yes," the Doctor decided to let them have it. "Shut down the conscious, you shut down everything else."

"I have no idea what you're talking about and I know it's not the drinks this time," Socrates' eyes bounced from one time traveler to the next.

"It's not," agreed Plato who was doing the same thing.

"Well, if we want to shut down the main consciousness - assuming it's Zeus - why not start by showing him that his war son isn't real?" And by the smile on Avalon's face, the others knew she'd come up with a plan.

Oh boy.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Socrates were the ones who made it to the acropolis. They did their ordinary search for the golden egg until the Doctor decided that it had to be specifically hidden. He whipped out his sonic and followed the telepathic link it was casting to produce 'Ares' out in Athens. It worked like a charm because in a minute or so, there was a faint beeping in the air.

"Where is it?" Socrates looked up into the sky but for once there was nothing.

"Not up there exactly…" the Doctor cautiously stepped forwards and raised the sonic higher.

There was a golden glow in midair between the men and, slowly, it came to be the golden egg.

"Wow…" Socrates gaped at the incredible sight. "Drinks aren't doing this, right?" he asked just to be sure.

"No," the Doctor rolled his eyes. "But, between us, it might be best to leave those alone."

The golden egg, which had unusually grown a bit, lowered down so that it was between the two men. The Doctor could see its blinking technological lights and decided to see what would happen if he would just...touch...one…

A white light engulfed him and Socrates.

~ 0 ~

Ares the God of War had kept his word and arrived to Athens with the full intention of destroying it. Already he had slaughtered a good portion of Athen's finest soldiers, so when a woman appeared on horseback he had to stop and see what the humans had concocted as a strategy plan.

Avalon had never felt so giddy playing war - actual war - and she knew it was a horrible thing to say. She held her head high and gazed at the fallen soldiers on the ground for a moment. Her icy blue eyes met the impatient ones of the God.

"You are a coward," she spat and immediately had his attention."You, the God of War you say you are, pleasing yourself by killing those weaker than you?" she had no idea how she was keeping her voice so high and mighty when the raging God was probably milliseconds from killing her.

"Humans are incredibly blank on the manner of war," Ares gestured to the scene around them. "Those who cannot battle should have never been alive in the first place. Shall you like to be the next victim?"

Avalon smirked. "That is if you can catch me, God."

"A game of catch? How amusing."

"Follow me and you will get to face the strongest warrior Athens has to offer," she pulled the whips of her horse and made a swift turn.

The God followed her.

~ 0 ~

"I don't suppose this was part of your plan?" Socrates asked with little hope to the Doctor beside him.

"Uh, no...no it wasn't," the Doctor released a breath.

The two men were tied to columns by the very Gods themselves. The Golden egg had brought them to 'Olympus' which was of course fake like the Gods. In front of them was Zeus, having a heated fight with more Gods - including Hermes, Aphrodite and Hephaestus.

"You have dishonored all of us by having your worshippers vanish!" Zeus kept saying at least every minute or so. "How could you fail me like this?"

"I don't understand what he means," Socrates whispered to the Doctor.

"The Golden egg was some kind of belief machine," the Doctor began to understand. "The more people believe - in this case - the Gods, the stronger they get...the more real they feel they are."

"Except we are not real, are we?" A female voice appeared in front of them. Her curly brown hair hung over her bare shoulders. Her white dress billowed even though there was no wind to make it so. Her eyes were on the Doctor, expecting to hear his confirmation. "Wisdom is my companion and I understand my situation."

"Athena?" the Doctor guessed with the little information he had so far.

Athena raised her head. "That is who I have been based upon. But my father does not see it." She turned around to watch as Zeus continued arguing with the rest of the Gods.

"How do you know you're not real?" Socrates inquired.

"Because every self conscious has to have a shred of self-preservation," the Doctor made his conclusion. "If the consciousness knows that it's in danger it will strive harder to make sure that people do continue to believe in order to keep itself alive."

"Doctor, I have no idea what you keep saying," Socrates sighed, but the Doctor just smiled.

"I'm quite used to that."

Athena turned to them again. "I do not wish to continue living a fake existence. Shut it down, I order you to."

The Doctor's smile faded.

~ 0 ~

"Pathetic human!" Ares roared after Avalon who still kept running on her horse. The ginger narrowed her eyes at the destination - the agora - where the next step of the plan was to be implemented.

"You'll be the first to die among the soldiers!" Ares promised her but it made no effect on her. He finally caught up in the agora where Avalon had stopped. He mused at the seemingly empty place. "Where is your famous, powerful soldier? Who is he?"

Avalon smiled smugly. "My grandfather. And fair warning, he's had 2000 years of experience."

Ares raged all over again. Avalon laughed and got out of the way to reveal Rory, holding out a sword and looking very much prepared for battle.

"Let's do this," the ex-Roman Centurion declared.

~0~

"I said to shut it down!" Athena swiftly pulled the bindings on the Doctor and Socrates and grabbed the Doctor by the collars. "Do you understand how awful it is to live knowing you are not real? I would rather be dead than continue another minute like this! Shut. It. Down!"

The Doctor pried her fingers off him and stepped back, fixing his jacket and bowtie. "I can't, not unless Zeus over there—" he nodded to the God, "—admits to it. He's the main stream of belief in this system."

Athena growled and faced her father. "You hear that? You must accept the reality!"

Zeus had only forgone his argument to make sure the two intruders were taken care of. "They only wish to play with your mind, Athena. Do not let them." Athena seemed ready to implode. "I have asked, and asked, and asked, for you to accept it. We are not real. We are...we are the fashion things of humans. Let us rest, father."

Zeus shook his head at her. "You are done defying me, Athena."

"Excuse me," the Doctor spoke up with a finger raised in the air. "If you would like some concrete evidence of your, uh, nonexistence...my wife and friends are on it."

Athena side glanced him and rather annoyed at the information he failed to provide her with. However, Zeus, although amused by such a statement, was admittedly curious.

"Oh, really? And how would you ever prove that I am not real?"

"By destroying the God of War," the Doctor gave a wry smile.

~0~

Rory was having his day fighting off Ares, the God of War, but was also acknowledging the fact the nonexistent man was a bit quick on his feet.

"Get him Rory!" Amy shouted from the sides where she and Avalon watched.

"It's a bit harder than it looks!" Rory grunted when he fell back to the ground.

"Are we late?" Plato came running up to the two women. With him came a pack of Athen's last soldiers just like the plan demanded.

"No, now go!" Avalon pointed the other men to the battle.

"Are you mad, woman!?" One man snapped with fear.

"We'll be killed!" said another.

"Is this why you brought us here?" A third man grabbed Plato by the arm and turned him around. "For our deaths?"

"Oh my God, he's not real!" Amy exclaimed without context. She gestured at Ares who was now having to dodge Rory's sword. "He's not an actual God! You'll be fine!"

But still, the men didn't budge. They nervously watched as Rory jumped to the side to avoid being cut in half.

~0~

Zeus laughed at the duel the Doctor projected for him and the other Gods. "This is you making your point, Doctor? Sending a human to his assured death?"

The Doctor didn't listen to him. He stared at the projection and kept his hope on Rory. "C'mon, Rory, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon…"

~0~

Ares pinned Rory against a cracked pillar. His sword was grazing Rory's chest. "Any last words, human?"

Rory didn't seem worried about his situation. "Yes," he nodded cleanly. "Say 'ow' if you're not real." His words confused Ares but when Rory stuck his sword directly through Ares' armored leg, Ares screamed. The sword had gone right through him.

"But how did his sword get through the armor?" One of the men asked with utter confusion.

"Because the armor isn't real!" Amy repeated. "Because he's not real!"

"So go!" Avalon pointed them frantically towards the scene. "Finish the job!"

There was no more hesitation among the soldiers. They ran into the battle and finished the job much. Their swords plunged through Ares' body till he was no more.

"That...is gruesome…" Rory went around the soldiers as quickly as possible and ran back to his wife and granddaughter.

~0~

"You see, father?" Athena made the Doctor turn the projection off. She faced her stunned father with the same urgency she'd met the Doctor and Socrates first. "Ares was defeated by humans and their regular swords. We cannot be real if we are this weak."

Realization flashed across Zeus' face. "I...we are not real. Then...what are we?"

"You're a projection of the humans' beliefs," the Doctor quietly explained. "This—" he gestured to the scene around them, "—is just a machine doing its job of creating. A ship must have dropped it on a scavenging trip."

"Please," Athena asked him once more, "shut it down."

The Doctor looked at Zeus to see what he said mow. It all depended on him anyways.

"Do it, Doctor," Zeus finally spoke again. "Shut us down."

The Doctor nodded and stepped back, motioning Socrates behind him. He aimed the sonic above and finally was able to interrupt the signal. Once the Gods began to crumble to dust, he and Socrates made their escape.

~0~

"You're telling me all this trouble was caused by that?" Plato was both awed and irritated at the now small golden egg in the Doctor's hand. They were standing just outside the TARDIS, ready to go.

The Doctor chuckled and gave the egg a careless toss to the air. "It was just doing its job."

"Who sent it, then?" asked Amy. "And should we be tracking them?"

"Nah, this thing was left years ago, careless mistake," the Doctor was about to put the golden egg away in his pocket when Avalon seized it.

"So you're telling me if I believe hard enough, Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty will become real? Oh — Or Robin Hood!? Man I'd love to meet him!" Her excited face did not appeal to the Doctor.

"You're married," he said flatly, in case she'd forgotten.

"Yeah, yeah," Avalon waved him off, much to his dismay. "So could it happen?"

The Doctor snatched the egg back and frowned. "You're not funny!"

"Let's just go before you get into an argument," Rory took Avalon into the TARDIS.

"What is that exactly?" Plato couldn't stop staring at the blue box in wonder. He started to circle it in question.

"Thank you Doctor, for reminding me of the possibilities of the world," Socrates said, clear as day.

The Doctor smiled at the man. "Does this mean less drinking?"

"Definitely," Socrates chuckled.

The Doctor and Amy walked into the TARDIS, leaving Socrates to witness the machine disappear.

"Plato, I believe we should get back to work," Socrates said with newfound determination. However, the other man never spoke up to agree nor disagree. "Plato?" Socrates looked around for his student but Plato just wasn't there.

From a distance stood a little girl with black hair, dressed in modern school uniform. Chiyoko's face broke into a smile at the scene. Socrates was growing more panicked by the minute. Plato would not be returning anytime soon.

[saiilorstars]

• Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist

• 11th doctor x ofc

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If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know! 

A/N: Disclaimer: This chapter's plotline is from Doctor Who's comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

A golden wasp of energy drifted from one side of the TARDIS. Avalon poked her head from another side of the box and frowned. She came around and watched the energy drift further from the box. She moved after the waft of energy and, without much thought, she touched it with a finger, yelping when the energy burned her. "Ow!"

"Avalon!" the Doctor called from a distance.

Avalon dropped her burnt finger and turned around, scowling once she remembered where they were. She walked around the TARDIS to see both her husband and Amy looking around the jungle the Doctor brought them to. "I'm not doing it," she huffed.

The jungle was fairly beautiful but the fact that Amy was trying to turn it into some Indiana Jones adventure wasn't making it fun for Avalon, especially when Amy had even dressed for the part. Her grandmother wore the tradition khaki colored jacket with matching shorts and a white T-shirt. What really drove it home was the bowl-shaped khaki hat on her head.

"I'm not wearing the stupid hat," Avalon said with finality as she hopped into the ground.

"I think you'd look adorable," the Doctor turned to her with a grin on his face.

"Nice try but I'm keeping my pants and no hat on my head," she returned the grin with a tight smile. "Now where the hell are we?"

At first glance, the forest looked like one you would find on Earth. But, if you looked very closely, you would see some things that you would definitely not find on Earth. For one, there were huge mushroom-looking things that could almost rival a mountain. Said mountains, actually, looked more like a volcano towering the forest.

"What is that?" Avalon neared a magenta-colored structure on the ground with blue vines sprouting from it.

"Don't touch!" the Doctor yanked her back and, in the process, almost tipped them into the river on the side.

"Well thanks for that!" the ginger playfully hit him on the arm.

"Don't touch things," the Doctor was adamant on that detail. "At least not until we know what it is."

"Maybe I should've just stayed with Rory," Avalon grumbled and walked to where Amy was admiring a pink butterfly in the air.

"Rory's with his Dad, enjoying some nice father-son time. You're just being a debbie-downer." Amy said. She gasped when she was able to touch the butterfly, almost laughing when the butterfly zipped around her.

"Where are we, Doctor?" Avalon sighed in resignation. The place was just a little hotter than what she would've liked. Not to mention it was sticky. Why were things sticky?

"A brand new world!" the Doctor exclaimed with his arms in the air. "And it's waiting to be explored! This is the best bit! New stuff to discover!"

"Settle down," Avalon patted his arm. She made to walk towards some purple leaves, part of a huge purple plant, when a mechanical machine - that resembled a spider with a huge circular camera in front of it - sprouted in front of her. Avalon's scream turned both the Doctor and Amy in her direction.

"30 seconds from the tardis doors to being threatened at gunpoint! Gotta admire the efficiency!" the Doctor said as he raised his hands to show he was neutral.

"Are you kidding?" Amy elbowed him on the side. "All the things you have to be proud of, you choose this one?"

"Scanning for concealed weaponry," the machine's automated voice silenced the trio. It passed a green light over each of them until it concluded. "Scan complete. Results: negative."

"Could've saved you the time with that one," Avalon said with a huge scowl on her face. She lowered her arms then crossed them.

"Negative unauthorized arrivals are tolerated."

"I see…Your job is to keep people in, not out. In that case..." the Doctor started grinning for some reason, "Take us to your programmer."

The look on Avalon's face was comedic, in Amy's opinion, but it really did look like she was about to smack the Doctor. "Who let him watch Star Wars!?"

~0~

The spider machine walked the trio of travelers through the forest until they reached some sort of colony that had seen better days. Unlike the bright green forest, the colony was dull, sandy and had a lot of machinery around it. Looked more like a military base.

"Love the whole botany bay thing you have going on…" the Doctor's remark went over the machine bringing them in.

"Could you not antagonize the group of people taking aim on us?" Avalon nodded him at the weapons some of the people had already taken out for them.

"What - hey!" Amy suddenly yelped when a man clamped an ankle bracelet on her. Just as Avalon and the Doctor looked her way, they felt the same clamp Amy had just gotten.

"I wouldn't struggle," the man who'd placed the ankle bracelet on the Doctor warned. "Not unless you want to be buying your shoes individually in the future!"

"I want to speak to who ever's in charge!" the Doctor demanded but another man nearby scoffed at him.

"No one's in charge, we're all exiles here!"

"Wait…" Avalon blinked and slowly started looking around at the group. "You mean to tell us that every single one of you is a convicted criminal?" She didn't know whether to feel at home...or fear for her life.

"Nice going," Amy whacked the Doctor on the chest. "How are you going to talk us out of this one Doctor?"

"Hold on…" the same man from before spoke again, now looking at the Doctor somewhat differently, "Did you say 'doctor'?"

"Jump on it, jump on it," Avalon whispered to the Time Lord. "Before they change their minds and kill us."

The Doctor figured it was the best choice they had right now.

~0~

The trio was now led into one of the buildings, under the warning not to try anything, all the way into an office where a woman was rearranging boxes. She was tall and looked tough in a green leather outfit. Her blakc hair was pulled into a high ponytail tail with two strands framing her face.

"Hey Cargill!" one of the men with the trio called. The woman stopped working and looked their way. "Got a surprise for you. It's the doctor."

That seemed to get her attention. "The doctor?" she repeated with wide eyes. A big grin spread across her face as she dashed up to the Time Lord and hugged him. "Oh thank God!"

"... I'm about to forget that we're surrounded by convicted criminals…" Avalon glared at the woman who was handsy with her husband.

Amy elbowed her on the side, reminding her that they were greatly outnumbered. She would be damned if she died because her granddaughter was jealous.

Cargill pulled away from the Doctor and sighed in relief. "We've been begging the empire to send us emergency medical assistance for weeks! I assumed they were just going to let us die." Something seemed to strike her as a new flash of excitement etched across her face. "How did you get here? Do you have a ship? Where did you land?" The woman seemed absolutely desperate.

"We...crashed…" the Doctor said slowly, his eyes flickering to the gingers beside him, "Me and…my nurses...Pond and...Pond…?"

"We're sisters," Amy said as a means to help him but then they heard Avalon's scoff on the side.

"You wish."

"We've been wandering for days trying to find you all," the Doctor went on to explain. "So, what's the emergency?"

Before Cargill could answer, a strange noise drifted in.

"...what was that?" Avalon didn't want to say it sounded like what you would hear in a horror movie but... that's exactly what it sounded like.

All traces of excitement left Cargill. "I'm guessing that's another batch of unwilling volunteers."

The trio ran to the nearest window and saw a large metal ship landing.

"It's a ship?" Avalon blinked. "That's some horrific ship!"

The ship let its cargo door open and slid down as a means for people to get off. And boy did they let quite a group get off.

"More convicts?" Amy's mouth fell open at the amount of people that fled down the ship.

"What do you expect?" sighed Cargill as she came up to the window. "It's the standard Earth empire policy, you know? They use undesirables as human guinea pigs to see if a planet is viable for colonization. In the unlikely event that we do make it, they'll start City forming the planet with traction varies. So, every few months they send us another transporter full of criminals."

"That's awful," Avalon said, though it was unclear if she meant the situation or the fact they were now watching the newcomers beating each other to a pulp.

"And the transporter…" the Doctor examined the ship as much as he could from his place, "Let me guess, there's only fuel for a one way trip."

Cargill nodded. "And they send along more Snoops to keep us in check."

"Snoops?" Amy realized Cargill meant the spider machines that, apparently, had electrifying abilities in case convicts got out of line. One Snoop had just used it to end a quarrel between two newcomers.

"This is terrible," Avalon turned to the Doctor, almost begging him to do something on the spot.

"What about you, then?" the Doctor suspiciously looked at Cargill. "What are you in for?"

Cargill lowered her gaze for a minute. "I was a clinician in a previous life, but I deserve to be here the most."

"You don't look like a criminal," Amy remarked.

Cargill shook her head and turned away from the window. "C'mon, let me show you why you're here. You need to see the plague victims."

"Plague victims!?" Both Avalon and Amy exclaimed together, equally horrified as they followed behind.

"Really? Where's Rory when you need him?" the Doctor sent them a look for their outburst. "Can can you at least try to pretend to be nurses?"

"Sorry if we're not used to plague victims," Avalon quietly snapped so Cargill wouldn't overhear. "And the fact we're surrounded by convicts is enough to put someone on edge, you know?"

"Oh don't worry," the Doctor slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. "I'll protect you, my princess." Avalon rolled her eyes at him but she hid her smile by looking away.

Cargill walked them up to a closed door then pointed them to the small window giving them view into the silent room. Inside were dozens of medbed holding brown, motionless creatures. Each of them were different, but all were scary as hell.

"What are they?" Amy was in horror.

"They're people. Used to be us. But we've no idea where this plague is coming from," Cargill shook her head.

"I need to go in," the Doctor's sudden request earned himself crazed looks from the Ponds.

Cargill seemed to be on board because she told him exactly where they needed to get the proper suits to go inside. It resembled space suits except these were green.

"I know I've said this before but now I really do mean it: you're insane," Avalon helped the Doctor put his helmet on. And she felt just as insane for actually helping him go through with his stupid idea.

"And I love you," he grinned like a true idiot.

Avalon sighed and sent him on his way with Cargill. The two remaining gingers were confined to watch from the window.

"When did this start happening?" the Doctor inquired from Cargill once they were inside the room. He looked at all the creatures that really just seemed dead.

"About a month ago?" Cargill sounded like she was trying to estimate. "But we have no idea if it's transmitted by physical contact or if it's airborne. Each case, there is no common factors and no consistent pattern. They were perfectly healthy. And then they'd...turned into this." She stopped by one creature that resembled a large humanoid fly and grimly stared. The sound of the Doctor's sonic turned her attention away from the creature.

"It's some form of pathogenically induced mutation," he noted, but it seemed like Cargill had already discovered that.

She walked up behind him and nodded her head. "We've given them everything we have but nothing's made effect. Would you like to see my own results?"

The Doctor turned his sonic off and nodded for her to take lead. They discarded their suits outside and followed Cargill into her lab. The Doctor immediately got hands on with the exams Cargill had kept.

"It's incredible! A disease that makes absolutely no sense!" he exclaimed in honest excitement.

"I apologize for him," Avalon told Cargill after noticing the woman's strange looks on the Doctor. "He means well...most of the time."

"It's good! I hate it when things make sense!"

Avalon shut her eyes. "Stop talking," she muttered to her clueless husband.

~0~

The colony was visited by a shaggy brown creature with large elf ears and wicked claws. It growled at anything that came its way, but when a group of the colonizers banded together to shoot it, it retreated into a corner. The Doctor, being who he was, put himself in the middle to try to border some peace, only for the creature to escape with the distraction.

"You idiot!" one man, Finch, screamed at the Time Lord. "You let it escape!"

"Did I?" the Doctor innocently turned around to face the empty spot the creature had been in. "Oh. My bad. We'll be back!" He took Avalon and Amy by the wrists and ran in the direction the creature had run off in.

"You let that thing escape on purpose, didn't you?" Amy sent the man a suspicious glance.

"Well, I had to," he shrugged. He used his sonic to lead them to the creature, which turned out to be hiding in some sort of storage room.

"What did you see, fairy tale man?" Avalon asked after studying his curious face. It looked like he had gotten answer.

"Look," he shined his sonic's light ahead so they could see the creature, along with the familiar metal bracelet ankle on one of its ankles. "That's the reason why the Snoops wouldn't shoot it."

"Hold on - it used to be one of the colonizers," Avalon blinked.

"It still is, technically," the Doctor said after reading off some of the results from his sonic's quick tests. "It seems like there's something on this planet that's causing human metamorphosis!"

"Guys…" Amy called. She was dangerously close to the creature, but it appeared the creature wasn't interested in attacking her. It had knelt down in front of her but when it tried to move again, a group of men burst into the room.

"Move away from the monster!" Finch was at the head holding a metal crowbar in his hands.

"Mr. Finch, you don't understand," the Doctor turned to face the group.

"Oh I think I do," Finch disagreed. "I think you are behind this infection."

"Oh you can't be serious," Avalon walked up beside the Doctor, and that was as far as she would get because he grabbed her arm to keep her still. "We just got here, you moron! Cargill said this all started a month ago!"

"This creature needs urgent medical attention. Can't you see it's in pain?" the Doctor's attempt at being reasonable was met with a collective scoff from the group.

"Then we should do it a favor and put it out of its misery," Finch said with all intention of doing it.

"Uuh...Doctor…?" Amy had gotten up from the floor. She felt woozy all of a sudden and even though she knew the ground wasn't moving, she felt like she was about to collapse from dizziness. "I feel kind of funny…"

"Funny ha-ha? Or funny in a peculiar kind of way?" the Doctor glanced her way but immediately became worried at her paleness.

Amy clutched her head when a pain jabbed through it.

"Amy—" Avalon has tried rushing up to her but Amy screamed.

The right side of Amy clothes started tearing as her skin bubbled purple. The same half of her face garnered black veins. Amy lurched forwards with her half her face and half of her body morphing into an insect.

Avalon had no immediate reaction but to scream. "Oh my God!"

Amy collapsed on the ground, completely unconscious.

~0~

The next time Amy opened her eyes, she saw herself inside the same dim room full of motionless creatures she'd first seen a couple hours ago. She felt her body was heavier than what she knew she was, but when she tried to move her hands, only one responded.

"Aaaah…" She heard a nasty clicking noise from her right arm, as well as the constant noise coming from her insect eye.

"You're okay," she heard Avalon's voice on her side. There stood her granddaughter in the green spacesuit meant to protect her from the disease.

"I think...I'm far from okay…" Amy groaned and closed her eyes. "What's happening to me?"

"Umm…" Avalon didn't know how to respond to that mostly because she herself didn't know what was going on. "You know what? You don't need to worry because the Doctor's on it. It's all going to be sorted out. Promise." But by the time Avalon finished talking, Amy was unconscious again.

With a sigh, Avalon left her grandmother and went in search for the Doctor. He'd collected something off the creature they'd followed and was studying it. Of course when she walked into Cargill's office, he had wires all over the place along with scraps of metal.

"What is going on here?" the ginger demanded from him and Cargill. "I've got Amy asking me what's wrong with her and I had no idea what to tell her. Please—" she walked up to the Doctor's side and gazed down at the work in front of him, "—tell me you've figured something out. I do not want to go back to Earth and tell Rory how his wife turned into a bug!"

"Oh, I have something," the Time Lord nodded. "The creature was a man named Buchan Foster."

"Foster?" Cargill seemed to recognize the name. "Are you sure?" the Doctor nodded. "I guess that makes sense considering all he did was explore the jungle. He said he'd discovered some great dark secret!"

"Did he ever tell you what that secret was?" Avalon dreaded that this precise secret was the reason they were now in this mess.

Cargill shook her head. "No. The last time we saw Foster he was leading another expedition into the jungle. None of them came back."

"And let me guess," the Doctor ran a hand through his hair, his expression weary, "This happened last month?" Cargill nodded but by the look on her face, she hadn't understood the reason for his question. "Same time the transformation started."

"So it's this guy's fault—" Avalon jerked a thumb at Foster's ankle bracelet, "-my grandmother is turning into a bug."

"What? You mean Foster started all this infection?" Cargill's face was that of outrage but at the same time concern. "But….how could he…?"

"It's not an infection," the Doctor turned and leaned back against the table. "What we're seeing is a type of hybridization. It's two distinct life-forms amalgamating to become an entirely new species."

"That's kind of cool but at the same time wouldn't that mean it's a two way street?" Avalon's face was that of horror the more she thought about things. "Like...like…if we become nature, then nature becomes...us?"

There was a mutual understanding amongst them all.

Before anyone could say anything more, a collective scream from outside caught their attention. They hurried out of the building to see another creature trying to lay siege on the colony, only this creature was bigger and scarier than the last. It had four different mouths with sharp teeth trying to gnaw at anything in its way.

"I knew you had something to do with this!" Finch came crying out.

"Oh marvelous!" the Doctor rolled his eyes. "There's a homicidal creature destroying the colony but you're still focused on me!?"

"Doctor, run!" Avalon panicked when she saw the creature getting far too close to them. "Everyone run!" she yelled at those near them and led the run herself. "Is there a plan!?" she quickly asked once the Doctor was running beside her.

"I think so!" he picked up his pace and led the group behind a building. "If you want to live, listen carefully and do exactly as I say!"

"While you do what, exactly?" Finch was the first one to retort amongst the group.

"Do something clever of course," the Doctor grinned momentarily before rushing out of their hiding spot. He nabbed a Snoop from the air and quickly used the sonic to rearrange its settings.

"Doctor!" Avalon poked her head out from the hiding spot. "What are you doing!?"

"Reprogramming, what else!?" he shut the Snoop's lid and wickedly flashed his sonic at it. "Alright, now cross your fingers everybody!"

"I'm afraid to ask why," Avalon mumbled.

"This could go disastrously wrong or…" the Doctor hoped if he didn't say it out loud, things might work their way this time. His sonic's tip lit a bright green that, at his command, forced the Snoop to fly up into the air and gather with several more Snoops to create a forcefield and keep the creature out of the colony.

"It worked!" the Time Lord and whirled around to the group who'd come out to see it.

"What did you do?" Cargill looked up at the blue forcefield keeping them safe.

"I set up an energy relay. It'll keep things out!"

"But for how long?" Finch scowled. "The Snoops' batteries won't last forever."

"Well let's not focus on that," Avalon glared at him. "Instead let's focus on getting us saved, right? Doctor?"

"Working on it, darling," the Doctor turned in a different direction and took off, prompting her to follow. Cargill and Finch decided to go along as well.

~ 0 ~

Avalon pressed her face to the window that overlooked the room Amy was kept in. Despite being half conscious, Amy was aware enough to realize she was not okay. She groaned on her bed and turned her head side to side, calling out for the Doctor and Avalon herself.

"She's getting worse," Avalon grimly noted. Amy's entire human face was gone and replaced with a bug head. Her entire body was almost that of the bug too. "What can we do to stop it?"

"I need to go back to the jungle," the Doctor's announcement pulled her attention from the window.

"You what!?" she said with wide eyes. "But if you go out, you'll get killed!"

"That's never stopped me before," he offered her an encouraging smile for her to go along with the plan. It was their only way, after all, to save Amy and the others.

"Let me come with you, then," she said as she followed him into Cargill's office where the other two waited. "You can't go to the forest on your own."

"Oh no, I'd rather you stay here with Amy." The Doctor went on a hunt for some things around the office.

"You want to go out there?" Cargill pointed at the window with the same widened-eye expression as Avalon. "Are you mad!?"

"Little bit," the Doctor mumbled as he pulled a lengthy piece of rope from a shelf.

"Doctor!" Avalon hissed at his nonchalant attitude. "You're not going out there on your own!"

"I can come with," Finch volunteered. Due to his recent behavior, it was only natural for him to receive strange looks from the trio. "I mean...I guess it's the only way to save us."

"Finally come to your senses, then," the Doctor grinned. "Alright then." Avalon groaned and turned away in frustration. "Ava, you keep an eye on Amy—"

"Not like I have a choice," Avalon grumbled and stormed out of the room.

"She'll get over it," the Doctor said quickly but did make a mental note to stay on her good side when all this was over. Something was hidden in the jungle and he needed to find it in order to put a stop to it.

~ 0 ~

Using a Snoop as a means of transport through the sky, the Doctor led himself and Finch through the jungle in search of the last location Foster's ankle bracelet registered before he changed into a creature. It brought them to a waterfall and after a further look they discovered a cave behind it.

"Best be careful and stay behind," the Doctor warned Finch as they crossed into the cave. He used his sonic as a torch and the first thing they saw was another spider-like creature on the ground.

"What is that thing!?" Finch screeched.

"It's another victim," the Doctor made a face. "The effect of the whatever-it-is seems to be more powerful here."

"What!?"

"Sorry, I haven't given it a name yet. Would you prefer if I called it the 'thingy'?"

Finch deadpanned the man as if he were looking at a kid. "I'd prefer if I knew what the hell was going on!"

The Doctor agreed it was the better option. He led the way down the cave until he spotted a bright light at the end.

He followed the glimmering light until it brought him into a large room shining room. "Woah, now this is what I call an ancient ruin!" He gazed at the shining golden orbs placed on either side of a supercomputer.

"Uuh...Doctor?" Finch's voice has gone frail for a second, not that the Doctor noticed as he got to work on the supercomputer. "The whatever-it-is...how long do we have before it starts to affect us?"

"Oh, not sure. Could be a couple hours, maybe days, or even just a couple of minutes." The Doctor then turned around, making Finch retract a step back. "Why do you ask?"

Because now the Doctor looked like another of the creatures instead of himself..

~0~

"Amy, you should lay down," Avalon tried to keep Amy from sitting up on the medbed, but Amy continued to refuse.

"And you should be wearing protective gear, bit that's not happening either is it?" Amy gave her a stern look (half a look anyways).

Avalon shook her head. "No point if this thing's Airborne. Plus, who cares? My Fairytale man is off somewhere and I have no idea if he's coming back. So the least I can do is make sure you're better."

"I feel bad no matter what I do," her grandmother sighed. At this point, only the left side of her face remained human. The rest of her body was now part of an insect body. "I'm going to die here."

"Amy, you're not—"

"You just said you have no idea if the Doctor's coming back," Amy once again sternly looked at her grandmother. "Either way, what if there's no cure for me?" Avalon was devastated at the mere idea of Amy's death. "I didn't even get to say goodbye to Rory - oh, Rory…" Her one human eye glistened with tears.

"Amy, that's not - that's not—" But before Avalon could try to comfort Amy, a creature burst through the wall, overturning some of the tables and, by force, Avalon's whole body.

At the sight of the creature, Amy felt even woozier than before. She fell back on her bed just as the creature came for her.

"No, you stay away from her!" Avalon screamed and scrambled to get up from the floor. "I don't care if you were human I will shoot you!" She reached a hand down her boot and pulled out a mini-blaster. But even as she took aim, she witnessed something strange.

The creature had gently picked up Amy's body - which was now fully insect - and carried her with the same gentleness. Stunned, Avalon lowered her weapon and blinked with wide eyes.

"What in the…?"

The creature had carried Amy's body into the colony where the rest of the terrified colonizers were fighting off the rest of the creatures.

"The forcefield's down!" Cargill told Avalon as soon as the ginger made it out. "What are we going to do!?"

Avalon had put away her blaster and was keenly watching the creature holding her insect-grandmother. When Amy fell out of the creature's arms and rose with wings, she spoke in a different type of language. All the creatures in the colony seemed to freeze at her talk and, a few seconds later, they turned her way and started heading out of the colony.

"What did she do?" Cargill asked in full confusion.

"She's told them to retreat," Avalon said once she herself understood what had just happened. She saw Amy's butterfly self begin to leave and knew that she couldn't just stay behind.

"Avalon!" Cargill called when the woman broke into a run into the direction the creatures had gone off in. "Avalon! Come back! You'll get yourself killed!"

Avalon ran as fast as her legs could carry her. "Amy! Amy!" she shouted for the butterfly. "Amy, please wait!" She was desperate to catch up even if it meant getting close to those creatures again. "Grandmother!" A minute later, she crashed into something furry and landed on the ground. She shook her head and looked to see giant pink butterfly wings flapping in front of her.

"Do not call me grandmother," Amy's voice was a bit distorted but otherwise it was her.

A slight smile came to Avalon's face. "Got you to come back, didn't it?"

"You shouldn't have followed," Amy landed on the ground.

"Oh don't give me that crap," Avalon rolled her eyes and got up. "My husband is off somewhere and I need to help him. So the question here is, will you help me or am I going to have to go through the jungle myself?"

Well, there wasn't much of a choice was there?

~0~

"Well this is…lovely," the Doctor muttered as he got a good look at his new appearance. Even though it was a reflection from a nearby water crater, he could very much see the realness in his new insect appearance. He even had claws now. "Don't think my Ava is going to like this very much," he shook his head and return to the supercomputer. All the answers were right there and just needed to find them.

He scoured the computer with his sonic until he found what he was looking for. "Oh of course! This is a general splicer!"

"A gene...what?" Finch blinked. This man just loved talking in a foreign language, didn't he?

"It's a device that's used to accelerate evolution," the Doctor explained while he used his new third arm as a holder for his sonic while his normal claw-ish hands worked on the computer itself. "But you never want to accelerate evolution. That's a big no-no."

"So is that...that what happened here?" Finch glanced back at the only two statues in the room. But they weren't even statues. They were morphed into weird creature figures made out of...God knew what.

"I'm afraid so," the Doctor said with a sigh. "Some Advanced race must have been trying to make this planet habitable! But then something went wrong, the process was too powerful…"

"And this 'advanced race'...where the hell are they now?"

"Well, don't you get it?" the Doctor looked back and pointed with his third arm around the room. "They're all around us!"

Finch's eyes widened as he quickly looked at the room again. "You mean...like...everything?"

"They're the jungle!" the Doctor turned back to the computer. "Buchan must have activated the computer last month."

"So we know the 'how this happened' but now can we get to the part where things get fixed? I don't want to become whatever the hell you are."

The Doctor took no offence at the insult. He was more interested in shutting the computer down as well. Now that he had garnered some of the jungle, the jungle now had a piece of him as well and that was a huge no-no. Having strands of Time Lord DNA could be utterly dangerous.

River Song and his own wife came to mind. Thanks to him they were in existence and let's just say that Avalon herself could be quite dangerous already.

"All I have to do is trigger a biological reset and everyone should return to normal!"

Finch continued to misunderstand. "Trigger what now?"

"Oh, it's a funny little process, really," the Doctor shrugged. He cracked his fingers - claws now - and grinned with his small bug mouth. "I call it regeneration!" He slammed his hands down on the computer and allowed his regenerative energy to cross into its wires.

Finch shielded his eyes from the blinding golden light that erupted from the computer. He heard a few cracks of electricity as the entire computer sparked.

"There we go!" the Doctor exclaimed happily after pulling his hands off the computer. He watched his regenerative energy slowly fade away, leaving the computer back to normal again. "That should've reversed the hybridization effect. No more metamorphosis! You know, Sometimes I surprise myself and I already know how clever I am."

"Not clever enough!" Finch yanked the Doctor back and punched him across the face, knocking the Time Lord to the ground. Finch jumped over his body and went straight to the supercomputer, eager to get it back on.

"Finch, what are you doing!? I'm helping you!" the Doctor exclaimed in utter offence. If his face wasn't already turning back to normal, that probably would've hurt a bit more since his insect face was mushier.

"Don't you get it?" Finch looked back with newfound rage. "This—" he gestured to the computer, "—is my ticket out of this place! I can bring this to the Empire and—"

"Do what? Get pardoned?"

"I was an innocent man!" Finch shouted angrily. "My boss framed me for embezzlement! I don't belong here!"

"I'm very sorry about that, but you can't give this to the Empire," the Doctor got back on his feet which were thankfully returning to normal as well.

"You know, I think it's time you met with an unfortunate accident," Finch turned completely to face the Doctor.

"What kind of accident?" the Time Lord stared oddly at Finch as he reached for something inside his jacket.

"The deliberate kind!" Finch pulled out a futuristic gun on him, but instead of being scared the Doctor seemed impressed.

"I say, is that a homemade gun?" he stepped up to it to get a better look at it. "You know, my wife would be very impressed. Don't let her touch it, though, you'll never get it back."

"What — I'm about to kill you, move away!" Finch nearly knocked the head of his gun on the Doctor's forehead.

"I knew there was someone who tampered with the Snoops," the Doctor went on like he wasn't being threatened. Now that he was completely back to normal, he tidied up his hair and his bowtie. "You prevented them from being able to detect weapons."

Finch was the one who surprised to hear this. He lowered his gun only slightly to ask, "How'd you know?"

"Well, for one, my wife always carries a hidden blaster and the Snoops didn't pick up on that," the Doctor shrugged but one of his hands was silently sneaking for his sonic in his pocket. "And secondly, the Snoops would've noticed me carrying this!" he brandished his sonic like a sword and activated it.

Finch almost laughed in the man's face. "Your screwdriver? What the hell are you going to do to me with a screwdriver!?" But just as he finished his question, he felt his gun begin to loosen in parts. Before he knew it, the gun disbanded and crumpled to the ground.

"Well," the Doctor began oh-so-innocently, "I think a screwdriver is a very good choice of weapon when the other weapon is being held together by screws!"

At the Doctor's smirk, Finch lost it and tried lunging on him only to be thrown back by an actual blaster's ray.

"Get the hell away from my husband!" Avalon shrieked after Amy had put her down on the ground. The Doctor blinked at the sight of the giant pink butterfly floating behind Avalon. Seeing his confused face almost made Avalon laugh. "That's my grandma!"

"Don't call me 'grandma'!" snapped Amy.

"Amy, that's you!?" the Doctor gaped.

"Well of course it is," she snapped. "I can fly! I picked up your scent and followed you here!"

"My scent?" the Doctor frowned for a second as he sniffed himself. Did he smell bad and not even know it? "Do I have odor issues, Pond?"

"Trust me, if you did I would've said something already," Avalon chuckled and rushed up to hug him.

"Oh, I bet you would have," he laughed himself and hugged her back, pressing a kiss to her head. "I thought I told you to stay back," he murmured against her voluminous hair.

"The fact you actually thought I would stay back is almost offensive. Do you not know me?" she pulled away to give him a look. She patted his shoulders then noticed his jacket was torn at places. "What happened to you? Did Finch actually get to you?"

"Nah, I turned into one of those bugs too," the Doctor said, sounding almost giddy about it...because he was.

"What!?"

"Well, I turned back—"

"Not the point!"

The Doctor just laughed and went back to the computer, going around Finch's unconscious body. "Just one more thing we have to do before leaving."

"Which is?" asked Amy as she landed next to Avalon.

"I've going to make it so that the computer directs its powers back in on itself. That way no one will ever be able to switch back on again."

"Doctor, what about me?" Amy raised her new claw-like hands and turned them over. "Am I going to stay like this forever?"

"Oh no, not at all!" the Doctor whirled around after finishing the job on the computer. "You'll change back shortly, don't worry."

"Oh thank God!" Avalon was the first to react to the good news. "It would've been a long explanation for Rory. And this would have been the last time he agrees to let you come with us while he's on a shift."

"What are you trying to say?" Amy turned on her, one claw hand on her furry hip.

"Nothing," Avalon quickly said. "Hey, uh, why don't we get out of here?"

"Good idea," the Doctor flapped his hands together. "This place will self destruct in a few minutes."

"What about that guy?" Amy pointed one claw at Finch on the ground.

"Can we leave him here?" Avalon didn't hesitate to ask. She was, however, subjected to two different yet equally disapproving looks. "What?"

~0~

Cargill was ecstatic when the trio returned. Not even the fact that Finch had been taken away as a true criminal could dampen her mood.

"Everyone changed back! And there's no sign of any lingering effects!" she went on about their cured civilians. "I don't know how you did it, Doctor, but you cured them!"

"Well, I am a Doctor," the Time Lord fixed his bowtie quite proudly.

"You're milking it," Avalon said in-between a cough but then offered him a warm smile afterwards.

"I deactivated the Snoops as well," the Doctor told Cargill. The group began walking down the colony which had, seemingly, returned to normal by now. The spread of the cured victims had put everyone in such a good mood one could almost forgot that it was a colony of convicted criminals.

"You did!?" Cargill blinked and quickly looked around to see if there were any Snoops. She hadn't even noticed that in the midst of the curing.

"Yup! now it's up to you to make a success of this place!"

"You're kidding right?" Nerina stopped walking for a moment.

"Why would I? You've got everything you need here."

"Yeah, it's like the Garden of Eden," Amy, who was now back to normal and in Finch's clothes, made a gesture at the green jungle.

Nerina scoffed and folded her arms. "The danger might be over now, but sooner or later the empire will just sending their traction factories in concrete over this planet."

"So let's make the planet undesirable," Avalon suggested, though warned herself a strange look from Nerina.

"What?"

"I like your way of thinking, Ava," the Doctor grinned at her idea. It was fantastic. "Nerina, what was the last message you sent out to the Empire?"

"Um, an emergency request for medical assistance due to the infection," she shrugged.

"Well, how's about you send another message saying the colony's been wiped out?" Avalon smirked. "Bet that'll make stay away for good."

Nerina blinked at the idea but it didn't look like she would refuse. It would mean total control of themselves. "Would it really work?"

"I think it would," Amy nodded. "You'll just have to try it."

~0~

"Well Nerina sure was convincing," Avalon laughed once the trio returned to the TARDIS. Before leaving, they helped Nerina send out the last broadcast to the Earth empire warning them that the infection had reached a critical no-return point. It was a fatal move coming to the planet now. "That oughta keep any civilization from coming here again."

"That was the point, after all," Amy shrugged and reached the TARDIS first. "Now they can leave in this ecological paradise to their heart's content."

"Or Basingstoke," the Doctor happily said, but quickly earned the suspicious looks from Avalon and Amy. "What?"

"I thought you said this wasn't Basingstoke," Avalon folded her arms over her chest.

"Well, sometimes I make mistakes…"

"Yeah, or sometimes you just pretend you do."

"Mhm," agreed Amy.

"Um, also true. Let's go home, ladies," the Doctor snapped his fingers and opened the TARDIS doors. Amy rolled her eyes and walked in first.

"Hey Doctor, I've got a question," Avalon lingered outside for a second.

"What is it?"

"Amy changed, you changed...how come I didn't change?"

"Well, you didn't touch anything," the Doctor shrugged.

Avalon didn't seem to think about it so casually like he was. "Except...I did…" the Doctor gave her a strange look for her words. "I mean...it wasn't like something straight out of the jungle but...but it was in the jungle. At the time."

The Doctor could sense her uneasiness and wondered what she was getting at. "What did you touch, Ava?"

Avalon licked her lips and nervously answered, "The TARDIS released some energy when we got here. I don't think it touched anything but the fact the infection might have been airborne troubles me and — why are you looking at me like that?"

The Doctor's eyes had widened in what could almost be described as alarm. He strode up to her and grabbed her arms. "You touched the Time Vortex!?"

"Well, it was just drifting in the air and—"

"Avalon!" the Doctor shook her frantically. "You know how dangerous that is! You know that's how I lost Donna—"

Avalon shook his hands off her, somewhat upset he'd talk to her like she was a brand newcomer to the TARDIS. "Hey I know what could happen! You're forgetting I exist because of the Time Vortex!"

"I just...I don't want you touching that stuff. It's dangerous, and more in a place like this," the Doctor now eyed the jungle with weariness, something he hadn't done even when the infection was around. "I should run some tests on you."

"Doctor, is that really necessary — ah!" Avalon exclaimed when the Doctor yanked her into the TARDIS. It appeared she'd be getting these exams done whether or not she wanted to.

When the TARDIS started to de-materialize, a little girl stepped out from behind a few trees. She watched the box slowly disappear into thin air. A wide smile spread across her face. "Finally," she bit her bottom lip and looked around the forest. "And now it can really start. Poor little TARDIS."

Chiyoko stepped back from where she came from and disappeared as well.

[saiilorstars]

👕+ Avalon?

Avalon has been a preppy girl from the start and her fashion is very much true to that. Girl loves her plaid and skirts!

Ask me about my OCs headcanons: picture edition!

[saiilorstars]

Halloweentown (One-shot)

/ Fairy Tale Memoir Masterlist /

Fandom: Doctor Who/ Pairing: 9th-13th Doctor x OFC

Summary: While her mother is asleep, Aurora gets to have some bonding time with her father. The Doctor is amazed to see his daughter’s work.

Author’s Note: This is part of a one-shot/AU companion story to my OC Avalon Reynolds’ fics. Her masterlist can be found here [x]. 

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​ @perfectlystiles​​​

It was ridiculous that she had lost the Heist this time around, but Avalon thought it was even more ridiculous that her grandparents really thought she would go as Thing 2 for Halloween. She had her own plans. She was a woman of her word and she would dress up as Thing 2 the next three times they went out on a trip. But today was Halloween. She was not going to ruin her favorite holiday.

"The Doctor promised me there's an entire planet that's actually called Halloweentown!" Avalon exclaimed as she came down the stairs in the console room. "Everybody dresses up every day! I can't wait to go there!"

The Doctor, Amy and Rory were already in the room, waiting solely for Avalon who was the last to change into her costume.

"Wait, where's your costume?" Amy gestured to Avalon's very black outfit. "I thought this was your favorite holiday?"

Avalon snorted at the sight. "Really, Amy? You're in a black suit right now."

"Yes, as Catwoman!" Amy gestured to her mask over her head with the signature cat ears. "People will know what I am! And Rory, of course." Because Rory was dressed up as Batman.

"These people are aliens, guys," Avalon reminded, "Would they really know who you were?"

Amy's and Rory's mouth simultaneously opened up but when the idea struck them, they looked over at the Doctor for some clarification.

"Halloweentown's customs are pretty close to that of Earth's," the Doctor shrugged, "Maybe they will. But it'll be fun to discover that, don't you think?"

"Yeah, yeah, so where's the costumes, then?" Amy gestured between the Doctor and Avalon.

"He didn't like his costume," Avalon said before the Doctor could even open his mouth. "I picked it out with great care and he said no." She rolled her eyes, still every much upset about the matter.

"You mean you wanted me to wear the old black leather jacket my 9th incarnation wore," the Doctor crossed his arms, rolling his own eyes. He was just as upset as his wife but for different reasons.

"Yeah, what's the problem with that?"

"I don't like it!"

"But it's your jacket! It was you who wore it! I think it's hot!"

"You mean him?"

Avalon flapped her arms over her head. "You mean you! Because he is you! I think he's hot so you're hot!"

"I'm getting a headache," Amy muttered to Rory as she rubbed the side of her head.

"Besides, it would've gone great with my costume!" Avalon exclaimed.

"What's your costume, Ava?" asked Rory. "Cos I don't quite get it."

Avalon wore a black, button-down shirt with a black leather jacket over it. She matched with black pants and a pair of black combat boots. There was a small police badge on her waistband.

Avalon groaned. "Really? After the whole Heist? I'm Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn-99!" She folded her arms and did the signature scowl that her favorite character typically did. "I just couldn't wear the black curly wig because my own hair could never fit under that." She pulled one of her very bright ginger curls.

"Really? I thought you would've gone as Aurora," Amy said, "Or Merida. I don't know, a princess."

"I love those costumes," Avalon clarified, "But I've already gone as them before so I thought I should do something different this time. Rosa's my favorite character on the show. She rides a motorcycle but the TARDIS wouldn't give me one. Still, I just needed my husband to match with me."

"I'm not wearing the jacket," the Doctor declared. What was wrong with his jacket anyways? It was tweed! Who didn't like tweed?

Avalon scowled at him. "You're that jealous of yourself?"

The Doctor said nothing. He turned his head away from Avalon.

Avalon could've argued the matter for the rest of the night but since she was far more interested in seeing Halloweentown, she decided to let it go.

The Doctor was all the more happy to forget about the terrible argument. He was quick to land the TARDIS down on the planet of Halloweentown. Very quickly, the travelers were awed by the place.

Everything was decorated for Halloween, except that they weren't holiday decorations but the regular style of the planet instead. More than that, there were creatures that resembled a lot of Earth's typical Halloween animals. Wolves walking on two legs, big and small fairies zooming above them, humanoids with suspicious long canine teeth, - they were all walking along like nothing. Avalon swore she even saw a ghost but her grandparents were very much against the idea.

It didn't matter. Soon, Avalon found something way better and she wanted it.

"Absolutely not," Rory was right behind his granddaughter, shaking his head in utter disapproval.

The shiny black motorcycle the vendor was trying to sell to Avalon just called her name. Avalon couldn't walk away.

"You rode one!" She accused Rory. "In the middle of Nazi Germany!"

"On adrenaline! You're not getting a motorcycle!"

Avalon looked around and saw the Doctor and Amy coming towards them. She hurried over to her husband and grabbed his hand to drag him quicker to the vendor. "I found something that I need!"

The Doctor caught on fast what that something was and actually felt his stomach churn at the idea of his wife driving a motorcycle. "I mean...do you really need that, Ava?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "It would complete my costume! Rosa has a motorcycle and I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't mind having one for myself."

"No way," Amy shook her head. "You are so impulsive that you would crash into the first street pole here."

Avalon dismissed her grandmother with a wave. "I'm getting it!"

"No you're not!" went both Amy and Rory.

"Doctor, tell her she can't," Rory urgently looked at the Time Lord for his help. "Even you know that would be completely mad!"

The Doctor truly hated his position right now. He would very much rather face a dalek then speak on this matter. Avalon folded her arms and waited for him to start talking. She didn't look too happy.

"I mean..."

"You know how to ride one," Avalon said suddenly, "I've seen your pictures. I don't know where the motorycles are in the TARDIS but I know you have one."

The Doctor smiled awkwardly. "I was young, Ava. Did things I shouldn't."

"Yeah but no offence, sweets, you're kind of an idiot..."

"Hey!" the Doctor frowned.

"And I love you with all my heart because of that quality," Avalon put on her best smile for him. "Really, it makes you that much more adorable in my eyes. But, I'm getting this motorcycle."

"Except I don't think it's a good idea..." the Doctor absolutely hated he had to say that out loud because now Avalon was looking at him with her doom face. "I love you, don't get me wrong — you're my Ava! — but I think a motorcycle might cause some problems later on."

"Why?" Avalon made a show to wait to hear these perfect reasons she supposed the Doctor thought he had.

"Well, uh..." the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, his mind working at light-speed to answer this carefully and correctly, "See I — the thing is — the motorcycle looks — and I don't think you'd—"

"Oh, for God's sake!" Amy clapped a hand over the Time Lord's mouth and took over. "You would crash, Avalon! It would be chaotic! You're chaotic enough without the tools!" Amy then glanced at Rory who'd been nodding in agreement at her every word. "Did I get everything?"

Avalon huffed.

"Yeah, I think so," Rory said.

Avalon reached over to pull Amy's hand off the Doctor's mouth. "So I bet you agree with everything she just said?"

The Doctor apologetically smiled at his wife. "I do love you, Ava..."

She groaned. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Always! So long as you're safe!" The Doctor took Avalon by a hug and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I think there's got to be something else on this planet you might like. Let's go and find it, eh? Anything else you want."

Avalon looked like she could murder but all she said was 'okay' and allowed the Doctor to take her away. He looked beyond happy to have her easily agree with him and relieved too. She almost felt sorry when she slipped away from the group with the excuse she had to use the restroom.

She definitely laughed carefree, however, when she rode on her brand new motorcycle past them. "SUCKERS!" She cackled.

The Doctor openly gaped at his wife while Amy and Rory collectively called after their granddaughter.

"AVALON!"

"GET BACK HERE, AVALON!"

The Doctor didn't bother to shout after Avalon. He knew better than to. He turned around and headed for to the TARDIS instead. He thought that a certain black leather jacket would be more likely to stop Avalon. I hate that guy, the Doctor grumbled on his way into the TARDIS.

A/N:

So @serahsanguine​​, I know this was short but I hoped you like it!

[saiilorstars]

[ Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist ]

Fandom: Doctor Who 

Chapter summary: The Doctor, Avalon, the Ponds and Lena stumble across a spaceship full of dinosaurs and of course Avalon wants to keep one as a pet!

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​ @stareyedplanet​​ @perfectlystiles​​

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

The Doctor hurriedly headed for the TARDIS with a trailing Egyptian queen behind him, "Bye then! Lovely meeting you. Sorry about the mess!" he tried to wave and head into the TARDIS when the woman yanked him back and pushed him against the blue box.

"You think I'll let you leave without me?" the woman raised an eyebrow while rubbing her hands along his chest, "After what we've just been through?"

There was a clearing of a different voice followed by the comment — threat. "You have 0.1 seconds before I activate every last weapon in this box."

The Queen stepped back to investigate the new stranger.

There was no one else around them until the TARDIS doors opened up and Avalon stepped out. She wore a fake, polite smile across her mouth, "And next time you try anything with my husband, I'll just have to kill you."

The Doctor straightened himself and whispered to Avalon. "She's a Queen, remember," he told her.

Avalon glanced a him without a care for his words, "And I am your wife, meaning I don't give a damn."

"Fair enough," he raised his hands in defeat.

"By the way," she handed him the psychic paper from her cardigan's pocket, "Got a message and it's not from my grandparents, my sister, or River."

The Doctor took the paper from her to read while the ginger looked around the new room she was in. She'd been visiting Mary Costa again — the voice actress of her favorite princess, Aurora — when she got the distress signal from the Doctor who'd somehow gotten stuck in Queen Nefertiti's time even though he was supposed to be visiting an old friend, someone named Riddel, in a completely different time zones. Due to a bet, he had lost piloting the TARDIS for a good month and had to let Avalon take the controls.

He should really stop making bets with her.

"Nice place you got," Avalon remarked as she stepped in front of the Queen.

"And you are?" Nefertiti studied her curiously.

"The wife of the husband you just tried to seduce, Avalon Reynolds," Avalon narrowed her eyes, "Don't let that happen again."

"Are you threatening me?" Nefertiti stepped up, a condensing tinge taking over her voice, "Because I do not let any person, much less a commoner—"

"Watch your fucking tone with me," Avalon stepped forwards, eyes blazing with outrage.

Nefertiti was no less outraged. "How dare you—"

Avalon took another step forwards, revealing she was just as tall as Nefertiti. "I dare whatever I want when somebody's overstepping with my husb—"

"Uh, Ava!" the Doctor called nervously and made both women look at him, "Situation," he waved the psychic paper, "Interesting, but still a situation!"

"What is?" Nefertiti walked over and missed the death glares Avalon had on her back.

"Nothing! Not at.. Ohh!" the Doctor had looked again at the paper and found new information, growing excited for some reason, "Never been there, exciting!" Nefertiti opened up the TARDIS again and pushed him inside.

Avalon stared mouth opened and frankly undignified, "HEY!" She ran inside the box to take back what was hers.

~ 0 ~

Avalon felt like the Doctor was making more and more mistakes the more time passed. First, he had for some reason allowed Nefertiti to come with them on the trip and also picked up his friend Riddel, who made it quite clear early on that he was a womanizer. Apart from that, he had collected her grandparents...and Brian Williams...and Lena Reynolds. And although Lena had been on purpose, the Doctor seemed to be missing the fact he accidentally picked up another person who had no idea about time travel...and him.

"Where the heck are we?" Lena whispered to Avalon when they came out of the TARDIS into a lonely spaceship. Lena didn't want to complain of the new adventure but she was actually in the middle of applying for college when she was materialized into the TARDIS.

"No idea," Avalon tugged her cardigan closer as the chilly air touched her skin.

"Spiders," the Doctor remarked as he stood in front of a spiderweb, "Don't normally get spiders in space."

"That's gross," Lena pulled her head back, "Big brother, did you really have to take me on this adventure?"

Brian stepped out behind Amy and Rory, gawking at the sight, "What the...?"

"Don't move!" the Doctor suddenly ordered and strode back to the group, specifically to Brian, "D'you really think I'm that stupid I wouldn't notice? How did you get aboard? Transmat? Who sent you?"

"Oh no," Avalon sighed and looked to the side. He really was an idiot.

"Doctor..." Rory stepped between them, having to tug the Doctor's arm a bit so he wasn't right in front of Brian's face, "...that's my dad."

The Doctor whirled around to Rory, looking indignant, "Well, frankly, that's outrageous."

"What?"

"You think you can bring your dad along without asking? I'm not a taxi service, you know!"

"You materialized around us!"

"Oh," the Doctor realized it was indeed his error and as such, quickly moved past it. "Well, that's fine then, my mistake." He then faced Brian with a cheery smile as if he hadn't been threatening him two seconds ago. "Hello, Brian, how are you?" He shook Brian's hand, "Nice to meet you. Welcome, welcome!" He spun around excitedly, "This is the gang. I've got a gang - yes!"

Avalon cleared her throat and leaned on her hip, "And I'm part of your gang?"

"Course not," he reached out for her and grabbed her hand, "You lead the gang with me, cos you're my wife!"

"Hm," Avalon pretended to think about it.

The Doctor didn't allow for a answer as he stole a kiss from her then dragged her down the corridor, calling for the others soon after, "Come on then, everyone!"

Amy went after them along with Lena. Both struggled to remain standing when the ship rocked for a bit. Still. Amy tried to greet the pair of travelers in a hurry. "All right, where are we, and what is that noise? And hello! Ten months!"

"Orbiting Earth - well, I say orbiting, more like pre-crashing on a spaceship," the Doctor shrugged and glanced back, "And hello, Pond," he turned and hugged her, making a face everyone missed. He hadn't intended to let such a long time pass for the Ponds, and Lena, and much more allow for an even longer time to pass with him and Avalon. Amy would not be happy to know he and her granddaughter had gone far longer than ten months without seeing them.

Avalon hugged her sister in the meantime, "Oh it's really good to see you too."

Lena hugged back, but was in confusion when her sister said those words, "How long has it been for you guys?" she looked between Avalon and the Doctor suspiciously.

Avalon looked at the Doctor with slightly-wide eyes, "Ten months," they both answered rather fast.

"Really?" Amy had caught up on the suspicion and placed a hand on her hip.

"Yup..." the Doctor rubbed the side of his neck.

"Have you met the others?" Avalon offered as a distraction, forgetting she didn't even like Nefertiti that much.

"With you?" the distraction seemed to have worked as Amy peered around them to see Nefertiti and Riddel coming closer, "They're with you, are they the new us? Is that why we haven't seen you guys?"

"Clearly, no one is going to replace my grandparents," Avalon shook her head, chuckling at the irrelevancy of that statement.

"They're not Ponds!" the Doctor agreed, "I have to have Ponds in the TARDIS," he wrapped an arm around Avalon's waist and pulled her closer to him, "And the occasional Reynolds," he nodded to Lena who playfully rolled her eyes in response.

Grinding gears ended the conversation as the nearby lift was coming up to the level, "It's coming down," Lena had turned around to see it.

"What is it?" Riddel questioned.

"No idea," the Doctor bluntly answered.

The lift doors opened up and let a bright light take over the room. During their momentary blindness, the group heard growling sounds coming from the lift along with the casting shadows of large animals.

"Not possible!" Brian exclaimed once they were getting a better look.

"Run!" the Doctor ordered and was going to do so himself when he caught sight of Avalon.

She was completely awed by the sight of dinosaurs across them, "COOL!" She exclaimed delightedly.

The Doctor broke out a smile and took her hand, "I know, dinosaurs!"

"On a spaceship!" she beamed as two ankylosaurus came roaring out of the lift.

Amy had noticed the two were still standing there in the open and returned for them, "C'mon!" she called and gestured for them to get moving.

Beaming, and buzzing, the two ran after Amy as the dinosaurs finally chased after them. Nefertiti was at the head of the group and therefore found a place to hide in, "In here!" she turned for a narrow side in which the dinosaurs couldn't follow.

They all hid in the niche while the dinosaurs came to a stop for a moment. Riddell pulled out a large knife from his jacket and glanced back at the group, "I could take one of them, short blow, up into the throat."

"How about we don't?" Avalon frowned at the idea, "It's not every day you see dinosaurs on a bloody spaceship! We need to preserve them!"

"And who's going to preserve us?" the hunter snapped.

"Clearly us!" Avalon frantically gestured, accidentally smacking Rory in the process. She apologized with a quick rub on his shoulder.

Lena shushed everyone and pointed to the dinosaurs. The creatures stomped around for a moment then backed out of the corridor and left the group to safety, at least for a while.

"OK, so, how? And whose ship?" Rory looked at the Doctor for the answers.

"There's so much to discover. Think how much wiser we'll be by the end of all this," the Doctor clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry. Sorry," Brian cut into the conversation as he moved up to the two, "Are you saying dinosaurs are flying a spaceship?"

"Brian, please! That would be ridiculous," the Doctor pointed, "They're probably just passengers. Did I mention missiles?"

Avalon felt like she had to intervene there and then. She smacked the Doctor and glared, "You don't mention missiles to a man who didn't even know time travel was possible five minutes ago."

The Doctor opened his mouth to retaliate...when the truth hit him, "...yeah, alright," he shrugged and turned to Brian and Rory, "Anyway, six hours is a lifetime...not literally a lifetime, that's what we're trying to avoid. And we're all really clever! Let's see what we can find out. Come on."

"That still wasn't good!" Avalon complained while they continued exploring. The Doctor's response, however, was a kiss on her hair and a tug of her hand to get going.

~ 0 ~

A room covered in vines and spiderwebs was the next stop they made. The Doctor led Avalon up to a computer at the end of the room while the others explored.

"Ew," Avalon crinkled her nose as the Doctor cleared a spiderweb from the screen. He was looking around for somewhere to clean the webs from his hand and unfortunately found it in Brian who had just moved closer to him and Avalon along with Rory.

With the sonic's use, the screen flickered on and allowed the Doctor to look through it, "Oh, well done, whoever you are. Looking for engines. Thank you, computer."

"Look at that, different sections have different engines," Avalon pointed out "But these look like the primary clusters."

Agreeing, the Doctor spoke to the computer, "Where are we now, computer? We need to get down to these engines..." he touched the screen and teleported away with his wife and the two Williams men. Next thing they knew, they were on a windy beach, the Doctor still in the middle of his sentence, "...and find out how..."

"What?!" Rory didn't even know why he was so surprised anymore. This was the usual thing for them after all.

"We're outside," Brian blinked, "We're on a beach."

Avalon smacked the Doctor, "You activated a teleport!"

"Must have activated on my voice," the Doctor scratched his head while he observed the new environment they were now in.

Brian was angry by that point and started shouting, "Ah, yes, well, thank you, Arthur C Clarke! Teleport, obviously, I mean, we're on a spaceship, with dinosaurs, why wouldn't there be a teleport? In fact why don't we just teleport now?!"

"Is he alright?" the Doctor blinked in surprise while Brian took a leave.

"He hates travelling," Avalon recalled the small detail and made a face.

"Makes him anxious," Rory added, "He only goes to the paper shop and golf."

"What did you bring him for?" the Doctor asked cluelessly.

Rory controlled himself not to yell, "I didn't! Why can't you just phone ahead, like any normal person?"

"Because that would mean he has to be normal," Avalon cut in distractedly. She thought she'd saw something in the sky. As such, she missed the brief deadpan her husband sent her.

Brian returned a tad less angry but nonetheless upset, "Can somebody tell me where we are, now?"

The Doctor stuck out his tongue and felt the breeze, more like tasted it, "Well, it's not Earth. Doesn't taste right, too metallic."

Avalon finally realized she did see something in the sky, albeit a bit strange. It was a large bird flying high in the sky. "Um...is that a kestrel?" she pointed up and made the Doctor glance up.

"...I do hope so."

"Hope is for losers," Avalon declared and turned away.

The Doctor looked at her a moment, upset by her words she used so easily. It wouldn't be the first time she said it too. He preferred not to get into it at that moment given the situation (and the fact his wife still did not believe in such an important aspect of life made him feel useless to her). For him, it meant she still wasn't happy enough — he hadn't made her happy enough, given her the faith she should have in him and the world.

That deeply hurt.

"The beach is humming," Rory brought the Doctor back to the present. He was tapping his shoe on the sand to feel the humming.

"Is it?" the Doctor bent and felt the ground, "Oh yes!" he stood up again, "Right, well, don't just stand there — you two, dig! I'm going to look at rocks. Love a rock...and my wife," he considered afterwards, gaining a small chuckle from Avalon. He beamed and took her along with him.

"You realize my sister is back who knows where," Avalon remarked nervously, "and not properly protected."

"I don't know, there's Riddell," the Doctor shrugged, "And Amy."

"Yeah, well, between us, I think Riddell is just going to scare Lena. I would just like to get back to my sister and make sure she's fine throughout the rest of the trip."

The Doctor nodded in agreement and let a moment of silence pass before he brought up her words from before. "Ava, when you say you...don't have hope...do you mean—"

Avalon could really do without that conversation again. She knew he meant well but she was tired of having to repeat herself over something that had just grown to be a part of her. "It has nothing to do with you, sweets," she turned to him and took his hands, offering him a comforting smile. She presumed that's where his thoughts were going. "I just..." she paused to consider the best words to make her point, "...don't think there's a point to believing in hope. It's nothing —just a tangible force," she shrugged, chuckling lightly, "It can't do anything for me; it hasn't done anything actually. But I swear it has nothing to do with you, or our little family, alright? It's just my own personal issue. Don't you ever think that I'm not happy with you or with what we have. Because if you do..." she leaned closer to him with a mock glare, "...I'll hit you."

A dim smile broke across the Doctor's face from her threat, "Understood Miss Pond."

"Technically it's Reynolds," Avalon pointed at him, "Reynolds-Pond...or Williams, since that's the correct term."

"Pond," the Doctor repeated as if she hadn't corrected him at all.

"Reynolds!" she chuckled.

"Avalon Pond," the Doctor made a gesture with his hands as he said the name, "Oh yes," he clicked his tongue, "Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Avalon had her arms crossed as she looked at him with a 'no way' expression, "My uncle's not gonna like me changing my name just because it 'has a nice ring to it'. I'm a Reynolds-Williams-Pond."

"Avalon Reynolds-Williams-Pond," the Doctor tested out the name and ended up shaking his head, "Nope, no."

"You're so ridiculous," Avalon chuckled, "I am never changing my name, so quit your attempts."

The Doctor mumbled a 'no' as he found a screen much like the one in the room before they'd been teleported away.

"Doctor! Ava!" Rory was running for them with Brian slightly behind. The couple turned just as Rory reached them.

"See! Metal floor, screens in rocks," the Doctor gestured to the screen, "It was just a short-range teleport. We're still on the ship."

"No, we're outside, on a beach," Brian pointed to the waters to prove his point.

"It's part of the ship," Avalon corrected.

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"No, that's his job," Avalon pointed a thumb at the Doctor.

"Well then I am brilliantly ridiculous," he declared, "But this is why the system teleported us here - I wanted the engines," he gestured to the beach, "This is the engine room! Hydro-generators."

"I have literally no idea what he's saying," Brian declared with hands raised for defeat.

"A spaceship powered by waves," Avalon translated in amusement.

"Fabulously impossible!" the Doctor swung an arm around her shoulders, "Oh, think of the things we could learn from this ship if we manage to stop it being blown to pieces."

"Oh yes, just spells 'come and learn'," Avalon playfully rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Plus, not dying," Rory pointed out.

"Bad news is - can't shut the wave systems down in time. Takes..." the Doctor happened to look up and trailed off, "...takes way too long."

Rory took a turn studying the screen, "If these are the engines, there must be a control room."

"Exactly," the Doctor agreed, "That's what we need to find," and then his voice went into a whisper, "Now, what do we do about the things that aren't kestrels?" Everyone looked up to the sky and saw the non-birds getting closer.

"Definitely not birds," Avalon made a face of disappointment. Just for once, could there not be strange creatures trying to kill them?

"Oh, my Lord," Brian breathed in shock, "Are those pterodactyls?"

"Yes. On any other occasion, I'd be thrilled," the Doctor shrugged as he slowly took Avalon's hand, "Exposed on a beach, less than thrilled. We should be going."

"Like now," she added and turned to get a start.

"Where?" Brian cried as they followed down the ruff rock cliffs.

"Definitely away from them!" the Doctor pointed at the pterodactyls.

"That's the plan?!" Rory irritably questioned them.

"Clearly there's nothing better at the moment!" Avalon snapped.

"Hey!" he pointed at her warningly, "Watch your tone! Can't we just teleport or something?"

"No, local teleport's burned out on arrival," the Doctor explained, "There's an opening in the cliffs over there!"

Getting into the cave was no easy task but they managed to do it with no injuries. They rested to catch their breaths and figure out what their next move would be.

"What do we do now?" Rory asked the Doctor, "There's no way back out there."

"Through the cave, c'mon," the Doctor started for the cave when the sound of loud stomps emerged from the inside, "That suggestion was a work in progress."

"Bad, bad plan," Avalon sighed and hung her head.

"We're trapped!" Brian exclaimed.

"Yes, thanks for spelling it out," the Doctor rolled his eyes and stepped back.

"Doctor, whatever's down there is coming this way," Rory remarked as the stomps grew closer.

"Spelling it out is hereditary, wonderful," the Doctor huffed, "Ava, I sure hope it didn't get to you."

"Hey," the ginger warned, "The sounds are getting nearer..."

The Doctor would've liked to point out that was the third obvious thing and she was definitely related to Rory and Brian...but that would prompt for his death there and then.

He backed up with her and the others as two large yellow robots appeared before them, and the first words spoken to them were, "We're very cross with you!"

Of course as they were taken custody by the robots and led back into the corridors of the spaceship they were in earlier, the Doctor came to realize the robots were pretty much harmless.

They were full of childish scoldings.

"You're going straight on the naughty step," one of them was telling the group.

"Shut the hell up," muttered Avalon who was severely trying not to kill the robots. They were severely annoying and if she had some type of weapon they would surely be dead by now.

"What's the escape plan?" Brian whispered to them from the side of his mouth.

"Why do we want to escape?" the Doctor genuinely looked at him with confusion, and of complete calmness.

"They have us hostage," Brian felt a tad ridiculous pointing out the dangerous truth.

"They're taking us somewhere. We might learn from it," Rory explained for him.

"Oh, you see?" the Doctor pinched Rory's cheek, "That's where my Ava gets it, so clever all of you Ponds!"

"Are you saying I can't be smart on my own?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, hand on hip.

"Dangerous territory," warned Rory to the Time Lord. He recognized that look to be from Amy's, and even more so from River...that was one look all men should watch out for.

"Love you," the Doctor went for the easy way out of the potential disagreement.

"Mhm," Avalon rolled her eyes, recognizing that move so easily by now. It was his way to avoid arguments in which he would of course lose against her.

"Excuse me," Brian cut in again, "but these robots are going to kill us!"

"They wouldn't do that," the Doctor assured and turned to the robots, tapping one of them on the chest, "You're not going to kill us, are you, Rusty?"

"Who are you calling Rusty?!" the second, sounding indignant, snapped.

"Own a mirror by any chance?" Avalon scoffed.

"You try being on this ship for two millennia, see how your paintwork does!"

"I'm an all natural," she quipped and patted her curls with a smile.

"Don't listen to them, they're just being mean cos we captured them," the first robot told the second.

Brian happened to look back and was startled to find a triceratops in front of them, "Oh, my goodness..."

"Woah," even Rory was taken aback that time.

"Ooh. Herbivore," the Doctor observed, "Brian, don't panic. Triceratops. Ha! Beautiful."

"It's kinda cute," Avalon remarked and leaned closer to pet it.

"Shall I shoot it?" the first robot asked.

"We're not supposed to shoot the creatures, stupid!" the second scolded.

"Stop calling me stupid!"

"Think we can keep one?" Avalon looked at the Doctor with sparkling blue eyes.

"Now I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it might be a little too big," the Doctor responded with amusement, "But you're welcomed to bring any pet decent sized."

"I want this one," Avalon returned her gaze to the triceratops, "You're such a cutie-pie, aren't you? Oh, maybe we can call it Tricey," she chuckled, "Simple but good, don't you think?"

The triceratops had apparently found something interesting in Brian as it started to sniff him, "What do I do?! What do I do?!" the man panicked, "What's it doing?!"

"You don't have any vegetable matter in your trousers, do you, Brian?" the Doctor curiously asked.

"Only my balls."

Rory covered his eyes in embarrassment, but the Doctor continued on, "I'm sorry?"

"Golf balls," Brian clarified and pulled out two white golf balls from his pocket, "Grassy residue."

"What're you carrying those around for?" Avalon found amusement in the fact.

The triceratops licked Brian's face and left a not-so-lovely trail of saliva over his face, "Urgh! Eurgh! Argh! Get it away from me!"

"Throw one," Avalon suggested and pointed to the golf balls in his hands.

"Really?" Brian considered as he looked at the triceratops, "Is this what you want? Is it?" he chucked one of the balls and the triceratops broke into a chase after it.

"And now you may want to breathe out," Avalon chuckled.

The Doctor took opportunity and turned to the robots, "Right! Take us to your leader."

"You did not just do that," Avalon rolled her eyes.

The Doctor glanced back at her with a smirk, "Too good to resist."

"You've got to be kidding me! Why did I ever marry you!?"

"I've got qualities," the Doctor didn't hesitate to say with an even wider smirk.

Avalon rolled her eyes but nonetheless felt a blush creep over on her face, "Shut up," she mumbled and wished she could wipe that smirk off his face there and then.

The robots forced them to keep going and were finally led up to what looked like another ship, far smaller than the actual spaceship. The Doctor leaned close to a cage-like gate barring them from the small spaceship, "Love what you've done with the place down here."

"Let him in," an older man from the inside requested, "Open the gate."

The robots followed orders and opened the gates. The Doctor walked through but the gates shut instantly afterwards, keeping the others out.

"No," Avalon stepped to the gate and looked around for a button that would let them in. "No! Absolutely not! Open this thing again!"

"He's not interested in you," one of the robots told her.

She spun around angrily, "Did I ask!? Open the damn gates right now!"

"Avalon," the Doctor called to her twice before she turned back to him. "Don't fight with the robots!"

"Why not?" she hissed. "They're not opening the gates!"

"That's okay!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes, now keep your lovely mouth quiet, please!"

Avalon scrunched her face, obviously offended with the oh-so-kind request.

Rory decided to step in and tug Avalon away from the gates, giving the Doctor an encouraging nod to go ahead. The Doctor thanked Rory immensely and felt confident enough to step away.

He trespassed cautiously until he realized the only person in the new room was an older man lying on a bed. The room was surrounded by all kinds of machinery — seemingly old by the state of it — and some very noise ones at that.

"Fantasia in F Minor for four hands," he remarked.

"You know it," the older man replied.

"Know it? Say hello to hands three and four! Schubert kept tickling me to try and put me off. Franz the Hands. Oh, that takes me back. Well, this is...cozy."

"It's fate you came," the older man announced.

"Is it?" the Doctor thought about it but couldn't see why it would be. What he did know was that the old man seemed certain of what he was saying. "I'm the Doctor."

"Yes, I know. I'm Solomon."

The Doctor was startled by a blue light that seemed to have scanned him, "What's that?"

"System malfunction, ignore it."

But the Doctor wasn't too sure it should be ignored. "What happened to you?"

"I was attacked. Three raptors. They cornered me. The robots rescued me, but it was nearly too late."

"Ah, yes. The robots," the Doctor looked around, "They're...unusual. Picking fights they might not win." Avalon was a force to be reckoned with when decently angered.

"I got them cheap, from a concession on Illyria Seven. The robots did as best they could with my legs, but...you can help me so much more."

"Oh, a "doctor" doctor! I see," the Doctor excitedly breathed on his hands before getting to work. He never shied away from a challenge. "Let's have a look," he lifted the material from Solomon's wounds.

"They chewed through part of the bone in my legs," Solomon explained.

"Yes, very nasty."

"But you can repair them."

"If you tell me how you came by so many dinosaurs," the Doctor made the offer swiftly. Unfortunately, the consequence was not a good one.

"Injure the woman," Solomon ordered.

"What!?" the Doctor barely had time to process the order when he heard Avalon's scream from the other side.

~ 0 ~

Avalon hadn't even blinked when one of the robots fired at her. "What the hell was that for!?" She was on the floor yelling at the pair of robots. There was now a hole in her cardigan on her right arm. She was lucky that it was only that but she had every right to be angry about it.

"AVALON!" The Doctor came running up to the other side of gate, frantically searching for his wife until he spotted her on the floor.

"I'm fine, it's okay..." Avalon tried to say despite it being quite the contrary. She learned long ago that when the Doctor got truly mad, it would not go well for anyone including himself.

Luckily, Rory was at Avalon's side to examine the injury as much as he could through the cardigan's hole. "Doctor, it'll be alright. Go deal with that guy and get us out of here."

The Doctor would go deal with Solomon but not because of what Rory said but to put an end to Solomon.

"Don't you dare get mad!" Avalon called as soon as he took off. It was almost like she could read his mind. "Doctor! Doc—who am I kidding, he's mad."

"Well, I'm not so happy myself," Rory muttered, pausing his examination to get up and confront the robots. ""I will take you apart cog by cog, and melt you down when all this is over!"

"Oh, I'm so scared!" countered the first robot with sarcasm then took a pause before saying: "Actually, I might be. A little bit of oil just came out."

"Rory," Avalon didn't mean to whimper but the gash on her arm was beginning to hurt. She started pulling her cardigan off to see just how much it was.

The sound of her voice pulled Rory away from the robots and in a flash, he was back with her. "Stay still," he instructed her once her cardigan was on her lap. He pulled out a small kit from his pocket. A pressure bandage was pressed to her shoulder, "It's just a burn, it's nothing serious."

"What's that?" Brian pointed at the small kit. He hadn't dared inch closer in fear of hurting Avalon or worse, making the robots feel like they had to keep shooting.

"Well, you carry a trowel, I carry a medpack. It's all about the pockets in our family," Rory shrugged then told Avalon, "This is an ice patch. It cools the skin."

"It's not too cold is it?" Avalon made a distasteful face, "And what kind of ice patch looks like that?"

"I look out for cool stuff wherever we go. Some people it's cars and hardware, for me it is nursing supplies," he put the patch on her.

Avalon snorted. "You trying to be a cool grandpa or something?"

"Is it working?"

"Absolutely not."

"Cool grandpa?" Brian looked between Avalon and Rory in confusion. "What on earth are you two talking about?"

Avalon's eyebrows raised at Rory. "I feel like you should take that one...if you want to of course."

Rory knew well why Avalon would say that last bit. They had never really openly discussed between them how they would go forwards with their familial relationship. Their small town of Leadworth had no idea that Avalon Reynolds was actually the granddaughter of the Williams — they didn't even know that Amy had been pregnant at all. It was easy to skip over River because she wasn't at Leadworth anymore. She didn't make visits very often and when she did, it was mostly to take them away to some distant planet or galaxy. There was no need to explain her presence.

Avalon was another story. As distant as she could be in the TARDIS, she still made more appearances in Leadworth. People knew her, they knew of her, and it was mostly for a bad reputation. Avalon was aware of it and had always tried to keep it separate from her friends. She had no doubt assumed that neither he nor Amy would want to disclose their familial ties.

"Rory, it's okay," Avalon whispered, thinking she had assumed correctly. She started getting up, prompting Rory to quickly do the same.

"No, it's not," he said, glancing at his father who was still waiting for an explanation. "Dad, I know it's going to sound crazy but look where we are?" He made a gesture to the ship and the robots for emphasis. "We're on a spaceship with a time traveling alien so really, what I'm about to say shouldn't be that big anymore."

"Rory, you're beginning to scare me," Brian admitted, "And like you said, given where we are, measure my words carefully."

"Rory—" Avalon tried to intervene again but Rory waved a finger at her to keep quiet. Her grandfather had spoken.

"Amy and I have daughter — we had a baby about a year ago and she grew up far away from us and she's an adult now. She had a daughter and that's Avalon." Rory gestured with both hands towards Avalon who could only sheepishly smile at the stunned Brian.

"Excuse me?" Brian blinked.

"Avalon's my granddaughter...your great-granddaughter," Rory said, smiling softly at Avalon. "Say hello, Ava."

Avalon felt like a child with his tone but nonetheless greeted Brian like it was the first time she was meeting him. "Hello..."

"Uh..." Brian found no words that would describe how he felt at the moment. Avalon thought it was a fair response.

"It's okay," she assured him, "It's big to take in and it will probably take a while for you to accept it. But if it's any comfort, I really do try to keep my act together now that I know it really affects my grandparents."

"Avalon," Rory grabbed something off the floor and walked to her side, "I have to give you a painkiller now. It won't hurt."

Avalon nodded and readied herself. She yelped when the needle jabbed into her arm. "That did hurt!"

"I lied." Rory grinned much like River had years ago on the Byzantine. His phone started ringing and giving it a quick glance, he answered it. "Hello, Mrs!"

"Where are you?" Amy demanded angrily.

"Still on board. Met some pterodactyls and some rusty robots," Rory glanced back at the robots with anger again, "That I'm going to melt down."

Avalon grumbled as she picked up her cardigan off the floor and slipped into it. "Not before I throw them off the ship," she muttered.

"Rory, this is a Silurian ship. Put the Doctor on the line now, please. It's urgent!"

Rory looked at the phone for a moment but did as told. He went up to the gate and cleared his throat, "Doctor?" he called and soon came the Time Lord, "Amy," Rory held the phone for him. The Doctor took the phone but was trying to get another glimpse of Avalon, "She's okay," Rory promised.

The Doctor took his word for it and answered Amy's call, "Amy?"

"This is an ark, built by the Silurians. They were looking for another planet," Amy got straight to the point of the problem.

"Where are they now?"

"None on board. I mean, thousands of stasis pods - all empty."

"I'll see you soon," the Doctor hung up and handed the phone back to Rory, "Be ready," he whispered before going back inside the room.

"I'd like to go home now," Avalon declared after Rory had returned to them, "Possibly write in my journal about how much I hate robots now."

"How's that entry to university going?" Rory curiously wondered. The last time they'd seen each other the Doctor had mentioned a desire to see Avalon finally start a path to become what she had always dreamed of: a writer. Of course, for him and Amy, that had been ten months ago, but for Avalon and the Doctor it had been far more than that.

Avalon felt guilty remembering that plan of hers. It wasn't that she didn't want to go to school but it hadn't been the main priority. She was secure in her previous decision to spend a good decade or so with her husband and finally enjoy their time together. After everything, she knew she deserved that much. She pushed back her ideas of going back to school and she would continue doing so until it felt right to her.

And there were some other feelings she was still trying to work through, all having to do with her parents.

"I'm...considering it..."

Rory eyed her for her odd answer. "You said that the last time we saw each other and you did say it'd been a long time since you last saw us."

"Umm..." Avalon rubbed a hand on her good arm, "I just have lots of thoughts on it."

"You're going back to school?" Brian jumped on a conversation that he knew he could follow. College. Perfectly human and normal.

Avalon shook her head fervently.

"Avalon!" Rory exclaimed incredulously.

"I'm sorry!" Avalon stepped back, her expression falling, "I just got to thinking if it was really my best choice."

"Why wouldn't it be? You know you have a good career with it. You've written short stories for several publishers now!" Rory started lifting the strange names she'd told them about. They were all off-world which made them hard to remember but the point still stood. "Why don't you apply to Luna University? That's where River and your father went."

"I know," snapped Avalon, startling Rory. "River — Melody — was a fantastic student there. She graduated there, she became one of the top students in her program. She's a doctor, basically. And my father? He was going to become a musician and he was damn good at it too. I don't want to be accepted just because I'm their daughter. That's not good enough, that's favoritism. And apart from that, the university knows that I'm with the Doctor and he's like bloody famous even though he's supposed to be dead. I want to know I'm accepted because I have talent, not because of my relationships."

"Avalon, you can't think like that!" Rory shook his head, about to go on a whole lecture when his father spoke over him.

"Then apply under a new name," Brian had said so matter-of-factly that neither Avalon nor Rory understood the first time.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Avalon asked.

Brian didn't understand why they were both looking at him so strangely. "Well, that's what writes do all the time, don't they? They change their names or go by an alias when they publish stories. If your parents actually went to that university you're talking about and you're afraid you'll be accepted only because of that, then apply under a new name."

"Woah," Avalon scratched the side of her head. "Thanks grandpa."

Brian blinked at the woman but Avalon was too deep in thought to notice it.

Avalon had considered other universities to apply to but she knew that Luna University was the top school with the best writing program for her. Plus, it was where her parents went and like it or not, that's where her father's story started and ended. It would mean a lot to her going there.

She just didn't want to be accepted because of them.

Suddenly, the Doctor came rushing out of the room looking a bit too jittery. "Hey!" He clapped his hands and turned to the robots. "He wants to see you!"

The robots didn't think to question it.

The Doctor immediately grabbed Avalon's hand. He kissed the back of her hand, meeting her gaze with all the worry in the world. She offered up another smile for him and because of time, he had to take it for the moment. "And we're off!"

Rory and Brian were left to run after the pair, both asking what the Doctor had done to make them have to do this. He didn't bother answering the question, instead focusing on how to best increase their speed. The answer came in the form of the triceratops they met earlier.

"Just do exactly as I do!"

"Oh hell no," Avalon declared as he got closer to the creature, skidding to a stop and thus forcing him to let go of her hand in the process.

"What!?" He turned around, mighty disappointed. "But you wanted to keep her as a pet!"

"Yeah, but not to ride her! She's gigantic!"

"I know, isn't that great!?" The Doctor grinned and took Avalon's hand again, running them up a stack of crates beside the creature. "Geronimo!"

"NO!" Avalon exclaimed as she was placed on the triceratops. "I hate you!"

"It'll be alright!" He assured as he took a seat behind her then prompted Rory and Brian to do the same. "Go, Tricey! Run like the wind!" He exclaimed and received some bellows from the creature but no movements. They were startled by the laser bolts shot by the nearing robots, frustrating the Doctor, "How do you start a triceratops?!"

"Tricey, fetch!" Brian threw the last golf ball he still had and successfully made the triceratops go.

All was fun and games as they began losing sight of the robots behind them. The triceratops made a brisky turn when the golf ball hit a wall and nearly dropped them all. However, the triceratops was beginning to reach a dead end and since it appeared that she wouldn't be stopping, they would have to figure out a quick detour.

"Where are the brakes?!" the Doctor barely had time to ask when the creature came to an abrupt stop and sent everyone to the floor.

"You had to ask," Avalon groaned and opened her eyes to see him over her with a wide grin on his face. She looked around and formed a clean smirk, "Well, something about this is peculiarly familiar." She ran her hands up his arms.

The Doctor's grin faded to be replaced with a mortified look, "Shhh! Shush!" he scolded, "Not in front of your grandfathers!" He whispered to her frantically, but the smirk on her face told him she was enjoying his embarrassment.

"Some payback," she laughed, pushing him off her so she could sit up.

She laughed and pushed him off her to sit up, "So where the hell are we now?" She found a screen much like the one in the room and quickly got up to go and investigate, "Doctor, there's an incoming message from Earth. Maybe it's Indira?"

"Probably," the Doctor agreed and went to check it out. He activated the message and greeted cheerfully despite the current situation, "Hello, Earth! How are things?"

Indeed, it was their soldier friend Indira who'd originally called them in to investigate the ship, "'Doctor, the ship's coming through the atmosphere. I have to start the missile program."

"No. No, no, no - don't do that, everything's under control here, turning round any moment. Need a bit of wriggle room on the timings..."

"'I can't do that.'"

"You have to!" Avalon frowned, "This ship contains the most precious cargo—"

"'My only responsibility is the Earth's safety. I'm launching the missiles. Goodbye," and the message ended.

"I don't like her," Avalon declared with a huff.

The Doctor began to pace while he thought of a quick, clever way to get them all to safety. Meanwhile, Rory came over with Brian and peered at the screen. Avalon was poking things on it trying to find something that could help, "Okay, this ship should have defense systems, so where are they?"

"My brilliant Ava!" the Doctor stopped pacing and gave her a sloppy kiss on the lips. He took over the screen and searched properly for the systems, "Computer, show us weapons and defense systems," but the screen responded with a 'no' for the system, "Well, that was a waste of time, wasn't it? Getting my hopes up like that."

Avalon raised an eyebrow, "Excuse you?"

"Love you," the Doctor quickly realized his mistake and once again took the easy road. "Love you so, so, so much!"

"What ship doesn't have weapons?" Rory cut in before the Doctor made another mistake.

"The ancient species, Rory - still full of hope," the Doctor answered and secretly thanked him for the little help.

"And once again look at what hope does," Avalon sighed and looked away, not wanting to tell the Doctor 'see?' but it was pretty clear where her thoughts laid.

"What about the control deck?" Brian questioned, "You said we should go to the control deck next."

"It's too late, it won't make any difference!" the Doctor shook his head.

"We could at least try," Rory offered.

"It won't work, Rory. The missiles are locked on."

"Well we can't give up," Avalon tossed the option away, "Maybe if we—" her sentence was cut off by the flash of light across them.

Solomon appeared with his tantrum robots behind, "You were telling the truth, Doctor. Earth has launched missiles. This vessel is too clumsy to outrun them, but I have my own ship."

"You won't get your precious cargo on board, though," the Doctor smirked, "It'll just be you and your metal tantrum machines."

"We do not have tantrums!" one of the robots argued.

"Shut up!" Solomon snapped and walked up to the Doctor, "You're right, Doctor. I can't keep the dinosaurs and live myself. But I had the IV system scan the entire ship and it found something even more valuable. Utterly unique. I don't know where you found it or how you got it here, but I want it."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Earth Queen Nefertiti of Egypt. A face stamped across history. Give her to me and I'll let the rest of you live."

"No," the Doctor promptly said.

"You think I won't punish those who get in my way?" Solomon took on the challenge, "Whatever their worth?"

One of the robots turned and shot the triceratops they group had ridden on.

"No!" Avalon cried sharply and ran for the creature, "Oh, no, no, no..." She wanted to touch it, pet it, but was afraid she'd just hurt it even more.

The Doctor walked over and pulled her from the creature that slowly died, "I'm sorry," he whispered to it and gently brought Avalon back to the others.

"You must be very proud," Avalon spat at Solomon.

Solomon remained completely calm like nothing had happened, "Bring her to me. Or the robots will make their way through your corpses. Bring her now."

"No," the Doctor firmly replied. However, a flash of light managed to complicate everything. Amy, Lena, Nefertiti and Riddel appeared several feet from them. Panicked, the Doctor hurried over, "What are you doing?"

Nefertiti raised her head, "I demanded to be brought here."

"No, no, no, no - no way."

"It isn't your choice, Doctor. It's mine."

"Listen to me, if you go with him, I can't guarantee your safety."

"You saved my people," Nefertiti reminded, "I am in your debt."

"No. No debts, you don't owe me anything."

"Then I do it of my own will," Nefertiti declared and walked to Solomon.

The Doctor sighed, "Neffy, Neffy, Neffy..."

"No!" Riddell cooked his rifle and aimed it at Solomon, "Take her, I shoot you."

Nefertiti held an arm out to keep him back, "Put your weapon down. Let me make my choice."

"Do it, boy," Solomon ordered, clearly loving the fact he was getting his way, "My bounty increases. And what an extraordinary bounty you are," he reached to touch Nefertiti when she shoved his hand away.

"Never touch me," Nefertiti spat angrily.

Solomon slammed her to the wall with his cane pressed against her throat to keep her still, "I like my possessions to have spirit. It means I can have fun breaking them. And I will break you in, with immense pleasure," he took a moment to speak to the others, "Thank you, Doctor. Computer? Take us back to my ship."

After they were teleported away, the sounds of an alarm blared and warned, "Hostile targeting in progress. Hostile targeting in progress. Hostile targeting in progress. Hostile targeting in progress. Hostile targeting in progress."

"Bingo..." the Doctor whispered when his mind created an idea that was sure not to fail.

"What is it?" Avalon curiously stared at him, assuming their escape plan had already been built.

Unfortunately, she did not get a worded answer. Instead, the Doctor teleported the entire group to the central command area of the ship. He went by the two piloting chairs and got to work on the post between the chairs.

"So, what's the plan?" Avalon tried her luck again.

"Come on. The missiles are locked on to us, we can't outrun them, we have to save the dinosaurs and get Nefertiti back from Solomon. Isn't it obvious?!"

"It's sort of the opposite of obvious," Lena sheepishly admitted and looked around for other's thoughts. Thankfully, it seemed she wasn't alone.

"What are you going to do?" Amy questioned.

"17 minutes before the missiles hit, we need to turn this ship around," The Doctor informed while using his sonic on the inside of the post.

"You said it was too late, there wasn't any time," Rory pointed out and received an irritated look back.

"Ah, yes, but I didn't have this plan then, did I? Riddell? Keep an eye out for dinosaurs."

"I was rather hoping you'd say that," Riddel smirked and handed off his gun to Brian before leaving.

"No killing any," called the Doctor, "Rory, Brian, get rid of the cobwebs."

"Yes, please," Lena said before sneezing, "The dust has been giving me allergies."

The Doctor changed over to the computers but apparently had troubles since he started slamming his hand on the side of the computer, "No - don't be like that! Really unhelpful."

"What's the matter?" Avalon frowned.

"Parallel pilot compartments, bio-configured, needs two operators of the same gene chain. That's why Solomon couldn't change the ship's course and neither can-" he had stopped upon looking at her and Lena.

"Oh I see where you're heading," Avalon stepped back, "And no."

"C'mon!"

She swatted his hands away from her, "Absolutely not! And besides," she managed to grab his hands and keep him still, "While I love Lena to death — like if we were full blooded sisters — reality says otherwise. Lena and I are cousins, meaning half of our genes won't correspond in the machine. You know it."

As much as the Doctor would like to prove her wrong, she was actually right. The machine needed full blooded relatives. Half of it just wouldn't do.

"But," Avalon brought the Doctor to Brian and Rory, "I think my grandfathers will do just fine."

"Oh," the Doctor perked up at the suggestion, "Yes! I love that! The Ponds at work!"

"They're not Ponds," Avalon sighed. "Do we need to wear name tags for you or what?"

"Shush! Love you," the Doctor said distractedly as he motioned for Rory and Brian to sit on the chairs, "both of you. Ship does all the engineering, the controls are straightforward, even a monkey could use them," and then he stopped to see if the joke was understood.

Instead, he received a smack on the arm, "Those are my grandfathers!" Avalon frowned.

"It was comedy gold," the Doctor gestured, "Where's a Silurian audience when you need one? Anyway, two eye-line screens - velocity and trajectory. Steer away from Earth, try not to bump into the moon otherwise the races who live there will be livid."

"What?" Brian looked at all the controls and wondered just how he would actually pilot the entire ship.

"Primary controls in the arms of the chairs, principle's the same as any vehicle. Eight minutes, 45 seconds," the Doctor used the sonic and activated the piloting system. Get us as far away as you can," he moved to the post and peered inside, "Right, phase two sorted. Now for phase one."

Lena chuckled as she moved closer, "Phase two comes after phase one, big brother."

"Humans, you're so linear," he playfully rolled his eyes, "Shine a torch in here please, baby sister."

"What exactly are you doing?" she curiously peeked inside while still doing his request.

"Mixing my messages," he shrugged, "How's the job?"

"It's not a job," Lena shook her head, "it's an internship, remember? I'm not actually getting paid. I'm there to observe the kids."

"But it's not bad, right? Bunch of school children? Just because you're not getting paid."

"Of course not! I'm actually very happy where I am right now." Lena was over the moon with her internship at an elementary school. It was always her go-to career choice and she was finally making good on it. "I feel like my life's finally coming together. I've got an internship, got a boyfriend—"

The Doctor nearly dropped his sonic. "You've got a what now!?"

Avalon and Amy snorted into laughter on the other side of the room.

Lena didn't think it was that funny. "I don't understand why you're so confused," she said to the Doctor, "You knew I was dating someone."

"I thought it was one date!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Nobody told me that my baby sister had a boyfriend!? Who is this guy!?"

"I already told you — he was one of the doctors I met when I had my relapse!"

"What?" the Doctor frowned, "He can't date his patient!"

"And why not?" It was Lena's turn to frown now. "You married one of the little girls from 5 minutes ago."

"Now wait a minute," Avalon called, losing all of her giggles once she was brought into the argument...

Lena broke out with a smile afterwards and chuckled. "And there's nothing bad with that too," she put a hand over the Doctor's, "His name's Tristan, he's an excellent doctor and excellent boyfriend. And I really hope you'll get along. I told him all about you guys. We've even had dinner with Amy and Rory."

"Yeah, he was a decent guy," Amy gave a thumbs up as she came beside up the Doctor.

"Okay, I think we're done talking about me now," Lena said, raising her hands in front of her. "Let's switch to something more interesting like the fact Amy gave up her job again!"

"What!?" Amy gaped at Lena. "Lena!? Why!?"

Lena smiled mischievously. "Because I don't like the attention."

"Oh, great," Amy muttered now that the Doctor was eyeing her. "Don't look at me like that!"

"Byeeee," Lena hurried away from the two, meeting Avalon on the other end.

"And I'm the awful one," Avalon whispered.

"Amy — why'd you give up the job again?" the Doctor had to ask. "You gave the last one up!"

"And how would you know that given you haven't been around in ten months," Amy crossed her arms, "I'm actually afraid to ask how long it's been for you."

The Doctor visibly gulped.

"Mhm," Amy deadpanned him. "That's the reason right there, you know? I can't hold a job because I'm always listening out for that stupid TARDIS sound."

"What — so it's our fault now?" the Doctor made a face. "I don't think I'm responsible for your job, Pond."

Amy wasn't intending on arguing with him, much less over a stupid job she didn't really want anyways. "I can't not wait for you two." Her eyes flickered over to Avalon who was giggling with Lena over something. Amy sighed. "To be honest, I'm scared."

The Doctor stopped working again and met Amy's eye. "Why?" he asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"The gaps between your visits are getting longer," Amy started, knowing full well that she had a point when the Doctor ducked his head. "I mean I understand that you and Avalon want to be alone sometimes but at the same time I feel like you're trying to wean us off you."

"I'm not, I swear," the Doctor said fast, "I would never do that to you."

"Doctor, you never looked back on your friends — Dr. Jones and the Captain?"

The Doctor continued shaking his head. "It's different. Your family. You're my Ava's grandparents. It's just that you and Rory have lives. I thought that's what we agreed."

"I know," Amy nodded, "I know that's what we said but it's different now. Time's change. You know that better than anyone, right?" The Doctor half smiled at her. "The fact is, the gaps are getting longer and I'm afraid that there'll come a time when you and Avalon won't turn up anymore. That something will have happened to you two and we'll still be waiting...never knowing what happened..." Tears shined in Amy's eyes at the mere idea of that ever happening. She didn't like thinking about the knot in her stomach either, nor the lump in her throat. It felt like when she lost Melody as a baby.

"No, no," the Doctor said, reaching for Amy's hand and squeezing it tightly, "That's not happening."

"Can you promise that?" Amy smiled through her tears.

"I can — I promised Rory that," the Doctor admitted. From his end, it was an age old promise that he made to Rory to keep Avalon safe no matter what. Avalon would come first no matter what, even if it meant putting her above his love. "I'm keeping that promise even if it kills me."

Amy had no doubt that he would put his best efforts forwards. The Silence alone proved it. "I just can't help but worry."

"I understand," the Doctor assured her, "Your a mother and a grandmother. It's in your nature. But like I told Rory, I'll always put Avalon first and even if I don't come back, she will."

"Both of you," Amy said slowly so he would hear her well, "I want both of you at my doorstep."

The Doctor smiled. "Of course Miss Pond."

~ 0 ~

Ten minutes later, Riddell returned with a demand that he needed a partner. "It's a two-man job!" he had declared.

"I'm easily worth two men!" Amy had happily volunteered and took another gun to head out with Riddell.

"I would've volunteered too," Avalon grumbled.

"Don't worry Ava, you can stay with Lena," the Doctor said, reaching for the large crystal from the innards he'd pulled out.

"Absolutely not," Avalon scowled. "Lena, you stay here and keep yourself safe." She hurried towards the Doctor before he would have a chance to tell her 'no'.

"What are you two going to—" Lena was cut off by the bright white light of a teleportation. "Oh, of course!"

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Avalon reappeared inside Solomon's ship. The Doctor glared at Avalon beside him, the latter smirking in return.

"Can't send me back now," she tapped his nose then gestured him to start the way.

"Fine," the Doctor muttered and led the way. "Having trouble leaving?" He called out to Solomon. Avalon eyed the strange hand movements of her husband which seemed to be touching just about every damn button in his proximity. "Ship's still magnetized, couldn't bear to lose you."

"Release my ship, Doctor," Solomon turned and threatened Nefertiti with his weapon-like cane, "Or I kill this precious little object."

Nefertiti kicked the can from his hand and held to his throat once he hit the ground, "I am not your possession now, nor will I ever be. Now stay there."

"Kay, that was badass," Avalon nodded. At Nefertiti's questioning look, Avalon elaborated. "I meant I'm impressed."

"Really?" Nefertiti smiled. "Thank you."

The Doctor walked to the controls with his own smile; he preferred Avalon getting along with the Egyptian queen than arguing any day.

"What're you doing?!" Solomon demanded from the Time Lord who had begun pushing more buttons.

"Disabling this ship's signal and replacing it with the one from the Silurian ship. I send this craft off emitting the signal they're looking for, the missiles will follow," he turned around with a grin, "Hopefully Silurian ship safe, dinosaurs safe, everybody safe. Ava, time?"

Avalon checked her watch — the same watch she'd won from him years ago — and made a whistling sound, "There is definitely no time to chat."

The Doctor motioned for Nefertiti to get moving, "Neffy, let's go." He let Avalon go ahead as well but remembered something important, "How remiss of me, almost forgot - the thing about missiles, very literal, this is what they latch on to." He carefully set down the crystal and aimed his sonic at it, "Now, one press on this and the ship's demagnetised."

Solomon's panic began to set after that. "Doctor!" He called. "Whatever you want, I can get it for you! Whatever object you desire!"

The Doctor stared long and hard at Solomon's frantic face. "Did the Silurians beg you to stop?" He glanced at the computers, "Look, Solomon. The missiles. See them shine. See how valuable they are. And they're all yours." He activated the crystal and made his move to leave.

"You wouldn't leave me, Doctor..." he heard Solomon say and had only one more thing to say.

"Enjoy your bounty," he shut the gate after himself and left. It wasn't very often he could leave so easily in a situation like this but Solomon had made one too many mistakes, among them mass murder and harming his wife.

~ 0 ~

After everything was done and saved, the Doctor led back the group to the TARDIS. "So, dinosaur drop-off time!" He opened the doors and barely got a step in when words of disappointment were spoken.

"Actually, we think home for us," Rory glanced at Amy for agreement.

The Doctor turned around in time to see Amy giving the nod. "Oh, fine...of course. Lena?" He looked at the brunette with dim hope.

"Sorry, I was supposed to be meeting Tristan about an hour ago," Lena confessed sheepishly, "I really hope he won't be mad."

"Got it," the Doctor nodded and turned back for the TARDIS, "Well, I was pretty busy anyways," Avalon sadly smiled at him without noticing. She knew he was upset her grandparents and sister were turning down adventures. As much as Amy and Rory wanted to be in the TARDIS, the fact remained that when they were they didn't stay for long. It was more like they just wanted to check in on them.

"Can I ask for a favor?" Brian cut into the silence that had fallen and made everyone look at him, "There's something I want to see."

"What did you have in mind, great-grandfather?" Avalon asked curiously, loving that he wasn't even correcting her on the name. She'd just gained one more family member!

~ 0 ~

After dropping off Nefertiti and Riddell, both in the same era, and even Lena back on New Earth, Brian finally asked the Doctor to allow him for some peaceful lunch...while floating in outer space. Brian sat on the doorway with his feet dangling out, Amy and Rory standing behind him all watching their home. A couple feet away from them was the Doctor who was watching them with a sad smile. Those were his Ponds, and they were slowly fading from him.

A pair of arms wrapped around his waist and a head rested on his back. The Doctor glanced over his shoulder and smiled softly at Avalon who was looking up at him. He turned around and raised her head to place a kiss on her lips. Afterwards, he scooped her up into his arms, making Avalon squeal in surprise, and headed to the console.

"Where are we going?" she whispered to him so not to ruin the moment by the doorway.

The Doctor placed her on the console chair and leaned closer to her, "Anywhere you want," he declared as he reached to stroke her ginger locks, "My Pond."

"I'm not a Pond," she corrected with amusement. "I don't know what I have to do to get that through your head!"

"You're my Pond," the Doctor insisted, almost pleading with her. "And I love you my Ava. Avalon Pond."

Because, after everyone was gone — friends, family, companions — his Ava would always be there. She was the only Pond who would never leave him. It was like he said, he would always have a Pond in the TARDIS.

A/N:

I just want to say I'm sorry for taking so long with this story. I've got several questions here and on tumblr asking me if I was going to continue with this story and my answer is YES. The only thing right now is that I've decided to go back to school and since I'm working full time as well, my schedule for all of my stories has taken a hit. For Avalon's stories, I'm making it my goal to finish it up at least to 11's regeneration. I have big plans for Clara's arc and her season is already fully written (I'm writing 11's regeneration chapter as we speak) so it's just a bunch of editing that I have to do before I update the next chapters.

[saiilorstars]

Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist

Ch. 5: The Bookshop, the Wand and the Heist

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC

Chapter summary: Avalon is invited to the grand opening of a bookshop near Luna University. In it, she, the Doctor and the Ponds finds a magical book that brings them to an entire new world. To get home, they'll have to steal something. Of course the only logical thing to do in those circumstances is to...Heist. Avalon certainly thinks so.

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​ @perfectlystiles​​​​

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

A/N: Happy Halloween, my dears! It's Heisting time ;)

It was a rare morning where Avalon got to wake the Doctor up. Usually he slept less than her which would logically leave him to do the waking up but not today. Avalon took to poking his forehead until he opened his eyes and that took a good ten minutes. Though his vision was initially blurry, the Doctor could still make out the figure of his wife and her wide smile beside him.

He groaned. "You know, a normal wife would wake her husband up with a kiss or something."

Avalon rolled her eyes at him. "If you don't know by now that I'm nowhere near normal, I don't know what to tell you. Now wake up!" She shoved him enough to force him on his back.

He rubbed his eyes until everything swirled with colors. "Right now, I may love you a little less."

Avalon laughed. It was truly rare to see him being all sleepy. "C'mon Fairy Tale Man, you promised me that we would go. I need you at your 110% best if we're going."

"Not that I don't remember but...where are we going again?"

Avalon shook her head. "Where's my clever husband today!?" She climbed over his body and straddled him.

"Contrary to the popular belief, I do need a break sometimes," the Doctor took in a deep breath in an attempt to start the waking up process because right now, not even his wife on top of him could do the trick.

"Happy Halloween!" Avalon exclaimed to remind him the importance of the day and, by consequence, what place he promised they would go to today.

"Halloween…" the Doctor repeated slowly; the cogs were turning slowly in his head. "Is it…?"

Avalon pulled his hands from his face. "Yes! And Amy and Rory are coming with us! So wake up!"

"With that loud mouth of yours, you really think I'll be able to sleep again?"

Avalon smiled sweetly. "You didn't seem to care about my 'loud mouth' last night." She giggled at his deadpan glare. "That's what I thought, now get up!" She got off him with the warning that he better be changed the next time she came back to the room. She had to wake up her grandparents.

~0~

The setting was a chilly town that was no bigger than Leadworth itself, and that was saying something. Avalon had her arm curled around the Doctor's as they walked down the sidewalk. Amy and Rory were right behind them.

"Remind me again where we're going?" Rory asked, still yawning behind a hand. Like the Doctor, he and Amy had been woken up before their usual time by their granddaughter.

"And it better be a good reason or else we'll be one granddaughter short," grumbled Amy.

Avalon rolled her eyes. "I'm your only granddaughter."

"Hey, you're time travelers. Who's to say I don't have some future great granddaughter somewhere in the galaxies?" Even though neither Avalon nor the Doctor answered, Amy still smirked triumphantly when they both shot her a glare. "Don't ignore my intuition — remember the last time with Melody?"

"C'mon, it's Halloween!" Avalon gestured to the decorations hanging from every building in a clear attempt to get things moving. "And it's the grand opening of the new bookshop that I have been personally invited to."

"What?" Rory stopped walking, forcing the others to do the same. "You woke us up to go to a bookstore?"

Avalon pouted. "How come no one's excited except for me?" She reached inside her coat to pull out a white envelope with her name written on the front in beautiful glittering calligraphy. "This is a personal invitation from the head of the English department of Luna University. Turns out they read one of my drafts I wrote on New Earth when I was waitressing and waiting for this guy to come back," she nodded at the Doctor. "Apparently the bookshop is going to be filled with all sorts of different books!"

"Ava, that's what a bookstore is," Rory said, much to his granddaughter's irritation.

"This is an alien bookstore!" she snapped. "The professor said that some of the books have magical elements to it, hence the grand opening on Halloween!"

"There is no such thing as magic," Amy said flatly.

The Doctor sent both Ponds a look to go with it. Avalon was incredibly excited about the event. Not only did it land on her favorite holiday, but the professor had shown an honest care for her short stories. He was proud to see Avalon getting some recognition beyond Earth. Plus, it could perhaps be a step towards an eventual college admission if Avalon decided to apply.

"Yes, there is and we're going to go see it. I want smiles people!" Avalon picked up her pace to be the first one to reach the bookshop.

Her grandparents' disbelief of the place went up a notch when they saw nothing but a regular shop in-between two other local shops. It looked completely normal.

Avalon groaned. "Shut up already and smile. We're going in!" She yanked the door open and stepped inside first. As soon as the others followed, their thoughts about the shop shifted.

"Holy TARDIS," Amy blinked at the gigantic bookstore.

"It's bigger on the inside," Rory lost count of the floors mounting over one another.

The Doctor was positively grinning. "Oh, I like this. Who is in charge because I like this! I get to say it for once! It's bigger on the inside! Ha!"

"It's so Belle!" Avalon laughed with delight. She even caught the sliding ladders to reach the higher shelves. "I love it!"

"Miss Reynolds?" An older, gray haired man with thin rimmed glasses walked over.

Avalon immediately fixed herself and pushed her curly hair behind her shoulders. "Professor Nole," she extended a hand to shake with his. "Thank you so much for the invitation."

The professor shook her hand and smiled in return. "Thank you for coming."

"This is my husband and my grandparents," Avalon gestured to each of her family. No names were needed considering who each of them were.

"Of course," Nole moved on to shake hands with the rest of them. "Doctor, your reputation precedes you. And Dr. Song's parents are well regarded amongst our community."

"We are?" Rory asked and soon felt Amy's elbow jabbing his side. "I mean we are," he nodded.

"But you must know that the reason I sought out Miss Reynolds was for her work and only her work," Nole clarified before he said anything else. While Avalon didn't outright say it, he got the gist that she wanted her name to be completely separated from her husband's and her mother's. A noble desire and one he could very well understand. "It is truly fantastic. Her stories are — I simply haven't seen them before."

"Well of course you haven't," the Doctor wrapped an arm around Avalon's waist. "My wife's one of a kind. Literally."

"Yes," Nole chuckled especially when he noticed Avalon's flush of embarrassment. "We are well aware of that."

"We're not really going to talk about my biology, right?" Avalon meekly asked, something uncharacteristic of her personality. "This bookstore is amazing. It's bigger on the inside. We're both big fans of that," she pointed at herself then the Doctor.

"I imagine," Nole nodded. "I was actually thinking, if Miss Reynolds—"

"Please, just Avalon," the ginger said. There was no need for formalities.

Nole abided and continued. "If Avalon would sign off, I would like to have some of her short stories here on display." As soon as the proposal left his mouth, Avalon's eyes widened like dinner plates. "This bookstore will be visited by a lot of our students and those who haven't really planned on a major yet might benefit from reading her stories. Even the students who already are English majors would benefit from reading unique stories like these. You don't really see old Earth literature anymore."

"Well of course not, it's the future," Amy said like it should have been obvious. "How would that work though? Avalon writes in the past — 2012 Leadworth to be exact — so wouldn't that be like a huge no-no?"

"Not really," the Doctor answered before Nole could. "Avalon doesn't write non-fiction. It's fantasy. Fantasy can be plucked from any point in Time."

"Well then what do you say, Avalon? Would you be interested in transferring some of your work here?" Nole waited for the woman in question to say something.

Avalon didn't answer straight away, though. Her eyes were roaming the vast bookstore, her mind wondering where-oh-where would people find her stories. They would actually be here...in the building...if she agreed.

"Avalon?" She heard Nole call again.

Her eyes landed on the man and though she still didn't say anything, the answer was pretty evident. "Y-yeah, I'd really like that," she nodded. The smile that struck her could probably crack her face from how wide it was.

"Excellent," Nole beamed. "I can get the paperwork all sorted and sent it your way. Where exactly can I send it to you?"

"Uuh…" Avalon glanced at the Doctor at a loss. They didn't exactly have a concrete address, did they?

"Send it home to us," Rory was the one to answer. Avalon whipped her head in his direction. "Leadworth 2012. All correspondence, actually. We'll be around to pick it up."

"Perfect," Nole clapped his hands together. "Well, stay as long as you want and please feel free to take any book you want. It's on the house."

"Thank you," Avalon said whole-heartedly. "Really. This is my first opportunity to...put my work out." She wasn't around Leadworth anymore to continue leaving stories for the old bookstore she worked in. If she was honest, she would probably never come back to live there.

"You earned it, Avalon, and I have no doubt that your first book will be just as amazing as these stories."

"A b-book?" Avalon nervously laughed. "I don't know about that — I've only ever written short stories. I...I'd have to go to school and...and learn more…"

"Well...consider Luna University interested in you attending there if you ever decide to enroll somewhere," Nole smiled at her sputtering reaction. He gave her a quick shake of hand before leaving to attend to other guests.

"D-d-did he just…? Did he…?" Avalon turned to the Doctor and Ponds with a mouth hanging open. "En-enroll?"

"I did say a long time ago if you ever wanted to enroll in a college you'd be able to," the Doctor grinned at her. "You'd succeed with no problem."

"Oh my God!" Avalon laughed. "I just...me going to college? Can you imagine that?"

"No, actually, I can't," Amy said with a shake of her head. "But I'm sure it'll be fun to see if you decide to go."

"You'd be writing books in no time," Rory added. They kept saying that but for some reason, Avalon didn't quite believe them.

"I don't know about that…" Avalon sighed. "Me going to college? Right now?" She glanced at the Doctor as if he would say something about it.

They had been travelling together for a few decades now and it was so much fun. They were always together, being random with their adventures just how they liked it. To go to college meant they would have to slow down again and she would have to schoolwork. Those spontaneous adventures would definitely take a hit. It was perhaps one of the bigger reasons she kept abandoning the idea.

As if reading her thoughts, the Doctor tugged her close to his side. "Whatever you decide you want to do, I'll be there."

"We'd have to accommodate a lot of things," she said as if reasoning why it wouldn't work.

"Then we'd do it," he shrugged. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Because that's not your style? It's never been your style to slow down…"

"Then it'll be the first time I slow down," he cupped her face. "I want nothing more than to see you happy and I just know that you becoming that author you've always dreamt about would make you happy."

Avalon smiled softly at him. "Thanks. I...I still have to think about it. I'm not really sure."

"You have all the time in the world," the Doctor said, planting a kiss on her lips. "Now, how about we go searching for some books? Professor Nole did say that we could take whatever we wanted."

Avalon beamed at the idea. They had taken to the idea of her reading to them in the night when they were done with their day. It was something sweet and intimate that they shared with. She loved discovering the books the TARDIS would leave for her and the Doctor loved hearing her voice.

"Do they have any romance books?" asked Amy. "I'm in the mood for those."

Rory rolled his eyes beside her. "Of course."

The Doctor grabbed Avalon's hand and started leading the way. "Come along, Ponds!"

~ 0 ~

The bookstore was as huge, just as it first appeared. The travelers had gone through several floors plucking out potential books to bring home. Avalon would of course drift towards the fantasy genre that for some reason seemed to be placed in a deep corner of the 9th floor.

"You have been here forever," groaned Amy. "C'mon!"

"Oh shush," Avalon said as she handed yet another book to the Doctor. His arms were starting to hurt from the stack of books he was carrying but he still let her go on. "Oooh, look at this one!" She pulled one book from a higher shelf — so high that she only barely managed to pull it off — and gazed at its interesting cover. It was rather dusty which made no sense considering the bookstore just opened today. She opened it up and not a moment later did a strong earthquake strike — at least they thought it was in that moment.

The ground rumbled and knocked down several of the books around them. The Doctor dropped all of the books from his arms when he tumbled down. Rory crashed against the opposite shelf and Amy barely managed to stay on her feet. A whirlwind enveloped the group, leaving very little view to the eye.

"Close it! Close the book!" Avalon could hear the Doctor yelling in the midst of everything.

Avalon struggled to do such a menial task but it was like the book was actively pulling against her. Eventually, she managed to closed it but only after several minutes of struggle. The earthquake stopped almost immediately after.

"What was that!?" Rory said after pulling himself up to his feet. "Did a...did a book just cause that!?"

"I-I don't know," Avalon blinked with wide eyes at the book in her arms. "I just...all I did was open it to the first page and—"

"Put the book down, Avalon," the Doctor warned with a sharp edge in his tone. She nodded shakily and lowered the book to the floor. The Doctor was looking around for something none of them knew. "I don't think we're in the bookstore anymore…"

"Why do you say that?" Amy raised an eyebrow at him. To answer her question, the Doctor raised a finger in the air and made them all see a grim gray sky.

There was a sky.

"Hold on…?" Rory gawked and rubbed his eyes just to make sure he was seeing right.

"Is that a door?" Avalon spotted a bright orange door at the end of the aisle, something else that hadn't been there a moment ago. "How is there a door? Doctor, what's going on? Did we hit our heads or something? Is this even real?"

"I get the feeling this is very real, Ava," sighed the Doctor. "C'mon!" He held a hand out for her to take and when she did, he held onto her tightly. He led the way towards the door and just before following them, Amy picked up the book Avalon had put down. Whatever was happening, the book was responsible for it.

Outside of the door they were met with a snowy landscape with only one identifiable building across…

"Is that a castle?" Avalon almost forgot about the potential danger as soon as she saw the great silver castle shining.

"Don't you even dare," Rory warned her from behind. "Doctor, what's going on?"

"Hey, it's the same castle from the book," Amy said suddenly, making everyone realize she held the book in her arms.

"Amy!" exclaimed Rory.

Amy turned the book over for them to see the same castle on the front page. "See?" She tapped the picture and then noted the wand proudly above it. "I wonder what this thing is about?"

"What...so...wait," Avalon pulled her hand out of the Doctor's, the slow grin spreading across her face giving Rory a dreadful feeling, "Are we...inside the book!?"

"I think so," the Doctor looked back and forth between the real-life castle and the one on the book.

"No, no," Rory wagged a finger at him. "That cannot be possible."

"Oh but it is! It's magic!" Avalon laughed, clapping her hands together. "It's so magic! Tell him Fairy Tale Man!"

The Doctor sighed. "I'm afraid it is, Rory. There are books that have the power to pull you inside to their world."

"So how do we get out?" Amy flipped through the pages of the book. "Do we like...follow the story?" That's usually what happened on television.

"For now, it's our best bet," the Doctor turned back to the castle. "What's the story about anyways?"

Amy closed the book and turned it over to the back to read the summary. "Umm, let's see...short version? 'The White Queen has turned the golden fields and shining seas of the kingdom into nothing but snow. Only by stealing back her magic wand, sealed in the center of the castle, will the kingdom return to normal.'"

"Are you telling me we have to steal a stupid wand?" Rory rubbed his face. Could this get any worse?

Avalon gasped so deeply that for a moment, the Doctor panicked thinking she was hurt. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. She turned around just as the Doctor went to check her up.

"What's wrong, Ava!? Did something hurt you!?"

"No!" She was smiling again, utterly beaming too. "Do you know what this is!? Do you know what it means!?"

"No, not really, and I hate that honestly," he frowned.

Avalon now smirked. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second — annual — Heist!"

Rory dropped his hands from his face. That is how it could get worse. He stared at his granddaughter, utterly astounded her mind would connect this unfrotunate event to a heist. And yet, she couldn't look more excited about the prospect. "Avalon Harmony Reynolds, don't you even dare!"

Amy, however, heard something completely different. "Annual?" She raised an eyebrow at Avalon. "What do you mean 'annual'? You haven't done this anymore."

"I meant for your timeline!" Avalon rolled her eyes. "We only wanted to do it if you guys were in on it. Hence, second annual since the last time we did it together."

"No!" Rory pointed a finger at her, "Not an annual thing! I told you the last time we were never doing this again!"

Avalon smirked again and even wider this time. "Oh my dear grandfather, we have to if we want to go home. And if we're stuck here we might as well have some fun. It's another Heist! On Halloween! This is exactly like Brooklyn 99!" She laughed delightedly and clapped her hands together. "It can't get any better than this!"

"You're crazy," Rory declared. "Doctor, tell her we can't do this."

"I mean..."

"No," Rory pointed at the Time Lord. "This is exactly how it happened the last time!"

"I'm just thinking that right now it's our only way out!" the Doctor exclaimed. "We need to get the wand to finish the story and go home."

"I'm game for another round," Amy went with the same smirk her granddaughter had. Rory shook his head. He wasn't even surprised by her easy agreement. Amy stepped forwards. "Of course we're done 2 players from the last time. River and the Sapling are God knows where."

"Oh, the Sapling's on that planet where the couches talk," Avalon remarked, glancing at the surprised Doctor, "I forgot to show you his latest letter he sent."

"What, to you?" frowned the Doctor.

"Obviously," Avalon straightened up, "I am his Mother."

"And I'm his father!"

"So, what are the rules this time?" Amy inquired before an argument started, "Obviously your TARDIS—" she pointed at the Doctor, "—is out of the game this time. Your sonic is definitely out too."

"Fine," the Doctor said. "But I'm with my wife this time."

"Ooh, then Rory and I are a team," Amy reached back for Rory and pulled him up beside her, ignoring his dreadful groan. "Couples vs. couples."

"Not much of a 'versus' when you know we're going to win," Avalon took hold of the Doctor's hand. "I was the one who got the jewel the last time. I won for us."

"Beginner's luck," Amy snorted. "Plus, I'd win too if I had snogged my husband for the jewel."

"That came after and has no relevance in my triumph."

"I cannot believe we're doing this," Rory said.

"Oh don't fret Rory, it'll be fun," the Doctor said. "And it's not actually stealing."

"Yeah," nodded Avalon with a fair share of excitement. "Technically speaking, we're just taking something that was already stolen, which is what we did the last time too."

"Only this time it's not real because we're inside a book!" the Doctor exclaimed and clapped a hand with Avalon.

Rory didn't know who to look at first between them. "Your thought logic scares me and it makes me wonder what the hell you two do when Amy and I aren't around."

"Nothing bad...ish," Avalon smiled ever-so-innocently.

"So what happens when we win?" asked Amy. She learned a long time ago that it was better not to think of what those two did when they were alone and unsupervised.

"Well, when we win—" Avalon gestured to herself and the Doctor, "—how about we embarrass you across the galaxies?" Amy rolled her eyes. "I say if we win, you two have to dress up like Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss for three trips. And I'm talking about the whole ensemble. Stupid blue hair and all."

"No," Rory started, "We are not doing that—"

"Deal!" Amy declared. "If we win, you two gotta do that."

"Pond, I don't know if that's going to be fair considering who I am," the Doctor smirked all too smugly.

"I'll take my chances. Start dusting off the hats because Rory and I are winning."

"Can we just stop for a moment!" Rory yelled to get all of their attention. "What the hell are we even talking about here? We don't even know what we're going to find inside of that castle!"

"Don't worry about it," Avalon shrugged her shoulders without a care in the world.

"I think we should all worry about it," he countered, giving her a sharp look. "We don't know what's inside except for a stupid wand in the middle of the castle."

"What more do you need?"

Rory almost smacked his forehead. How could Avalon be that reckless? Why are you so surprised?

"Relax Rory," the Doctor said, fearing the poor human would break down on the spot. "I wouldn't let anything happen to my Ava. If it gets too dangerous, we'll know to stop."

"Stop being a worrywart!" Amy slung her arm over Rory's shoulders. "And let's start thinking about how we'll win!"

"She gets this from you, you know," Rory accused. Avalon smirked knowing he was talking about her. "You and River — you did this to my granddaughter!"

"Oh pipe down! Maybe the great granddaughter'll be different!" Amy said with a big grin pulled him along.

~ 0 ~

The entrance doors of the castle opened for the group without having been touched. Rory reminded them that this was how most horror movies started. They should be finding another way in!

"Look!" Avalon hurried towards a pedestal on the left of the doors. She didn't even bother studying the castle first, another point Rory made. They couldn't just walk in like this!

"But look at it Rory, it's so old," Amy said with awe.

The inside of the castle was pure stone, like the ones Avalon often described from her fairy tales. There were old portraits that were more cobwebs than actual portraits. The ground underneath them was chipped, older than God knew. Ahead of them was a grand staircase, almost reminding Amy of an old version of Cinderella's stepmother's home. The further the group went inside, the more levels they could see. It resembled the library in that matter. It seemed like there were countless floors going up.

"Yes!" Avalon's cheer drew their attention. She had turned around holding one paper in her hand and another rolled up in her other hand. "They're maps of the castle!"

"Maps?" the Doctor was delighted to hear that. He didn't really feel like making the walk up countless stairs. "That's good!"

"And also a bit suspicious, don't you think?" Rory folded his arms.

"It's a story, Rory," Amy shrugged. "Things just work that way. Map me!"

Avalon tossed her the rolled-up map. The Doctor came to take a look at their copy. "Interesting, it appears like there's only ten levels."

Rory raised his head to check himself. "Why do I feel like there's a 100?"

"Mirage," the Doctor looked up from the map with a grin. "Isn't that cool? It's trying to trick us! Trying to ward us off!"

Avalon snorted beside him. "Like that'll get us to leave. We're coming for you!" she shouted in the air, nearly losing it when Rory shushed her. "What's the castle going to do, Rory? Hit me?"

The Doctor raised one finger from the map to make a point. "It better not."

Avalon smirked at the air. Take that!

"Alright," the Doctor said after another moment of studying the map. "The middle of the castle is obviously on the fifth floor. That's where we'll find the wand. It doesn't look to be guarded by anything but we shouldn't count on it. Ponds—" he pointed a finger at Amy and Rory, "—if you get to hurt, we stop. I'm not sure what security mechanisms the castle has, nor the story. If something happens, yell for us."

"And how would you even hear?" Rory asked. "Ten floors, remember?"

"It's a story, Rory," the Doctor tapped the side of the man's head, "Meaning anything you yell, we'll obviously hear. It's to draw in the drama."

"I love this so much," Avalon clapped excitedly.

Rory heavily sighed at her. "I really hope one day your children, or your grandchildren, don't pull this on you. Actually—" he raised a finger suddenly, "—I hope they do so you know exactly how it feels." At least he got to see Avalon's and the Doctor's reddened faces as their reactions. If he was going to be dragged into this mess of a heist, then they deserved to be embarrassed for a couple minutes.

"Such nonsense, Rory," the Doctor waved him off and dove his head back into the map. "Whoever gets the wand will have the power to...hm, rearrange the castle. That's interesting."

"Oh, it could do with a modernization," Amy nodded her head, already seemingly thinking of how she would arrange the castle.

Avalon snorted. "Keep dreaming, Amy! We're going to win!"

Amy ignored her and called Rory to her side. "I think it's time to start."

"I think it's not," Rory shook his head.

"On your mark…" Amy started, "Get set…"

"GO!" Avalon and the Doctor yelled together and charged for the staircase first.

"Hey!" Amy frowned after them. "I was going to say it! That's cheating!" The pair laughed on their way up, leaving Amy and Rory to grumble behind. "C'mon," Amy pulled Rory with her towards the stairs.

Avalon and the Doctor were already past the third floor and just as they were going to reach the fourth, the steps began to groan. The Doctor barely managed to grab onto the rail and pull Avalon with him when the steps started breaking apart.

"What's happening!?" Avalon shrieked and looked below to see her grandparents caught on the second flight of steps. They were being pulled to the left of the castle while she and the Doctor were moving towards the right.

"The castle moves!?" Rory yelled angrily. "Of course it bloody does!"

"That'll make it harder to reach the wand," the Doctor told Avalon who nodded in agreement.

"But so very Harry Potter," she grinned with him. "I expect to see the Fat Lady singing somewhere!" She even looked around in search of the famous painting.

The Doctor laughed. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Not today, no!"

He swooped down to kiss her cheek. "I love you my Ava." Avalon laughed loudly enough to echo in the castle.

When the floors had stopped in their respective sides of the castle, each pair hopped off before the stairs moved again.

"Alright," Avalon took a quick scan of the hallways, "We're on the third floor so we need to find a way up the 2 floors. How do we do that?"

"I have no idea!" The Doctor shrugged. His lips were pulled into a wide grin.

Avalon side-glanced him. "And yet you're happy."

The Doctor nodded. "Aha!"

Avalon laughed and pulled him down a corridor.

~0~

"You really thought going through the vents was going to get us to the wand first?" Rory would've shouted had he not been afraid that the echo would break the vents altogether.

Amy crawled ahead of him through the grimy vents, determined to reach the end wherever it was. "I saw it in the movies!" She argued with her husband.

"They're movies!"

"And this is a book!" Amy reminded him. "The books and movies are related! Just hush and keep crawling! Avalon and the Doctor cannot win this! Not this time!"

"You guys take this stuff way too seriously," Rory said, rolling his eyes.

"And you're not taking it seriously enough! C'mon, according to the map these vents lead to the fourth floor."

Rory's eyes fell on the rolled up map tucked in Amy's back pocket. It was needless to say that he didn't trust the map nor anything else in the castle. How Amy convinced him to follow her into the vents was beyond him.

"I see a light!" Amy exclaimed. It was straight across from them and, if she read the map right, it would be an opening on the fourth floor. Take that Avalon! She crawled quicker but came to a sudden stop when they heard a squeak.

"Amy, tell me that was just you being excited," Rory said a moment after.

Amy couldn't say anything before they heard another squeak...squeaks. There were multiple now.

"Amy?"

"We...we may have to turn left," Amy said, already backing up which prompted Rory to do the same.

"Why? What is it!?"

"Rats," Amy swallowed hard. "White rats." Group of white rats were scurrying their way towards them.

"White Queen," Rory connected the dots. "I hate these heists."

"Go!" Amy shrieked as the rats grew nearer. Rory was closer to the intersection they'd recently passed which left Amy to now follow behind him. "RORY!"

"I'm going!" He yelled back. He was crawling as fast as possible, ignoring the stickiness of the metal his hands were pressing against.

"They're getting closer!"

"Hold on!" Rory could see another opening at a distance. He didn't know whether it was the fourth floor or the third floor or, hell, the first floor. He was taking it either way.

He slammed his fist against the metal grate, swallowing his scream of pain afterwards. All he cared for right now was that the grate had opened and he was able to climb out.

"Rory!" Amy came next.

Rory grabbed her hands and yanked her out, causing both of them to fall on the ground.

"They're still coming!" Amy exclaimed when she sat up. The bright shade of the white rats illuminated the vents.

Rory looked to see where it was they had come out. You have no idea what floor it was but he did buy a dresser against the wall not too far from where they were. "Hey! Let's get that!"

He scrambled up to his feet and dashed for the dresser. Once Amy saw his plan, she immediately went to help. Together, they pushed the dresser in front of the vent in time to leave the rats locked inside. All they could hear now were the squeaks and scratches behind the dresser. They then collapsed against the dresser with heavy breaths.

"Where the hell are we?" Rory was very tired.

Amy pulled the map out of her pocket and unrolled it. To her delight, and wonder, the map actually indicated where they were at the moment. She laughed.

"What?" Rory looked at her oddly.

"It's a magic map! Like the Marauders Map!"

Rory groaned. "Of course it is."

"Oh, Avalon's going to love that when she figures it out! Of course that'll be right before she figures out we're on the fourth floor! Ha!" Amy grabbed Rory's arm and ran for the door.

~0~

Avalon and the Doctor found themselves on the other side of an icy frontier. Technically, it was like they were standing on the top of a hill made completely of ice. The Doctor had found the door marked 'passageway' and made the decision that it was the castle trying to get them to the wand. Avalon thought it was stupid bit since the hallways were lined with too many doors, she figured they might as well start with one of them.

Send door led them into an icy landscape. It literally looked like they were standing outside. There is even the matching gray sky above them. They overlooked the hill they were on And knew that they had to slide down. Because, at the very middle of the room, there was one big gray ladder shooting straight up into the sky.

"We're supposed to climb that?" Avalon raised an eyebrow at the ladder. Even from where they stood, she could see the ladder had chips of ice. It would not be an easy task going up.

"And slide down," the Doctor hummed. He kicked some rocks down the hill and watched them roll down smoothly until it hit the bottom. "Interesting."

"Indeed," Avalon mimicked his tone then smirked at his offense. "So then, who gets to go first?"

"Well, I would rather go first just to make sure that there's nothing waiting for us down there," the Doctor said.

"Right," Avalon nodded. "Of course." She then shoved the Doctor to the side and leaped down the hill.

"AVALON!" The Doctor yelled and scrambled to look over the hill.

Avalon's laughs echoed as she rolled down the hill, eventually coming to a stop at the bottom on her stomach. She raised her head off the ground, admittedly the hard icely ground may leave a bruise on her forehead. "That was fun!" She exclaimed.

"AVALON, I SWEAR TO GOD!" The Doctor raged as he jumped off and started sliding down as well. By the time he reached the bottom, Avalon had already pulled herself. "You are demented!" The Doctor continued when he landed beside her feet. "You don't know what could've been down here! I said I would go first!"

Avalon brushed off chips of ice from her body. "I'm a princess but I can get dirty. I'm like Mulan. I'll throw a rope and slide between buildings — oh, wait, I've already done that."

The Doctor slapped a hand across his forehead. "If I regenerate, it'll be from sheer concern."

"You're forgetting you don't have any more regenerations," Avalon patted his shoulder, "And if you go and die on me out of sheer concern, you will regret it."

The Doctor actually gulped. Leave it to Avalon to be both scary and hot. "The ladder?" He pointed at said object across from them.

Avalon smiled. "Yeah."

They both turned towards the ladder. It really did seem like it stretched beyond the sky but since all of this had to be a mirage of some sort, the sky would have to lead them to the next floor. The fourth floor, one floor away from the wand.

"You don't suppose any of this is too easy?" The Doctor wondered as he gazed about the solitary location.

"It's been my experience that we should never ask that," Avalon said, hoping he had enough sense to agree and drop the subject.

He did not.

He kept studying their immediate areas as if something were going to jump out very soon. "No abominable snowman at least," he murmured.

"This isn't Monsters Inc.," Avalon retorted then briefly grinned at the idea, "Although that would be pretty cool."

The Doctor reached for her hand and started leading the way towards the ladder. Avalon wouldn't comment on how tight he was gripping her hand. She supposed she owed him for jumping off the cliff like that...even though it was incredibly fun.

The ice underneath them seemed to be thinning the closer they got to the ladder. Avalon felt it but she didn't want to bring it up. She thought they would reach the ladder before it became absolutely necessary to talk about.

She was wrong.

The first crack froze the Doctor in his tracks. The second one, albeit not as strong, still turned his head.

"Um, can I suggest we run?" Avalon asked as soon as her eyes laid on the two cracks to their right. They were closing in until they would become one great crack coming towards them.

"If we run, it might set the whole thing off," the Doctor warned. The next steps they took had to be feather weighted. "Walk slowly." He led the first two steps and Avalon did her best to tip toe...like a princess.

That worked for about three steps more when the cracks started spreading at an alarming rate.

"Doctor…" Avalon's voice shook with fear.

"RUN!" The Doctor yelled and pulled Avalon towards the ladder. They were indeed running for their lives as the cracks kept getting closer.

"Doctor!" Avalon shrieked when he practically shoved her first towards the ladder. She may have hit her forehead in the process but hearing the cracks too close made her forget anything about pain as she climbed up.

The two climbed the ladder as fast as they could, afraid that somehow even the ladder would become unstable (they truly couldn't know). Avalon reached the 'sky' which turned out to be a ceiling enchanted to look like a sky.

"A la Harry Potter!" She exclaimed before shoving her fist through the ceiling.

"Ava!" The Doctor was downright horrified with her brash way of thinking, albeit nowhere near surprised.

She essentially punched a hole into the ceiling, creating new cracks above them. Soon, chunks of the ceiling falling and once there was a big enough hole to climb through, Avalon took her chance.

Genuine hard floor waited for her on the other side. She fell flat on her stomach as she sighed a breath of relief. Soon, the Doctor was doing the same beside her.

"You're bloody insane," he said in-between pants.

Avalon smirked. "Yes, I am!"

~0~

The fifth floor turned out to be easier to access for both teams. Avalon and the Doctor found a normal staircase that led them up to the fifth floor hallway while Amy and Rory found a working elevator. From there, they followed the map for the designated door that was supposed to read 'You're Here'. Neither realized they would meet each other in the final room at the same time from opposite sides.

"Oh of course," Rory slapped a hand against his forehead.

"Are we supposed to run for it?" Avalon was on her tippy toes trying to catch a better glimpse of the wand set on a dark blue cushion at the center of the room. The room itself was covered in different plinths holding seemingly miscellaneous objects.

Amy tucked the rolled-up map into her back pocket. "I'm game."

"I cannot see this ending well," Rory drew in a sharp breath. "Doctor, you can put a stop to this!" He called to the Time Lord.

"I politely disagree, Rory," the Doctor responded. He could see the eager face on Avalon and he was not about to get in the middle of her and that wand, not unless he wanted to reach the end of his long life. And honestly, that was such an anticlimactic way to go.

Avalon smirked. "Game on, grandma," she teased. Amy glowered. Avalon laughed but suddenly gasped, pointing a finger at something behind her grandparents. "Dementors!"

"What!?" Both Amy and Rory turned around, presuming they'd see something akin to the infamous creatures.

Avalon's gleeful laugh alerted them she had tricked them. Sure enough, enough, they turned back, they saw Avalon making a run for the wand.

"YOU CHEATER!" Amy shrieked and ran for the wand as well.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Rory let out a big sigh. Even the Doctor was a bit dumbfounded by the two women's behavior, though he began to think it was more funny than anything else.

In all her running, Avalon nearly crashed into a plinth holding a glass display. The glass case fell to the floor and shattered, leaving it's odd sphere it covered unprotected. Without thinking it — or rather, thinking it was just a ball — Avalon threw it at Amy. She never expected the sphere to explode in midair and release a pelting rain of rocks to come down on Amy.

Amy yelped as a few of the rocks hit her face before she managed to shield her head with her arms. "Avalon!"

Avalon clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide in shock. "Sorry! I didn't think it would do that!"

"Interesting, they're weapons of some sort," the Doctor remarked from his spot. Like Rory, he chose not to run. Seeing Avalon's discovery, however, made him wander to the nearest plinth and shove its glass casing off.

"Doctor!" Rory exclaimed, appalled with the Time Lord's careless manner.

The Doctor picked up the seemingly innocent tangible snowflake from the podium and tossed it into the air. Like the sphere before, the snowflake exploded and suddenly the Doctor, Avalon and Amy for that matter, were covered in a snowstorm.

"You're supposed to get them, not us!" Avalon yelled at the Doctor. It was freezing cold now and her vision was blurred with all the snow coming down.

"I didn't think it would be that big!" The Doctor called back.

"Rory, get the wand!" Amy yelled at her husband as well.

"Amy, c'mon—"

"JUST DO IT!"

Rory sighed heavily. The quicker this gets done, the quicker this is all finished. The logic was there but the wand was...all the way over there.

Rory took off, careful to avoid recreating Avalon's mistake of crashing into plinths.

"Doctor, stop him!" Avalon commanded, even trying to get to the nearest podium to do it herself.

"This one looks fun!" The Doctor said when he spotted a flashing miniature statue of what he presumed was an Ice Queen. He ran for it, tossing the glass case to the side, and grabbing the statue. He tossed it and caught a few times before throwing it up in the air again.

It exploded, releasing shards of icicles everywhere.

"Doctor, what the hell!?" Rory now had to actively dodge the incoming icicles.

"Sorry Rory, if I don't do it, I'll pay for it later!" The Doctor said, making a dash for another plinth.

"It won't be a picnic for me either!" Keeping that in mind, Rory reached for the closest plinth and took the item underneath the glass display. The withered flower turned out to be heavier than he thought but he still managed to throw it in the Doctor's direction. It turned into a green puff of smoke smelling a lot like a skunk.

"Ugh, that's gross!" Avalon pinched her nose.

"Truly sick move, Rory," the Doctor shook his head.

"No! She's getting away!" Avalon cried at the sight of Amy running towards Rory. They would reach the wand first in no time.

"If it's a game they want, it's a game they'll get!" The Doctor decided and pulled Avalon with him in the same direction. Avalon laughed as he chucked another object — a curious cloth — that expanded into an actual blanket in the air. It fell over both Ponds with a thud.

"Suckers!" Avalon laughed and did her best to keep up with the Doctor. He had longer legs!

"Oh no you don't!" Amy scrambled out from the blanket and rushed to the closest podium. She figured a chain had to do something good; she tossed it into the air with the certainty of it.

One explosion later and miniature chains had come raining down, two of them snapping around the Doctor's and Avalon's arms. The weight of the chains yanked them both down to the ground.

"Yes!" Amy cheered as she went to help Rory out.

"This is ridiculous!" Rory huffed as Amy shoved him ahead.

"In Amy's words, no you don't!" Avalon managed to sit herself up but that was about it. A quick thought had her kicking a chain in Amy's direction and to her luck, it snapped around Amy's ankle, tripping the redhead down.

"OW!" Amy heard the thud of her nose when it hit the ground. "That one hurt!"

"And this doesn't!?" The Doctor tried his damn hardest to pry the chain off his left wrist. Everything was so much harder without a sonic!

"Amy!" Rory made a turn back for her, only to have Amy shriek 'No!'. "What!? But you're—"

"We can win this! They're both tied too! Go!" Amy made a frantic gesture at the Doctor and Avalon behind her.

Rory realized she was right. They were struggling to get up, to move. They couldn't do it...which meant…

"We can win…" Rory breathed in sharply.

"Yes! So go!" Amy insisted.

"Yeah, yeah!" Rory's turn for the center podium was less than graceful but he managed to stay on his feet.

"Go Rory, go!" Amy cheered for him.

"No!" Avalon cried. Her hands urgently pulled against the chain around her wrist. It seemed the more she pulled, the tighter and heavier it got. The same went for the Doctor.

Rory skidded to a stop beside the display with the wand. He pulled off the glass case, setting it on the floor gently, much to Amy's impatience, then swiped the wand off the display.

"Yes!" Amy punched the air with her fist.

"No!" Avalon threw her head back.

"We won!" Amy laughed. "We won!"

"We won?" Rory blinked at the wand in his hand. He'd picked it up...before Avalon...before the Doctor? They had—

"We won!" He burst into laughter. "Oh my God — we won!"

"That's not even fair, you didn't even want to play!" Avalon exclaimed.

Rory smirked. "And I still won!"

"Ponds for the win!" Amy cheered.

"Um, Williams." Rory pointed the wand at Amy, suddenly making the chain around her disappear. "Oh, okay, so it does that."

"Yes!" Amy got up from the floor and ran up to Rory, planting a big kiss on his lips.

Avalon groaned. "First you win, then you do that? Can this day get any worse?"

"Cheer up, Ava, at least we can get out of here now," the Doctor pointed out. He then looked at the chain still clamped around his wrist. "Um, Rory, could you please get us out of here?"

"How am I supposed to do that?" asked Rory.

"It's a fucking wand, Rory," Avalon deadpanned her grandfather. "Use magic. Pull an Expecto Patronum for all I care."

"Oh, we've done that before," the Doctor said with a raised finger in the air. "Just ask Martha."

"GET US OUT!" Avalon yelled angrily, wanting nothing to do with previous memories at the moment.

Rory stared at the wand dumbfoundedly. "Oh yeah…" He directed the wand at Avalon and the Doctor and did a small, awkward, wave. The chains around their wrists snapped in two and fell to the floor. Rory (and Amy for that matter) stood practically stupefied. "I can't believe that actually worked…"

"Yeah, well, don't expect me to say 'You're a wizard, Rory'," Avalon muttered as she got back on her feet.

Amy snickered. "You're just mad that we won this year." She did a high five with Rory who, this time around, was prepared for it and just as enthusiastic about it as her.

"Okay geniuses, then get us out of here already," Avalon gestured for Rory to use the wand again.

"He needs to fix the kingdom first," the Doctor reminded. "It's all still very much snowy."

"Well, how do I do that?" Rory asked.

Avalon groaned, throwing her head back as she cried: "How could he have won!?"

"Just wave the wand around, Rory," Amy said, ignoring their granddaughter's dramatics. "I'm sure that's all you need to do."

Rory figured it was better than just standing there. He raised the wand above his head and gave it a little punch in the air. A great big crack! startled him and the others. Bright white sparks flew from the tip of the wand and shot straight above, through the ceiling to the sky.

"Very Harry Potter," Amy concluded with a nod of her head.

"Did I do it?" Rory looked around quickly for any change. There was a brief moment of silence before they felt the rumble of the ground underneath them.

It shook as if an earthquake was striking. The dim room around them was glowing — the displays they had broken fixing themselves — until the grays of the walls turned into a bright blue. Outside, the snowy fields were radiating golden with crops and the frozen oceans were crashing waves. They heard the agonizing scream of what they assumed was the Ice Queen melting.

The wand in Rory's hand sizzled with heat but it didn't burn. "I think it's about to send us home!" Rory exclaimed. "Grab on!"

Nobody needed to be told twice. They all grabbed onto the wand and held on for dear life as the same white sparks engulfed them. Next thing they knew, they were being dropped on the wooden floor of the Library.

"Ooh, that hurts," Avalon rubbed her back as she sat up.

"Who cares — we won!" Amy exclaimed a bit too loud.

"Miss Williams," Nole was walking up to the group, worriedly eyeing each of them the closer he got. "Is...is everyone alright?"

"You would not believe the day we've had, Mr. Nole," the Doctor said as he got up and cracked his neck. "Your books are adventurous as they claim on the titles."

Nole raised an eyebrow at the group but as soon as his gaze fell on the book still lying beside Amy, he hummed with the knowledge of their adventures. "You stumbled across my favorite aisle."

"You didn't think to tell us that there was a whole aisle with magical books that pull you into the stories?" Avalon used the Doctor's extended hands to stand up. "I'm no advertiser but I'm pretty sure that would pull in a ton of more customers."

Nole chuckled. "I like to leave people alone when it comes to their book selections. If they stumble across this aisle, then it was meant to be."

"I'll say," Rory stood up along with Amy, the former smirking proudly, "I won this year's heist."

"What!?" Avalon spun around to face him. "Ten minutes ago you were still yelling at us that having a heist was wrong!"

"That was before I won," Rory high-fived with Amy.

"Yeah!" Amy exclaimed, throwing her own smirks at Avalon and the Doctor. "And if memory serves right, you two owe us three trips dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2!"

The mere image made Amy and Rory burst into laughter that could have echoed down the block.

Avalon and the Doctor glared at the pair. Neither were looking forward to those next three trips.

"We are so winning next year," Avalon told the Doctor, making a vow on the spot.

"Absolutely," he agreed. After a minute, he glanced at Avalon, looking her from head to toe. "You're going to be Thing 2, right?"

Avalon was just about done. "I am definitely winning next time — by myself!"

A/N:

So there we have it, this story's Heist winners are Amy and Rory, thanks to Rory of course! I thought it would be so ironic (and funny) if it was Rory who won this time since he was so against each time. And believe it or not, I do already have plans for the next fic's Heist chapter as well. That time would of course feature Clara ;)

P.S. there might be a little one shot of a continuation of this chapter, but more halloween style! Look for it in a few hours!

[saiilorstars]

Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC

Chapter 3 summary: The Doctor, Avalon, the Ponds and Lena have been kidnapped by the Daleks to ensure the destruction of their asylum for insane daleks. It's there that they meet a young traveler by the name of Oswin Oswald, the supposed feared one by the Daleks.

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​ @perfectlystiles​​​

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

Avalon, Lena, Amy, and Rory came to the horrifying conclusion they had been abducted by aliens, and the same ones they rather have preferred never to see again.

"Where the hell are we?" Avalon hissed as she looked through the porthole in the bright, white room they were all trapped in. Outside was space...and a whole fleet of Dalek spaceships. The last thing she remembered was walking out of her old earth home when she came across a stranger asking for directions...and then bam! she was there.

"Clearly, we're in outer-space," Amy came up beside her and stared out, probably the most displeased out of the entire group. She had just signed divorce papers with Rory and the last thing she wanted was to be in the same room with him. But, unfortunately, her hair and make-up girl had turned out to be a Dalek puppet of some sort and abducted her as well.

"A precise location would be nice, though," Lena Reynolds added in a terrified, meek voice. At the sound of her shivering, Avalon turned around and quickly took off her blue jacket to hand it over, "Thanks," Lena sheepishly said and put on the jacket over her formal dress. She'd been on New Earth, actually about to begin a date, when she'd met a strange woman just outside the restaurant she was to be having lunch in...and she'd gotten abducted.

"So how much trouble are we in?" Rory dared to ask in the end, from across the room as he preferred not to be close to Amy as well. He thought he'd seen the last of her after leaving her at work but no, he'd gotten abducted by his bus driver and was now in the same room as she was. Lovely.

The sound of the door opening made everyone turn around, "How much trouble, Mr Pond?" the Doctor followed in after a Dalek, "Out of ten? Eleven."

At the sight of her husband, Avalon came running for him, encasing him in a hug, "What the hell is going on!?"

The Doctor held her tight and tried his best not to seem as nervous as he actually was, not to mention hoping she wouldn't be crossed for having lied to her earlier in the day. He'd gotten a message from some woman, Darla, originating from Skaro and he certainly had no intention bringing Avalon there. So, he'd suggested she go to Earth and visit the Ponds whom they hadn't seen in quite a while. Apparently, his plan hadn't worked quite well.

The ceiling opened up and the floor started rising, shaking them all a bit. Atop waited for them an auditorium full of thousands of Daleks.

Yes, the plan had failed quite badly.

"Big brother, dare I ask where the hell we are?" Lena swallowed hard and instantly moved closer to him and Avalon, "Cos I got spaceship down, but, um..."

"It's the Parliament of the Daleks. Be brave, baby sister," he flashed her a small smile. He hadn't seen her in decades and now this was the way they would get to spend time together!?

"So what do we do?" Avalon whispered to him as she took Lena's hand to comfort her.

"Make them remember you," was his answer before moving to address the Daleks, "Well come on then. You've got me! What are you waiting for? At long last, it's Christmas!" he held out his arms to await the shots, "Here I am!" he shut his eyes.

"That's your plan?" he heard Avalon hiss behind him. She was close to murdering him instead of the Daleks.

"Save us," called the prime minister of the Daleks, making the travelers look at each other in awe, "You will save us."

The Doctor re-opened his eyes and dropped his arms, "I'll...what?"

"You will save the Daleks."

"Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks!" the rest of the Daleks chanted, "Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks!"

"Well, this is new," the Doctor said, stunned.

The others were equally stunned and frankly, confused. Were they dreaming? Was it some sort of trance that would later come back and bite them? It wouldn't be the first time.

The first words that came to Avalon's mind were: 'this is the last thing we needed.'

She had spent nearly all her time lately trying to help Amy and Rory work out their martial problems. Apparently, she wasn't even supposed to know about it! Amy had left a series of messages for the Doctor on the TARDIS phone only Avalon had taken them instead and learned everything. She was horrified, not to mentioned heartbroken, to hear her grandparents were divorcing.

How could they? Had she really been away that long?

Avalon took it upon herself to fix the problems without the Doctor. He'd done enough and this was her family, after all, it was up to her. They'd all helped her at one moment and she was quite grown up now, a changed woman in fact. She was more than capable of dealing with her family problems. But now, at the brink of the divorce...she was reconsidering her ideas.

"What's he doing?" Rory questioned them, more to Lena and Avalon, when the Doctor started pacing without saying anything to anybody.

Avalon sighed and rubbed the side of her head, "He's chosen the most defendable area in the room, counted all the Daleks, counted all the exits and now he's calculating the exact distance you and Amy are standing apart and starting to worry. Oh...and now Avalon's trouble," she crossed her arms and took the Doctor's sharp eyes and frown with as much strength as possible. She could only hold his look for so long, she knew she had to work on that.

"He's mad?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"No, he's irritated I kept the divorce away from him..."

"We have arrived," Dalek Supreme announced and immediately everyone turned.

"Arrived where?" the Doctor demanded.

"Doctor..." the prime minister Dalek called.

The woman who had tricked the Doctor, Darla, stepped forwards to bring him to the Dalek, "The Prime Minister will speak with you now."

The Doctor walked for the Dalek but stopped and glanced at Darla, "Do you remember who you were, before they emptied you out and turned you into their puppet?"

"My memories are only re-activated if they are required to facilitate deep cover or disguise," she answered emotionless.

"You had a daughter," the Doctor reminded, hoping to stir up some of the human feelings.

Unfortunately, there was none to have, "I know. I've read my file." She motioned for him to continue.

The Doctor finally made his way to the prime minister Dalek, "Well?" he raised an eyebrow.

"What do you know of the Dalek Asylum?"

"According to legend, you have a dumping ground. A planet where you lock up all the Daleks that go wrong. The battle-scarred, the insane. The ones even you can't control," the Doctor turned away from the Dalek and scoffed, "Which never made any sense to me..."

"Why not?"

"Because you'd just kill them."

"It is offensive to us to extinguish such divine hatred."

The Doctor turned around in irritation, "Offensive?"

"Does it surprise you to know the Daleks have a concept of beauty?"

A deep glare settled into the Doctor's eyes as he leaned closer to the Dalek, "I thought you'd run out of ways to make me sick, but hello again. You think hatred is beautiful?" He scoffed at the idea and walked away from it.

"Perhaps that is why we have never been able to kill you," the Dalek remarked and froze the Doctor in his spot.

The floor underneath the TARDIS travelers shook as it opened to reveal a clear view of a planet underneath the ship. They all peered down to get a look while the Doctor rejoined them along with Darla.

"The Asylum. It occupies the entire planet," she began, "Right to the core."

"How many Daleks are in there?" he asked her without sparing her a glance.

"A count has not been made. Millions, certainly."

"Are they all still alive?" Lena tilted her head as she stared at the planet, "Or, hopefully, dead..."

"It has to be assumed," Darla looked at Lena slightly, "The Asylum is fully automated—supervision is not required."

"And how'd that work out for you?" Avalon raised an eyebrow.

"Avalon," Lena tugged on her sister's arm to make her stop angering the already angry Daleks.

"It's a fair question," Amy defended Avalon with a smirk.

"Oh, so now you agree with me?" Avalon shot a look at Amy. Without answering, Amy looked to the side and remained quiet.

The Doctor watched the interchange with even more concern. He did not like it when his Ponds weren't getting along and what he just saw was an even rarer form of anger from Avalon.

Darla cleared her throat and garnered their attention with, "This signal is being received from the very heart of the Asylum."

The song 'Habernera' rang throughout the entire room, making the Daleks squirm and protest, "What is the noise? Explain! Explain!"

"It's me," the Doctor exclaimed as he got into a pretend act of playing the triangle.

"Sorry what?!" Rory looked at him like he'd finally lost it. It had been so long since they'd seen the Doctor that Rory actually forgot what the alien was like. Avalon had been the only ones to make rounds to Earth and New Earth.

"It's me. Playing the triangle," the Doctor motioned but when he saw the look on Avalon's face he quickly dropped the act and got to business, "OK, I got buried in the mix."

"You don't say?" Avalon shook her head, "Is that Carmen?"

"Yes, and someone's transmitting this," the Doctor pulled out the sonic to use on the transmitter, "Have you considered tracking back the signal and talking to them?"

"You're asking the Daleks," Avalon moved to his side and gave him a look, "You're a bit off today."

"Well that could be partly because of the thing my wife—" the Doctor tapped her nose, "—didn't tell me about...concerning our friends..."

Avalon looked to the side and fiddled with one of her ginger locks, "So that Carmen..."

"Mhm," the Doctor sighed and returned to the transmitter. He genuinely was upset that Avalon had kept something that important away from him. Now things started making more sense. It would explain the many times Avalon had returned to the TARDIS looking ready to burst into tears. Every time he asked her what was wrong she would never say...and now he understood.

After the Doctor finished fixing up the transmitter he spoke into it, "Hello? Hello, Carmen? Hello?"

"Hello?" They all heard a woman's voice respond.

"Come in, come in, come in, Carmen," the Doctor continued, although he was frankly surprised he was actually getting a coherent response that didn't sound very dalek-y.

"I'm pretty sure she's not actually Carmen," Avalon whispered to him like it was a big secret.

"Hello, yes, yes, sorry, do you read me?!" the woman from the other line exclaimed.

"Yes, reading you loud and clear," the Doctor leaned on the transmitter, "Identify yourself and report your status."

"Hello! Are you real? Are you actually, properly real?"

"Okay he just answered you, dear," Avalon spoke into the transmitter, "We're all real, you know."

"Okay, then," the woman said, sounding a bit annoyed, "I'm Oswin Oswald, Junior Entertainment Manager, Starship Alaska. Current status - crashed and shipwrecked somewhere... not nice. Been here a year, rest of the crew missing. Provisions good, but keen to move on."

"A year?" the Doctor made a face, already that sounding wrong, "Are you okay? Are you...under attack?"

"Some local life-forms, I've been keeping them out."

"How do you keep out daleks?" Avalon asked, "Do you...you know they're Daleks, right?"

"I know a Dalek when I hear one, thank you very much," the woman snapped.

Avalon raised an eyebrow, already disliking the woman on the other side, "Listen—"

But the Doctor cut in before anything harsh could be said, "What have been doing, on your own, against the Daleks for a year?!"

"Making soufflés," the woman informed.

"You make soufflés?" Avalon paused, a tug of her lips forming a small smile. "Alright, maybe I like you a little bit more now. Soufflés against the Daleks is a new one."

"Where do you get the milk?" the Doctor inquired as the thought struck him.

"This conversation is irrelevant," Dalek supreme interrupted and made the Doctor turn around.

"I don't think it is," Avalon smirked, "Cos if that Souffle Girl came into the planet along with some team, that means your little Daleks can come out."

"The Asylum must be cleansed," Dalek Supreme resolved.

"Then why is it still here?" the Doctor gestured out to the window, "You've got enough firepower on this ship, to blast it out of the sky."

"The Asylum force-field is impenetrable," Darla explained.

"Then turn it off," Avalon said slowly.

"It can only be turned off from within the Asylum."

"A small task force could sneak through a force-field send in a couple of Daleks," the Doctor shared the idea but stopped when he realized the problem, "Oh, oh, that's good. That's brilliant! You're all too scared to go down there! Not one of you will go! So tell me, what do the Daleks do when they're too scared?"

"The Predator of the Daleks will be deployed," Dalek Supreme informed.

"You don't have a predator. And even if you did, why would they turn off a force-field for you?"

"Because you will have no other means of escape."

Darla cleared her throat and raised a finger for the Doctor, "May I clarify, the Predator is the Daleks' word for you."

"Me?" the Doctor headed back for her in confusion, "Me!?"

"You will need this," she motioned for two male-Daleks to come forth, carrying silver bands, "It will protect you from the Nano-cloud."

"The what?" the Doctor barely had time to register what was happening, "The nano-what?" The two male Dalek puppets dragged him by the arms back to the others.

"The gravity beam will convey you close to the source of the transmission. You must find a way to deactivate the force-field from there," Darla puppet followed after them.

The Doctor was horrified when the a bright beam of light rushed up through the clear floor, "You're going to fire me at a planet? That's your plan? I get fired at a planet and expected to fix it?"

"In fairness, that is slightly your M.O.," Rory pointed out.

"Don't be fair to the Daleks when they're firing me at a planet!" the Doctor snapped, "What do you want with them?!" He struggled even more against the Dalek puppets when he saw Avalon and the others being strapped bands on their wrists.

"It is known that the Doctor requires companions," Dalek Supreme said.

"Oh, that's just...good," Lena shivered as she stared at the light beam, "Who needs a date when you've got Daleks to deal with?"

"Date?" the Doctor caught that word in a snap and turned his head to look at Avalon, "What is she talking about, Ava?" The ginger put on a sheepish smile, "Ava!?" But Avalon didn't have to answer as the Doctor was pushed into the beam.

Following him, went Avalon and the rest.

~ 0 ~

Avalon had landed flat on her back on a snow covered planet. She was just coming around when she heard a squeaking noise by her. She turned her head and found a periscope a couple inches from her, swiveling around, "Go away!" She waved it off with shut eyes.

"You're kinda rude, do you know that?" the woman they had spoken to earlier asked, "And grumpy...very grumpy."

Avalon sat up and rubbed her face, "Listen, Soufflé Girl, my family is falling apart...so I'm upset, alright?" She turned her head to look at the periscope again, "My grandparents are divorcing and now my husband knows that I kept it from him. You try being dandy with all that."

"...I'm sorry," the woman sounded honest in her words.

"Yeah," Avalon looked down, "So am I."

"Now, when you say 'husband' do you mean the one with sort of floppy hair?"

"Yeah, why, have you seen him!?" Avalon turned and neared the periscope.

"Couple feet..." the periscope suddenly went underground and disappeared.

"Hey! Come back!" Avalon shouted to the ground.

The periscope appeared several feet away from her, turned to the left, "...that way!" the woman finished.

Avalon scrambled up to her feet and as she could ran in the direction Soufflé Girl had pointed to.

As Soufflé Girl had said, the Doctor had landed not very far from Avalon, "Doctor? Doctor!" Avalon called as she neared him. She dropped to her knees beside him and shook him, "Hey! Wake up!"

The Doctor started waking up as of it were a request and dazedly chuckled, "Hey..."

"Hey, wake up already," Avalon leaned closer, "I need your help..."

"Yeah you do," the Doctor agreed, now more alert, "Why didn't you tell me about Amy and Rory?"

"Uh..." Avalon leaned away, conscious now that he wouldn't stop asking those questions until she have him a proper answer.

"Avalon?" the Doctor sat upright.

"Um..." the ginger looked around the area, "...Soufflé Girl? Want to make an entrance now?" she called nervously.

"What? No," the Doctor frowned at the attitude of distraction, "Ava, you can't run away from this."

"You ran away from your own death," Avalon crossed her arms and huffed, "Don't see why I can't. Soufflé Girl!"

The periscope appeared near them and Soufflé Girl made an entrance, "Okay, I would like to remind everybody that I do in fact have an actual name: Oswin. Also, I don't like being brought into couple problems. Not my thing."

"How are you doing that?" the Doctor momentarily left the subject of the Ponds alone. He leaned to the periscope and tapped the glass, "This is Dalek technology."

"Well it's very easy to hack," Oswin informed like it was no big deal.

"I don't think it is," Avalon remarked, "Where exactly are you, anyways?"

"Ship broke up when it hit. Somewhere underground, I think," Oswin said, "You coming to get me?"

"Well someone's so sure of herself," Avalon mumbled but wasn't heard due to the loud call Amy did from a distance.

"Doctor!" Amy was shouting, "Avalon!"

"Hey!" the Doctor exclaimed as the connection with Oswin started faltering, "Oi! Soufflé girl! Come back."

Avalon stood up and caught the nearly falling Amy, "What's wrong?" Avalon asked then noticed a young man following after Amy.

"Where's Rory?" the Doctor had noticed the new friend as well, "And Lena?"

"There were other beams," the man, Harvey, pointed to a spot near a small hill, "There, over there," without words, the trio ran for the direction, leaving Harvey to follow, "Are you the rescue team?!"

~ 0 ~

The group reached a round hole in the middle of the ground where apparently the two beams of Rory and Lena had been seen.

"Lena!" Avalon dropped to her knees and called for her sister, "LENA!"

Amy did the same only she called for her ex-husband-to-be, "Rory?! RORY!"

"Now what?" Avalon, distressed, looked back at the Doctor, "She's finally getting better and now she's stuck in some hole—"

The Doctor put his hands on her head and tried calming her, "Shhh, it's okay," he assured, "We're going to find her and Rory, you'll see."

"There's some rope back with my crew," Harvey spoke up and made everyone look up, "We could go get it..."

Amy was the first to agree and stood up, "Okay, but let's hurry," and she motioned for Harvey to lead the way.

Avalon couldn't help smirk as Amy hurriedly followed Harvey, "For 'not caring anymore' that's the opposite," she said to the Doctor, momentarily forgetting that there was still a discussion pending between them.

"There's still a chance, then," the Doctor agreed, taking her hand as they went to follow.

They followed Harvey to his hatch where his crew members were still in. He was explaining to the trio what had happened to the team after their first trip to the stars, "We came down two days ago. There is 12 other escape pods. I don't know what happened to them," he bent down and began opening the lid of the hatch.

Amy wiped some of the snow covering it with her shoe and saw 'Alaska' scrawled at the center, "Alaska?" she glanced at the Doctor and Avalon, "That's the same ship as Soufflé Girl."

"Apparently her name's Oswin," Avalon shrugged. "Wants us to use it or something..."

"And she's been here a year," the Doctor remembered with some suspicion.

"Do you think that's important?" Avalon stepped closer to the Doctor and spoke in a hushed tone as Harvey began going down the ladder of the hatch.

"Let's find out," the Doctor took a breath as he went next to climb down.

As the travelers climbed down, Harvey went to go look for the rope he had promised them, "We should have some climbing rope long enough for that hole."

"Won't you introduce us to your crew?" the Doctor curiously eyed the motionless crew members that sat in rows with controls in front of them.

"Ah yeah, sorry. Guys, this is the Doctor, Avalon, and Amy," Harvey introduced while he rummaged through the locker. The Doctor gave a salute but no greet nor response was shown. That, Harvey noticed and made him stop and look back, "Guys?"

Avalon decided to walk behind the last row in front of them and happened to touch someone's shoulder...making his body shake and reveal a mummified corpse, "Oh!" she jumped back in horror.

The Doctor quickly pulled out the sonic to use on the corpses while yanking Avalon away from them, "They're dead. All of them."

"I think we noticed!" Avalon shot him a look of sarcasm.

"I meant to say they've been dead for a very long time," the Doctor mended his error for her. He'd learned right away that instead of arguing with her sarcasm/sass it was just best to not make...well...stupid remarks like those.

"But that's not possible," Harvey looked at his crew, "I just spoke them. Two hours ago, we were doing engine repairs!"

"You're sure about that, are you?" the Doctor challenged as he pulled the hood off another dead member, "Cos I'd say they've all been dead for a very long time."

"But...but they can't have been..."

"Well, they didn't get in that state in two hours," Amy shrugged and made sure to stay back from the dead corpses.

A change took place in Harvey's expressions, "Off course! Stupid me."

"Of course what?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, disliking the near smirk that was on his face.

"I died outside and the cold preserved my body," he announced and made everyone freeze, "I forgot about dying." A big Dalek eyestalk broke out through his forehead and started coming for the travelers.

"Amy! The door!" the Doctor nodded to a nearby door which Amy hurriedly went to get it open. On a chance, the Doctor grabbed Harvey by the arms and pushed him into the door and locked it shut.

"I don't understand, how did that happen?" Avalon blinked, completely lost.

"Because he wasn't wearing one of these," the Doctor held his wrist to her to show her the band strapped to it, "Oh-hoho! That's clever! The nano-cloud. Micro-organisms that automatically process any organic matter, living or dead, into a Dalek puppet. Anything attacks this place, it automatically becomes part of the on-site security."

"Living or dead?" Avalon stiffened and slowly turned her head to look at the dead corpses.

"These wrist-bands protect us," the Doctor gestured to her band, "The only thing stopping us going exactly..."

"Fairy-tale man, shut up!" Avalon rose her voice to a shout and sighed, "Did you just hear yourself?"

"No, what?"

"Living or dead," Amy shook her head, why was he so clueless?

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "Exactly, living, or, or..." and then he understood.

"Doctor," Avalon pointed to the corpse that was now boasting a Dalek eyestalk on its forehead, the others following, "Do something!"

The Doctor nodded quickly and started climbing over the seats to clear the way for the two gingers, "C'mon!" he called and so Avalon broke into a run with Amy.

However, on the way there, one of the corpses had managed to get ahold of Amy's arm, "Ah!" she tried fighting them off.

"Get the hell off my grandmother!" Avalon kicked the corpse away from Amy then pulled her inside the cockpit where the Doctor quickly locked it.

The three leaned on the shut door and tried regaining their breath after all that. Amy had to smile in the end as she thought back to it, "Is it bad that I've really missed this?" She looked at the other two.

"Yes," Avalon instantly said like she was crazy.

"Good," Amy made a face at her.

"Don't fight, please," the Doctor sighed, "Ponds should not fight within each other."

"They do when she divorces her granddaughter's grandfather," Avalon declared and leaned off the door to move to the other end, which was only a couple feet away.

"Avalon, I already told you—"

"No, no," Avalon cut Amy off as she turned around, "You haven't told me anything. You haven't given me one reason why you're even divorcing and I know it's you who wants this."

"I'm sorry," Amy tried to reach for her but Avalon pressed herself against the wall to get away from her.

"If you were really sorry you'd actually tell me what's going on," Avalon bitterly said as she looked to the side.

"You wouldn't understand," Amy said but Avalon could see that was a lie, a straight ole lie which actually...concerned her.

"You're lying straight to my face," Avalon sighed, "Is this what it's come to? My grandmother lying to me again?"

"Ava, why don't we focus on getting out of here first, hm?" the Doctor offered as he reached for her hand but her moved her arms behind her back, making him sigh, "Look, I will gladly help you fix things with your grandparents but we really need to focus on surviving first."

"No, hold on," came Oswin's voice through the speakers inside the room, "Grandparents? Divorce? You're all the same age!"

Avalon rolled her eyes, "I'm 57 years old but thank you for the compliment, Souffle Girl."

"Oswin," the woman corrected, "And, give me a break, won't you? I've been down here with no TV or books for a year. All this sounds like a soap opera to me."

"Well, if you must know, Oswin," Avalon rolled her eyes, still admittedly amused by Oswin's attitude, "They had a daughter who went to the future and had me there. Bad things happened and my mother sent me back in time to be raised with my uncle and my cousins...along with my grandparents and future mother as children."

"Wow...completely a soap opera," Oswin concluded with a chuckle.

"And lucky me I'm the protagonist," Avalon said with a sour smile.

"You should sell that—I'd buy it!"

"I think it's the one story I wouldn't write," Avalon admitted, not that it was a secret for both the Doctor and Amy.

"Shame, I'd be a fan," Oswin said with a dramatic sigh to follow. "But, moving on, I've been scanning! You're on another of the escape pods from the Alaska, right? Same ship I was on."

"How can she hack into everything?" Amy asked the Doctor, curiously, "Didn't she like crash her ship or something?"

"It's a long story," Oswin cut in, "Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?"

"Doctor," the Time Lord took that one for himself, "You call me the Doctor."

"I hope that's not flirting," Avalon looked up at him with sharp eyes, "You're not flirting with the unknown woman, are you? You're not...are you?"

The Doctor shook his head, "Course not, just showing off for you love." And he finally managed to get her to smile after that.

"Ugh, sappy stuff," came the mock gags of Oswin, "Anyways, check the floor. I'm picking up a breach at floor level, there could be a way out. See you later!"

The Doctor did as Oswin said and cleared the center of the room to find a hatch, "Looks like it's been used already," he noted, "And they tried to block it off behind them."

"Well I can't imagine why," Avalon remarked and stepped closer to him.

"The lower part of the pod is buried, so this must go straight down into the Asylum."

"Where Rory is?" Amy asked immediately.

"I-I just don't understand you," Avalon sighed and looked at her grandmother.

"Just because we're divorcing doesn't mean I stopped caring for his safety," Amy tried to make it look casual as she shrugged.

"See, I don't know that because I don't know you anymore," Avalon pointed.

"It's me," Amy gestured to herself.

"No, because that Amy I knew promised me, along with Rory, River and even this idiot," Avalon gestured to the Doctor who gave an 'oi' of complaint, "That there would never be secrets between us again. You promised me that on Christmas. And you broke it."

Amy closed her eyes with enough pain to last for a lifetime. She had promised Avalon that, along with the others, and now she was breaking it...and hurting Avalon. She couldn't bear to do that to her granddaughter again. "I can't have kids," she whispered the painful words that felt more pricks.

Avalon slowly looked down at the Doctor who was equally stunned, "What?" Avalon asked.

Amy sighed, "I can't have kids, okay? The Silence, they...they did something, what ever they did...it left me like...this," she gestured to herself with so much disdain that it truly concerned Avalon and the Doctor, "I can't have kids and you know that's all Rory's ever wanted. You're right, I haven't stopped caring, I'm choosing to give him up."

"No, no, but that's...Amy, forgive me, but...that's completely stupid," Avalon declared, "You think that just because of that Rory's going to stop loving you?"

"Maybe not now but what happens when we're old...and alone?" Amy raised an eyebrow, "Think about it, the strongest thing between two married people is a child. A child who represents just how much they love each other, who reminds them of everything they have. You don't know it yet but having a baby is..."

"Indescribable," the Doctor finished and made both gingers look at him, "You can't possibly describe that feeling. Wonderful, amazing, those words wouldn't live up to the actual meaning," he smiled softly as his mind wandered back to the days in which his children had been born.

"Now you see?" Amy looked to Avalon with teary eyes, "I can't take that away from Rory."

"But you're not even giving him the chance to make that decision for himself," Avalon said, "That's not being very fair. You should talk to him and discuss this and then both of you can make a final decision. But you know what I think?" Amy made a gesture for her to go on and say it. "Rory's not going to stop loving you because of this. And you know what? There are so many ways you can have children. Adoption? Accidental adoption?" Avalon pointed between herself and the Doctor, referencing their space tree child.

"I know," Amy whispered. She didn't want to hear anything anymore. Of course she knew all that, she wasn't an idiot. But she knew Rory would always prefer having a baby that was actually his own.

Avalon was startled when a bang was hit on the other side of the door, "What's going on?"

The Doctor checked the screen beside the door which gave view into the other room where the undead corpses seemed to be banging something on the door, "What are they up to?" the Doctor frowned.

'More importantly, what is that?" Amy stepped beside him and pointed at the small object being held.

"One of these," the Doctor tensed as he clearly identified the wrist band on the screen.

"What?" Avalon squeezed in-between him and Amy to get a look, "But where did they get it from!?"

"Ah!" Amy yelped when she saw her bare wrist, "Me! They got it from me!"

"Oh, Amy," Avalon rubbed her face in frustration.

"Doctor? What's going to happen to me? Seriously, tell me, what?" Amy immediately wanted to know her fate.

The Doctor looked at her wrist and back at the screen, anger spurring inside as the undead taunted them with the wrist band.

~ 0 ~

Explaining to Amy what was going to happen...fourth time...was becoming tedious, as much as Avalon hated to admit. After the fifth time of explaining it, the Doctor led the two gingers down a darkish corridor where they hoped they would find Lena and Rory, and perhaps Oswin. They stumbled across a shut door that when opened revealed several Daleks inside, all thankfully inactive.

"Okay, no one opens this door," the Doctor pointed at Avalon and Amy.

"One order I don't mind following," Avalon nodded her head and started backing away from the door.

"Oswin?!" the Doctor started calling for the woman, "Oswin, can you hear me?!"

"Hello, the Chin! I have visual on you!" she cheerfully answered.

The Doctor made a face, "When did I become 'the Chin'?"

"You do own a mirror, right?"

"Oi, no one talks about my husband's chin like that but me," Avalon declared and had the Doctor nodding until he realized.

"Yeah—wait, what?" He blinked at her, not pleased with her 'defense', "Ava!"

"I love you but I'm not blind," Avalon innocently shrugged.

"Wha—hey!"

Avalon rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the lapels to give him a kiss she was sure would shut him up. It definitely worked. "So, Oswin," she turned when she afterwards, "You wouldn't happened to have found my sister and my grandfather?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Oswin declared proudly, "There's a door to your left, open it. Going to send you a map to that screen. I've put them somewhere safe, I can get you to them"

"Thanks," Avalon managed to relax after hearing her sister was safe for the meantime.

"You are out of control today," the Doctor said to her right after they'd gotten the door opened.

Avalon put on a smirk as she cleared some of the lipstick that had smudged his lips, "I thought you liked when I didn't follow orders," she leaned up and whispered, "Makes me unpredictable, right?"

"Right," the Doctor swallowed hard with a light skip of his hearts. He leaned down to get a kiss from her but Avalon dodged his lips, "Ava," he made a face but tried again only to get the same results, "Ava!"

Avalon giggled and decided to end his attempts by turning for the screen Oswin had directed them to, "Oswin, how many Daleks directly ahead of us, right now?"

"10, 20, hard to say," she admitted, "Some of them are catatonic, but they do have firepower."

"So how do we get past them?" the Doctor asked, having given up trying to kiss Avalon. He'd get her later when she wasn't on guard. Those kisses were the best.

Avalon happened to turn her head and see Amy had left them! She was in the room they'd gone into that was full of Daleks, "Amy!" she shouted and startled the Doctor into looking over to the missing ginger.

He felt his hearts stop at the sight of her dangerously close to the Daleks and yet Amy didn't seem to mind, "Shhh. It's OK. It's just people in here. It's just people," she languidly looked at the pair as they rushed for her.

"Are you put of your mind!?" Avalon nearly shouted if her loudness wouldn't have activated the Daleks behind Amy.

"Amy. It's the nano-cloud," the Doctor tried to make her see, "It's altering your perception. Look again, look again—those aren't people."

"Amy, Amy, just listen!" Avalon pleaded, "They're bloody DALEKS! Look!"

Thankfully, Amy reacted after taking another look behind her. The Doctor held out a hand for her, urging her to return, "Come with me, take my hand. Run, run!"

Amy took the hand and together they ran back to where they'd came from. When they reached the pod ladder they saw the undead corpses were making their way down.

"They're coming down!" Amy cried and backed from the ladder.

"And there's a Dalek!" Avalon pointed at the advancing Dalek coming from the room Amy had been in.

The Doctor pushed Avalon and Amy into a side door, "Run!" the three hid there while the Dalek kept coming.

"Intruder! Intruder!" the Dalek fired its weapon but there was nothing that actually came out.

The Doctor poked his head from the room and had to smirk when he concluded, "It's damaged," he fully stepped out.

"OK, but what do we do?" Amy asked when she and Avalon came out.

"Identify me!" the Doctor leaned to the Dalek, "Access your files, who am I? Come on, who's your Daddy?"

"That better be the first and last time you use that word," Avalon warned with second hand embarrassment for him.

"You... are... the Predator," the Dalek answered with struggle.

"Access your standing orders concerning the Predator," the Doctor continued.

"The Predator must be destroyed."

"And how are you going to do that?! Dalek without a gun - you're a tricycle with a roof!" the Doctor taunted in success, "How are you going to destroy me?!"

"Self-destruct initiated," the Dalek announced and in a snap the Doctor used the sonic on the creature underneath its top case.

"What the hell are you doing?" Avalon rushed up behind the Doctor, "Have you finally lost it!?"

It's going to blow itself up and us with it," the Doctor informed like it was nothing big, "Only weapon it's got left."

"Self-destruct cannot be countermanded," the Dalek remarked.

"I'm not looking for a countermand, dear," the Doctor let the Dalek's lid drop shut, "I'm looking for reverse."

The Doctor slid backwards to the room of Daleks, "For..wards, For..wards, For..wards, For..wards!" and it exploded, taking down the rest of the Daleks.

~ 0 ~

At the feel of the explosion, Lena jumped with a gasp and spun around, "What was that!? That was close, wasn't it?"

Even Rory was concerned with the proximity of the explosion, "Oswin?" he called as he took Lena's hand and rushed back to the Dalek room to fund bits and chunks of exploded Daleks all around, "What happened?! Who killed all the Daleks?"

"Who do you think?" the Doctor stepped in from the other side of the room carrying an unconscious Avalon in his arms. In protecting the still ditzy Amy, Avalon had taken a blow for her and was promptly knocked out.

"My sister!" Lena cried in horror and ran up to the Doctor, "Is she okay!? What happened!?"

"It's okay, it's okay," the Doctor hurried to go set Avalon down somewhere. Rory motioned for him to follow and so quickly re-entered the teleportation room. Avalon was laid down on the teleport where she slowly stirred to a slow awake.

"Is she going to be okay?" Lena asked feebly while Rory checked for Avalon's vitals.

Amt was returning to her normal self now that the hazing was gone. She moved to where Lena stood and leaned down closer to Avalon, "I am so sorry, Avalon," she whispered.

"She's going to be fine," Rory assured her from Avalon's other side.

"Really?" Amy looked at him urgently, desperately needing the assurance one more time.

The Doctor had silently motioned to Lena to step back with him. It seemed like it was the first conversation between Amy and Rory that was...well...civilized. He knew Avalon would bite his head off if he ruined the moment.

Of course, just because he knew not to ruin the moment it didn't mean Oswin knew it too. "Geez, who knew all it took was the granddaughter to get the relationship back in order," came her chirpy voice, yet full of observation.

Avalon had opened her eyes with a small smile as she glanced between Rory and Amy. At the sight, the two grandparents leaned closer to her to greet her softly, as was their usual custom when she awoke in the mornings.

"You're going to be okay," Rory whispered to her, "But you gotta stop hurting yourself, Ava."

"That's boring," Avalon joked quietly.

"Avalon, I'm sorry," Amy sighed, "If I hadn't gotten my bracelet stolen then none of this would've happened."

"You're what got stolen!?" Rory looked at her in terror, his eyes slowly drifting to her bare wrists.

"It was an accident!" the ginger cried, now even more shameful.

"Amy!"

"Rory!"

Avalon's smile had disappeared from her face and out came a long sigh, "Can we go back to me since it's apparently the only way to get you two not to argue?" she swung her legs to the side and with the help of the Doctor stood up.

"Do you know how you make someone into a Dalek?" Oswin intervened in the discussion, "Subtract love, add anger. Doesn't she seem a bit too angry to you?" All eyes fell on Amy.

"Well!" she huffed and turned away from the group, "Somebody's never been to Scotland."

"That's also cos I bet she's never gotten an unnecessary divorce," Avalon added and grimly looked at her grandparents. At that, even Rory had to look away from her face, too heartbroken to face her.

The Doctor could really do without another Pond argument and decided to focus on Oswin, the most suspicious thing in the room so far, "What about you though, Oswin?" he called to her, "How come you're OK? Why hasn't the nano-cloud converted you?"

"I mentioned the genius thing, yeah? I'm shielded in here," she reminded rather proudly.

"But how do you do that?" Lena confusedly asked, "Cos the Daleks said something—or was it that other woman?—you needed to be protected by the bands..."

"Trust me, I'm clever," Oswin assured and unknowingly raised the Doctor's suspicions.

"And kind of cocky," Avalon mumbled under her breath. She didn't miss the snort that came out of the Doctor. "Somebody has some audacity," she spat right back at him.

The Time Lord moved for the edge of the teleport to study its current condition, "Now this place - the Daleks said it was fully automated. But look at it, it's a wreck."

"Well, I've had nearly a year to mess with them and not a lot else to do," Oswin admitted with a resigned sigh.

"A junior entertainment manager, hiding out in a wrecked ship... hacking the security systems of the most advanced warrior race the universe has ever seen," the Doctor knew that couldn't be right, especially when you thought of one specific thing, "But you know what really gets me about you, Oswin? The soufflés!"

"Souffles?" Amy mouthed in confusion while looking at the others to see if they agreed. By the looks on their faces, it seemed like they did.

"Where do you get the milk for the soufflés?" the Doctor continued on without noticing the expressions of the others, "Seriously, is no one else wondering about that?"

"No. Frankly, no," Rory shook his head, "Twice."

"So, Doctor," Oswin spoke up, "I've been looking you and your friends up."

"Well that's not creepy," Avalon made a face and glanced around the room for any cameras that could give view to Oswin.

"Says the psychopath's daughter."

"HEY!" Avalon now angrily looked up, indignant that Oswin was bringing in River when she knew nothing about that situation. "You leave River out of this! Focus on getting us out here instead of sticking your nose in my family's lives."

"Ouch," Oswin felt the daggers from her spot, "Sorry," she honestly apologized.

Avalon rubbed her temples while silently trying to calm herself. Lately, she was under stress with her grandparents' divorce and the fact she didn't even tell River about it. The last thing she needed was for some stranger to label her about something horrendous.

The Doctor, noticing her expressions, walked to her and gently lowered her hands from her face, "It's okay," he whispered and kissed her forehead before wrapping his arms around her waist, "Alright then, here's the plan," he looked at the others.

"There's a plan?" Lena blinked, wondering if she'd missed that earlier.

"Yes, baby sister," the Doctor nodded, "In no particular order, we need to neutralize all the Daleks in this asylum, rescue Oswin from the wreckage, escape from this planet, and fix Rory and Amy's marriage..."

"OK, I'm counting three lost causes, anyone else?" Amy casually looked around the room as if her words were actually true.

The Doctor felt Avalon shake upon those words and couldn't help but shoot a little glare at Amy for being inconsiderate. "Oswin, there's a Dalek ship in orbit," he looked up as he spoke to the woman.

"Yeah, got it on the sensors."

"The Asylum has a force-field. The Daleks upstairs are waiting for me to turn it off. Soon as I do, they'll burn this world and us with it. So, Oswin, my question is this. How fast can you drop the force-field?"

"Pretty fast. But why would I?"

"Because this is a teleport, am I right, Oswin? "

"Yeah. Internal use only."

"I can boost the power, though," the Doctor informed, "Once the force-field is down, and we can use this to beam us right off this planet."

"But you said, when the force-field is down, the Daleks will blow us up," Rory pointed out, Lena nodding in agreement.

"We have to be quick," the Doctor shrugged.

"Where exactly would we beam up to?" Avalon looked up at him with concern as she already guessed the answer.

"The only place within range...the Dalek ship," the Doctor admitted quietly, but still enough to be heard by the others.

"Isn't that the place we'd be exterminated in?" Lena was seriously disliking that plan, her entire body visibly trembling from the idea of the thousands of Daleks surrounding them.

"This is the kind of escape plan where you survive four seconds longer, isn't it?" Amy shook her head with an annoyed sigh, yet not the least bit surprised.

"What's wrong with four seconds?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, "May I remind you that I used the extra minutes staying alive to marry my Ava," he flashed a smile at Avalon who gave a small one in return, "Four seconds can do wonders. So, Oswin, how fast can you drop the force-field?"

"I can do it from here," she confidently replied, "As soon as you come and get me."

Avalon made a face, "Um, no, you come to us."

"There's enough power in that teleport for one go. Why would you wait for me?"

"Well Souffle Girl, I'm going to start with the fact that I'm nice..." Avalon swayed her head, "...bad attitude, but in general I can be nice. Maybe you and I can trade souffle recipes after this."

"Maybe...okay," Oswin decided to take a leap of faith, "Sending you a map so you can come get me."

The Doctor had to leave Avalon to boost the power of the teleport. In the meantime, Avalon went to, begrudgingly, check the screen Oswin was sending the map to.

"This place is crawling with Daleks," Lena complained with absolute terror.

"Yeah. Kind of why I'm anxious to leave," Oswin chuckled, "Come up and see me some time."

"No, thanks, I'm good right here," Lena nodded and crossed her arms.

"OK, soon as the force-field is down, the Daleks will attack," the Doctor rose to his feet and moved to the screen to check the map with Avalon, "If it gets too explodey-wodey in here, you go without me, OK?" he handed her the control for the teleport.

"And leave you to go on your own?" Avalon made a face, the absurdity of that idea making her roll her eyes, "You did enough of the leaving me for one lifetime," she walked over and handed the control to Rory.

"Ava," Rory was already displeased she was risking her life again...with Daleks.

"Don't 'Ava' me," she snapped at him, even surprising the Doctor with the tone she used, "You don't get to call me 'Ava' unless you stop divorcing."

"But—"

"No," Avalon stepped back, "Unless the words 'Amy and I are going to talk' is going to come out of your mouth, I don't want to hear it," she held a hand to stop him from talking, "C'mon," she looked at Amy next, "This may not be a big deal for you guys, but it monumentally big for me. I just got my family back...and now you want take it away from me without even trying to talk about it."

"Just because we're separating doesn't mean we stop being family," Amy tried to speak but even she was cut off.

"It is when the reason you're 'separating' is irrelevant," Avalon turned away and headed back to the Doctor who waited for her with open arms, "I'm tired," she confessed with tears in her eyes, "Nothing I do works..."

The Doctor hated seeing her like that, despised it completely. He looked back at the Ponds with a curious face, an idea popping into his head. With a kiss pressed on Avalon's forehead, he walked over to Amy, "Can you at least, just...talk?" he took her hands, "Please?"

Amy sighed heavily and looked to the side, "I...I can't...there's just no point—"

"Don't," he scolded her, "For that love you have for your granddaughter, just...give her that, please?" Amy shook her head, missing the Doctor's movements of hands around her wrists, "You know what Oswin said, they're subtracting love...don't let them do it."

"Alright, fine," Amy agreed for the sake of Avalon's well-being, "We can...talk." At those words, even Rory couldn't help the wide smile that broke throughout his face.

The Doctor smiled and gave her a hug, "Thank you," he returned back to Avalon afterwards hoping he'd managed to help in some way.

"My fairy-tale man," she whispered with a soft smile as she encased him in a hug. What couldn't he do for her?

"C'mon," he gave her a kiss on the lips then took her hand to start that trip for Oswin.

"I'm coming too," Lena raised her hand and scurried over to catch up before they left.

"No, Lena," Avalon begun but Lena wouldn't have it that time.

"I'm coming and shut up," Lena crossed her arms and nearly dared Avalon to try and stop her, "If they're going to talk it's not gonna be private if I'm around."

"She's got a point," the Doctor sided with the brunette and earned a very sharp look from his wife.

"Don't agree with her," Avalon took her hand from his, "It's dangerous!"

"I would like to point out that both ways include Daleks," Lena informed with a big smile, "So either way I'd be in danger. I just hope I don't get my dress dirty."

"You know what, we should take advantage of this little trip to discuss the matter of your...date," the Doctor raised an eyebrow while taking Lena's hand and Avalon's.

Lena's face dropped as she knew where it was headed, "You better not scare him off," she pointed at him.

"What? Me?" the Doctor looked around with a mischievous face, "I would never..."

"I'm serious!" Lena's voice echoed through the hallways as the three began their walk to rescue Avalon.

~ 0 ~

The talk of Lena's date had winded down the further they walked. As much as the Doctor was concerned over this man Lena was going to see, his primary focus was Avalon...and since Avalon had taken the lead and walked silently (since they left Amy and Rory) the Doctor felt like he needed to go to her instead.

''Ava," he only got the chance to speak her name before she raised a hand to his face that told him to be silent.

"I don't feel like talking," she mumbled and quickened her pace, uncaring of what laid ahead. All her mind was thinking of was her grandparents who were currently (and hopefully) talking about their pending divorce. To say Avalon was nervous was an understatement, she was terrified. This conversation would either make it or break it, and Avalon clung to the idea that Amy would rethink the whole crazy idea of divorcing.

The Doctor glanced back to Lena who'd voluntarily slowed her pace to allow for a better, private conversation. Lena nodded and urged for him to make another attempt to talk to her sister. It was clear Avalon was in need of a talk, and comfort, from him.

"Ava," the Doctor quickened to catch up to her, "Hey, c'mon," he reached for her hand but she balled it up.

"Let's just find Souffle Girl and hurry back to my grandparents," Avalon looked up at him and allowed him to see the heavy necessity of her words.

"I have a name!" Oswin was bold enough to make her appearance known during that moment.

The Doctor, however, rather wished she hadn't for this was one conversation he wanted to have with his wife on their own, "Oswin!" he rose his voice in a loud scold and successfully made the woman back up.

"I was just saying," were her last words for another ten minutes.

"Look," Avalon stopped walking and turned to the Doctor, "Oswin—" she corrected herself for the sake of the annoyed woman behind the speakers, "—is waiting to be rescued. We need to find her and then I need to go see how my grandparents are doing, okay?"

"Don't shut yourself," the Doctor sighed, already thinking of the negative effects it would bring (and already was) on her, "We know how that en—"

Once again, Avalon's hand raised to stop him, "I don't need review lessons," it almost sounded like a snap, and honestly she wasn't meaning to come across like that.

Thankfully, the Doctor didn't seem to get upset by her attitude. He was already witness to the consequences of her secrecy in the past and since he got her to confess when they were barely friends, he was sure he could get her to talk now that they were married.

"It's not a 'review lesson', it's a mere reminder," he spoke softly to her and finally took her hand, "You've been keeping this from me for months so I know there's a lot on your mind—"

"But I don't..." Avalon had begun in that harsh tone she wasn't meaning to use. She stopped and took a breath, it wasn't the Doctor's fault and she shouldn't take it out on him, "...I just want to get out of here. I want to see if my grandparents are fixing their relationship. That's all I want."

"Okay," the Doctor nodded, "And we're going to do that, I promise."

"Then let's go," she used the grip he had on her hand to pull him forwards, "Lena!" she called for her sister who was far behind.

"I'm coming!" the brunette hurried.

Avalon gripped the Doctor's hand in hers as they came to a peaceful pace. The Doctor took that as a sign of a 'thank you', probably for 'understanding' her. He just wanted to get his wife home where they could talk in a much more peaceful environment, and completely alone.

~ 0 ~

Minutes had passed and the trio were now standing in front of a shut door in front of them. The Doctor looked around and found a speaker through which he was sure Oswin was able to listen through, "Oswin? I think we're close."

"You are," she agreed, "Less than 20 feet away. Which is the good news..."

At the trail of Oswin's voice, Lena released a big sigh as she wrapped her arms around herself, "Must there be a bad news?"

"Afraid so," Oswin replied, sounding rather amused which honestly annoyed Avalon, "You're about to pass through intensive care."

"What the hell does that mean?" Avalon demanded as she took Lena's hand to comfort her, "Daleks don't have hospitals..." And then she glanced at the Doctor questioningly, "...do they?"

At that moment, the doors slid open in front of them and allowed them access to the dark room that laid ahead. Avalon's answer came from vision, as when they walked in they saw individual Daleks in small cells, some in chains.

"And what's so special about this lot then?" the Doctor's curiosity got the better of him.

"Dunno. Survivors of particular wars," Oswin went on to list said word, "Spiridon.

Kembel. Aridius. Vulcan. Exxilon. Ringing any bells?"

"All of them," the Doctor admitted, a dark glare settling in his eyes the more he looked at the Daleks.

"Yeah? How?"

"These are the Daleks who survived me."

The Daleks were becoming active the further the trio went through the room, "Doc... tor... Doc... tor... Doc... tor... Doctor..."

"Well they certainly seem to be remembering you," Avalon mumbled to the Doctor.

"Yeah, well - special visitor," the Doctor dismissed and yanked the sisters towards a shut door, "OK, door, but it won't open," the sonic was not working yet the Daleks were becoming more and more rowdy, "You can't be far away though..."

"Hang on, not quite sure," Oswin called, sounding confused herself, "There's a release code, let me, let me just...anything happening out there?"

"Yes!" Lena cried, "Daleks are waking up!"

"Hang on, I'm trying a thing!"

"Oh my god," Avalon watched one Dalek break it's chains to leave its cell. The Doctor left the door to see the happenings and was horrified to see Daleks coming for them from all sides.

"Doc... tor... Doc... tor... Doc... tor..."

"Oswin, get this door open!" the Doctor yelled and pounded on the door, "Oswin open this door!"

"I can't!"

"Avalon!" Lena violently trembled which made Avalon pull her for a hug while the Doctor continued calling for Oswin.

"Oswin! PLEASE, GET THIS DOOR OPEN!" But no such thing happened. The Doctor turned around to face the Daleks. He could hear Lena's sobs and with no other option, he pulled the two sisters behind him to protect them, "OSWIN! OSWIN! PLEASE, GET THIS DOOR OPEN! HELP US!"

"Souffle Girl!" Avalon shouted, clinging to the Doctor's jacket while holding onto Lena.

Seeing no action from Oswin's side and the Daleks mere feet away from them, the Doctor turned to the sisters and hugged them in order to cover them from the aliens behind.

"Doc... tor... Doc... tor..." the Daleks came to a sudden halt when they were only spare inches from the trio. The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to see the Daleks swiveling away from them like they didn't even exist.

"Oh, that is cool," came Oswin's voice, "Tell me I'm cool, chin boy."

"What happened?" Lena sniffled as she watched the Daleks return to their places.

"Hang on, I think I've found the door thingie..."

"No, tell us what you did!" the Doctor ordered, still staring at the Daleks in case they tried something.

"The Daleks, they have a hive mind," Oswin began to explain, "Well they don't, but they have a telepathic web."

"The Path Web, yes..."

"I hacked into it. Did a master delete on all the information connected with the Doctor."

"You made them forget him?" Avalon blinked and looked up at the Doctor, both equally stunned.

"Good, eh?" Oswin still boasted, "And here comes the door!" The door opened up but none of them looked back as they were still processing Oswin's actions.

"I've tried hacking the Path Web," the Doctor admitted in a mumble, "Even I couldn't do it."

"Come and meet the girl who can," Oswin laughed.

"Hold on, is that flirting again?" Avalon made a face, "Cos I'm not gonna stand for that, and now that we're going to be face to face..." her voice trailed the moment she turned around.

Her silence prompted the other two to turn around and see her locked gaze on what laid ahead in the white, honeycombed-patterned room.

"I wasn't flirting," Oswin tried to argue, "I was just saying...you know what, you're right outside, come on in and I'll explain face to face..."

Lena shook her head and stepped back, the weight of everything finally settling over her shoulders, "This is too much," she breathed.

"Oswin... we have a problem..." the Doctor began, the correct words to describe the 'problem' evading his mind.

"No, we don't!" Oswin quickly interjected, "Don't even say that. Joined the Alaska to see the universe, ended up stuck in a shipwreck, first time out. Rescue me, chin boy, and show me the stars! Avalon, you and I can co-write that story we talked about!"

Avalon felt her throat dry. Oswin was so enthusiastic. She sounded like a child, really. But she wasn't. She wasn't remotely like a child, at least not in appearance. Avalon's gaze was locked on the Dalek in chains across the room, the one that spoke at the same time Oswin did. "...do you like fairy tales, Oswin?" she asked quietly, daring to take a step forwards, though the Doctor couldn't help but go in with her and hold her arm in case something happened. Avalon couldn't explain it but she felt she needed to be close to Oswin right now.

"I do, actually," the Oswin-Dalek said, still none the wiser about the reality. "Why?"

"I love fairy tales. When I was young and lived on Earth, a lot of people didn't like me and to escape the awful reality...I would make up stories: the perfect world. Do you know Sleeping Beauty?"

"Oh, it's a classic!"

"If you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true," Avalon recited with a tired sigh. Why did things always have to end so grim for them? She had no idea who Oswin was, nor what her life was about, but she knew that Oswin had dreams that deserved to be seen through. She probably had to work hard to go on an expedition in the first place and look how she ended up.

"It has some good lines," the Oswin-Dalek remarked.

"It does," Avalon said, biting her lip hard, "Everybody deserves to have dreams and make them come true. You couldn't so you tweaked it. You needed to."

"I don't...I don't understand," the Oswin-Dalek said in confusion.

"It's a dream, Oswin," the Doctor spoke up, sensing it was becoming harder for Avalon to reveal the tragedy. "You dreamed it for yourself, because the truth was too terrible."

There was a long pause, leaving the trio of travelers to glance amongst each other. If they were right, and they were, then Oswin must be starting to remember the truth.

"Where am I? Where... am... I? Where... am... I?"

"Your reality became too awful...because you're a Dalek," the Doctor regretted to say as it sent the Dalek into a turmoil.

"I am not a Dalek! I am not a Dalek! I'm human!"

"You were human when you crashed here," the Doctor agreed. "It was you who climbed out of the pod—that was your ladder."

"I'm... human..."

"Because you're right, you're a genius. And the Daleks need genius," the Doctor added, "They didn't just make you a puppet, they did a full conversion. Oswin, I am so sorry. But you are a Dalek. The milk, Oswin. The milk and the eggs for the soufflés, where, where did it all come from?"

"Eggs..."

"You're not anymore, I'm sorry," Avalon whispered. Tears were brimming in her eyes. "You dreamed yourself a better reality. Where you are, it's not real. It never was."

"Eggs... term... in... ate," the Oswin-Dalek raised its gun at them like a real Dalek would.

"Is she going to attack us!?" Lena asked in alarm.

"Eggs... term... in... ate. Exterminate! Exterminate!" the Oswin-Dalek broke free from its chains and went for the couple.

"We need to get out of here!" Lena shouted, barely moving to turn when she saw Avalon go towards the dalek. "Avalon!" she shrieked at the same time the Doctor felt his hearts stop.

"Oswin! You don't have to!" Avalon had stopped in front of the dalek. "You're not—you're not one of them! You're one of us!"

"Avalon!" hissed the Doctor. He was all for talking down enemies that weren't really enemies but he would never be okay with watching his wife put herself in front of an armed dalek.

Avalon ignored him, not even turning back to see his pale face. She was only focused on Oswin right now. "You're not a dalek! You were capable of creating a whole reality for yourself! You dreamed! You could never be one of those emotionless pepper bots!"

Silence hung over them again but Avalon swore that if they really listened, they could hear a quiet sniffle. A human sniffle. It broke Avalon's heart.

The Doctor came up behind Avalon, still cautious, as grabbed Avalon's arm. She wouldn't budge from her spot. "Ava, please," he begged her.

"No," she said, eyebrows furrowed. "Osw—"

"They hate you, Doctor," the Oswin-Dalek said suddenly, freezing the couple, "Why do they hate you so much?"

The Doctor glanced at Avalon. She nodded at him to answer. Oswin's humanity was seeping through and they had an obligation to help her as much as they could in the circumstances.

"I fought them," he answered eventually. "Many, many times."

"They have records on you," the Oswin Dalek said, "And they're compiling history on you, Avalon. You're making a name for yourself."

A chill went through the Doctor at the revelation. It was the last thing he wanted and yet the thing he knew wold eventually happen with his enemies. He was sticking to the shadows but somehow there were still whispers that he survived the Silence and that he'd even married. The fact that River Song was infamous all on her own didn't help conceal Avalon's identity either. From both sides, Avalon was gaining recognition amongst enemies that she didn't even know of. The Daleks would of course be included.

"I'll make sure to earn it, then," Avalon swallowed hard. She felt the Doctor's grip around her arm tighten. She brought her other hand to his on her arm, trying to ease his nerves. She knew exactly what she was getting into with him and she would never regret it.

"We have grown stronger in fear of you," the Oswin-Dalek declared.

"I know. I tried to stop," the Doctor sighed. "I tried to for everybody's sake but..."

"He can't stop because then we'd all be dead," Avalon said confidently. "Isn't that right, Lena?"

"Oh yeah!" Lena was quick to agree from her spot. "Where would we be without the Doctor?"

It always warmed the Doctor's hearts to hear his Ponds and his baby sister talk about him like that, even when he knew he didn't deserve it.

"Then run."

That made everyone freeze. Avalon was the first to come back to the present. "What did you say?"

"I've taken down the force-field. The Daleks above have begun their attack," the Oswin-Dalek explained, "Now run!"

"It's letting us go?" Lena raised an eyebrow at the creature, far too confused to be scared at the moment.

"I am not an 'it', I am a she," the Oswin-Dalek corrected, "I am Oswin Oswald. I fought the Daleks. And I am... human. Remember me."

The Doctor began smiling, "Thank you!"

"Run you clever boy,

The Doctor took Avalon's hand to rush out of the room but she easily slipped out of it to stay with Oswin one more second.

She bent down to look directly into the eye stalk. "I'm sorry we didn't come sooner for you," she said, her eyes once more shining with tears.

"It's okay, I dreamed," the Oswin-Dalek said, and if Avalon could picture her she would see the real woman smiling with the same teary eyes. "Can you write a dream for me? A-a story?"

Avalon nearly choked on her tears when she tried to laugh. "Yeah, of course. I'll write a good one for you. A better dream. I promise!" Avalon said, forcing herself to stand straight and back away. "Goodbye, Oswin!" She then let the Doctor grab her hand and yank her out of the room along with Lena.

They ran as fast as they could to get back to Amy and Rory. They were just getting by the explosions when they reached the teleportation room...where Amy and Rory were kissing...

Avalon gasped loudly, overfilled with joy, "YES!"

The Doctor would've been happy as well if they weren't delaying their escape, "Right, go, let's go! We're good, let's go!" but the humans continued to kiss, "Oh, for God's sake!" He snatched the controls from Rory and activated the teleport.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS still remained on the Dalek ship, and while the Daleks were ransacking for who the hell was intruding on the ship, the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, full of pride for his latest victory, "You know, you guys should really have seen this coming. Thing about me and teleports, I've got a really good aim. Pin-point accurate, in fact. Or to put it another way..,suckers!"

"Identify yourself!" a Dalek ordered, "Identify! Identify!"

"Well, it's me! You know me!" the Doctor exclaimed, "The Doctor! The Oncoming Storm? The Predator?"

Darla stepped towards him, appearing to be confused as well, "Titles are not meaningful in this context. Doctor who?"

"Doctor who?" the prime minister Dalek repeated the question.

"Doctor who?" the supreme Dalek joined.

The Doctor realized what had happened and grew even more gleeful, "Oh, Oswin. Oh, you did it to them all! Oh, you beauty!"

With the door of the TARDIS still opened, Avalon stepped to the doorway with arms crossed and a look of doom, "You what?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Can we not do this surrounded by Daleks, love?" the Doctor gestured to the amnesiac Daleks, "Just because they forgot doesn't mean they won't attack..."

Avalon didn't budge, her eyes only narrowing, "You choose, Doctor...angry wife or Daleks?"

"Uh..." the Doctor looked around the thousand Daleks then returned his eyes to his wife who had not lifted her doom-face, "...I love you?" He tried to step into the TARDIS but the little space Avalon left wasn't helping, "We really gotta go..."

"Mhm."

"...Ava...can you move?"

"I don't know..."

"Daleks!" the Doctor waved his hands to remind her of the situation.

"Mm..."

The Doctor pouted. "C'mon!"

A very evil smirk crossed his wife's face at that moment. She stepped aside and allowed him to go inside. She lingered a moment under the doorway, looking out at the daleks still demanding answers from them. Avalon's smirk turned into a soft smile. "I will definitely dream a better dream for you, Oswin," she vowed as she closed the door.

~ 0 ~

Amy and Rory were dropped off first and to Avalon's joy, it was at their house. She noticed the little looks between her grandparents and was eager to find out what would happen with them after they finally talked.

"Bye Ava," Rory pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Be good and stay safe, you got that?"

Avalon nodded fast. "Aha! Promise!"

"Seriously," Amy pointed. "And stop by more often, please. I worry."

"Yes, yes, yes! Promise! Now go!" Avalon shooed them both out the door and turned around to the Doctor and Lena, absolutely brimming with joy. The other two shook their heads at her, but they were also secretly happy that things were looking better for the Ponds.

"Hey big brother," Lena said, casually as ever, "Can we finally go back to New Earth? My date's waiting for me!"

"About that," the Doctor started making rounds at the console, "Who is this person? Where does he work? What are his intentions? Has your father met him already?"

"Big brother," Lena started again, though Avalon was pretty sure that strained smile of hers was holding back a big snap, "Date. Now."

"But-"

"NOW!"

There it was.

Avalon laughed.

~ 0 ~

On New Earth, Lena was finally dropped off in front of a modern restaurant. Avalon helped her fix herself up and she also held the Doctor back so she could leave the TARDIS.

"You are not chaperoning anybody, you moron!" Avalon held his arm tightly while she switched the destinations on the console.

"She needs some supervision! We do not know the intentions of this man, Ava!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Avalon rolled her eyes. She brought the monitor's screen to life to show a security feed of Lena's restaurant. The brunette had come in and reached the table where a man was waiting for her.

"Hi," she nervously tucked another strand of her hair.

Her date stood up and pulled her seat for her, "Hi," he greeted her, sounding nervous himself.

"Sorry for being late," Lena apologized while he returned to his seat, "You would not believe the day I had..." she chuckled.

Satisfied with what she saw, Avalon switched the monitor off. Things were falling into place again.

~ 0 ~

When the Doctor entered the bedroom, he saw Avalon already changed into pajamas. She sat on their bed with her trusty journal in her lap. Her pen's top currently resided between her teeth.

"Hey there," the Doctor strode up to the bed, giving her a significant kind of look. Her eyes flickered up from her journal. He heard the clack of her pen when she pulled it out of her mouth. "Are we too focused to have a conversation or...?"

Avalon sighed. She knew this was a pending conversation she would eventually have to have. "I don't really want to have it..."

"But we need to," the Doctor clarified. He moved around the bed to take his spot beside her. "Why didn't you tell me about Amy and Rory?"

"You're going to get upset."

"I won't."

"Yeah, you will."

"Avalon, I promise I won't. You and I made it out alive of a planet full of crazy daleks. I love you about ten times more tonight."

A frown made its way across Avalon's face. "Just ten times?"

The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes at her. "Avalon..."

"Oh, alright!" She let her hands fall on her journal. "It's nothing against you, I just...I wanted to do this on my own. This is my family and after everything Amy and Rory have done for me, I wanted to help them for once. I owe them after everything I put them through and I'm not just talking about the Silence. Before you came along, Rory was always bailing me out of jail. Amy kept me in check. And when you were gone, they dealt with my annoying ass while I searched for you. I just wanted to help them this one time."

"Ava," the Doctor pulled himself closer to her, "You've helped them countless times too but you know what? It's not about owing them. You don't owe anybody anything. Believe me, Amy and Rory will love you no matter what. They will until...they're not here anymore."

Avalon smiled sadly. It was a terrible thing to think of but he was right. "I know, it was stupid..."

"No, you had good intentions. Don't feel bad about it." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Why don't you get some rest instead? I'm not an expert but I think today was a pretty rough day."

"Yeah," Avalon nodded. She closed her journal, holding it close for a second. "I was trying to draft something for Oswin. I'm not sure what it'll be but it'll be something one day."

"I have no doubt about it," the Doctor said, plucking the journal out of her hands. "But you can continue that after you sleep."

"Yeah, okay," she handed him the pen too. She watched him carefully set it on his night stand then wiggled her fingers for him to come closer. He obliged, knowing what she was going to do next, and just smiled when she started undoing his bow-tie.

"Kick off those shoes, mister. Those do not go on my bed," she instructed.

He smiled. "Of course, dear."

"I'm going to dream good tonight," she announced. "There's a lot of good things to dream about."

The Doctor agreed. "I think so too," he brushed a curl from her face. "Let me give you some encouragement." He heard her laugh for a split second before he muffled it with a kiss.

[saiilorstars]

What would Avalon Dress up as for Halloween I'm curious now

Given that Halloween is Avalon’s favorite holiday and that she absolutely loves Brooklyn 99's concept or Heisting on Halloween, she'd dress up as Rosa Diaz! And I say Rosa because they are both similar in regards to temper and their sarcasm. Rosa is Avalon’s favorite B99 character so this is it.

She would surprise the Doctor and her grandparents because she didn't dress up as Aurora, aka sleeping beauty her favorite princess ever, but she would explain that she pretty much did the princess costumes as a child so she wanted to branch out. She would also complete the look with Rosa's motorcycle, can't change my mind about this one! Plus...she would pull a heist!

Ask me who would my OCs dress up as for Halloween and I'll give you a moodboard and maybe a little blurb!

[saiilorstars]

Written in the Stars

Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist

Ch. 2: Prison Break

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC

Chapter summary: Avalon decides it's time to start seeing River Song, a.k.a. her mother, again. It's been a couple decades since the Silence and River's sentencing which leaves Avalon slightly nervous about seeing River again.

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​ @stareyedplanet​​ @perfectlystiles​​

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

"There we go! Now I think it's perfect, see?" Avalon couldn't be more proud of the way she made a plain little cellphone look so grand. She turned its back to the Doctor so he could see the rose gold flower she managed to tattoo over the surface.

The Doctor laughed but did agree that it was far better than when they first bought it. His wife always had the most creative ways to make things better. He moved around the console until he was standing in front of her chair. "So then, do you think you're ready to meet her?"

Avalon lowered the cellphone to her lap. "I think so," she answered quietly, opposite of the way she'd just been. But that was usually how it went wherever her mother was mentioned. It had been a very long time since she last saw River Song, Amy and Rory…

Not that she complained over the reason why that was. In fact, she felt a nice warmth blossom in her chest instead. The Doctor had promised her the honeymoon of a lifetime and he sure followed through. Ten years had passed before they felt like they were properly moving beyond the honeymoon phase. Ten more years passed of them adjusting to a marriage that involved time travelling, constant running, and the occasional threats from other species. Finally came the third decade of their marriage and it was then that the Doctor noticed something happening to his wife…

She was a bit mopey on occasions.

She wouldn't say anything but the Doctor assumed why her mood was dwindling. She was beginning to miss her family. The Ponds. The Reynolds. Even River Song was making the cut. Though Avalon's feelings towards her biological mother were still mixed, she knew that she did want River in her life. They were good friends and they got along...and she might have wanted her mother. Every child wants their mother in the end.

Whenever he was around, Avalon tried to fake her mood but the Doctor knew. He could see right through it. He never wanted his Ava to be sad. As a husband, it was a huge no-no. Plus, he kind of missed everyone too. So, they decided to start dropping by Earth again but since neither Amy nor Rory picked up their phones - something the Doctor would be pointing out since they loved to make that remark to him - they would visit River Song for the first time (from her perspective) in Stormcage.

"Where should we take her?" Avalon slid off the console chair, leaving behind the cellphone. "It should be somewhere nice! Somewhere fantastic!"

"You don't think I can provide that?" The Doctor made a face, almost offended that she even had to say what the trip should be like.

"Oh, I know you can," Avalon leaned on him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his chest. "I'm just waiting for your usual fantastic ideas."

"Why don't we make it a surprise then?"

"I love surprises. You're very good at those."

The Doctor smirked. "I am. Let's go find something to wear, shall we?"

"Oooh, are we going somewhere fancy?"

"Only the best for my Ava," the Doctor tapped her nose. "And I've gotta make a good impression with the mother-in-law, right?"

"You're an idiot!" Avalon laughed as he pulled her for the corridors.

~ 0 ~

In her cell, River Song wrote in a book when she heard the TARDIS materializing. To her surprise, it had materialized right in her cell. She didn't even know that was allowed. Leave it to the Doctor to find a way to do that. She discarded the book, grabbed the TARDIS journal on the bed stand, and dashed for the TARDIS. Any chance to see Avalon was a chance to run headfirst to. She skidded to a stop inside, her face lighting up when she saw her daughter by the console. She wore a beautiful, floor-length pink gown with silver crystals twinkling around the skirt.

"Don't you look nice," River remarked, eyeing the Doctor's white suit next. "You look...interesting."

Avalon burst into laughter when the Doctor's face fell flat. "I told you the white suit was weird. Should've gone with the black one like I told ya."

"I look good, dammit!" He huffed and moved to the opposite end of the console.

"Yes, you do," Avalon playfully rolled her eyes at him. "He's just a little cranky because I turned down the dress he wanted me to wear."

"Ah," River folded her arms over her chest, setting her gaze on the Doctor. "What the hell are you trying to get her into?"

The Doctor said nothing, only clearing his throat, and purposely focusing on the console and ignoring the warmth in his face. So he had chosen a little gown that was just a tad bit on the daring side but as far as he remembered, Avalon loved all that stuff. Why she said 'no' to this one was beyond him.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find something to wear too," Avalon said to River before her husband died of embarrassment.

"Are we going out?" River was confused because, as far as she remembered, she was in prison pRISON.

"Yes! If you'd like, of course," Avalon said quickly, making River laugh.

"Well of course! I could never pass up a chance to see you!"

Avalon smiled silently. Remembering that River was trying to be nice and be like a Mother was still so strange...but not bad. In the past 30 years, she had a lot of time to really think about her family and her biological mother. River had long ago made it clear that she would only try to be a mother if Avalon wanted it, and Avalon did want it. She wasn't ready to call River 'Mum' but she was open to the possibility of doing it one day.

"But I thought you weren't even together right now," River said, reminding them once again that they were 30 years into her future. "Last time I saw you, I had just given you my baby Avalon…"

"Spoilers, that was 30 years ago for me," Avalon waved a hand.

"And another 100 years for me," the Doctor added for his time alone after he 'died'.

"Oh, well, that's just fine," River dropped her arms to her side. "Life with time travelers I suppose."

"We've sort of been in a marriage daze," Avalon said, preferring to keep the details of that time totally private. "But I wanted to come visit you. How's, um...how's Stormcage?" She felt awkward asking that considering she was the reason River was incarcerated in the first place. If River hadn't taken her place in the astronaut suit, she'd be in Stormcage right now.

River could see the struggle in her daughter's face. "Avalon, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, please."

"How could I not? You're on the first night of twelve thousand consecutive life sentences. I did that to you…"

River threw a look at the Doctor. "Thirty years and you couldn't get her past that?"

"I do try," the Doctor sighed. But it would take a much longer time for Avalon to shed the guilt of having her mother in jail, even if her thought process was completely wrong.

River shook her head and walked up to Avalon, taking hold of the ginger's hands. "I will be fine, Avalon. Stop pouting over me, please. Instead, tell me where we're going."

Avalon nodded slowly and glanced at the Doctor. "He said it'd be fantastic."

"It better be," River sarcastically wanted him.

He rolled his eyes at her. She was definitely Avalon's mother. "Alderin Beta. Boring, planet of the chip shops. But - there is a four hundred foot tree growing out of a cliff top on the north side of a mountain in the middle of the sea, and if you take the lift to the top and look up-" He'd started speaking at lightspeed, scaring River just a bit while Avalon tried her best not to laugh, "-at exactly twelve minutes past midnight on the twenty-first of September Twenty-Three Sixty, you can see more stars in one sky that at any other moment in the history of the universe. It's like daylight, only magic. You could read a book by it!"

"Dear Lord do you breathe or what?" River looked at her daughter for some help. "Does he ever pass out?"

"No," she said, sounding a bit sad about it too.

"Oi!" The Doctor huffed. "We've got ten minutes."

"I laid out some dresses I thought you might like," Avalon added.

"Thank you, sweetie," River patted her hands before letting them go.

"River, did you bring the diary?" asked the Doctor. He was relieved to see her pull it out from her back pocket.

"It's a diary?"

"It is now, because River, from now on, there are rules."

"Oh, you've gone all strict. Kind of annoying."

"River, you and us, it's all in the wrong order. We never meet in sequence. You put everything in the diary so we know where we are."

"You have one too?" River looked between the pair. "Is that the one Avalon always carried around?"

"I've got a new one," Avalon grinned. She realized that this River had no idea about her silver, bigger on the inside, journal that the Doctor had gifted her. "I can show it to you later!"

"I'd love that, sweetie. But I have to ask what exactly I'm supposed to write in mine." She gave her diary a quick wave in the air. "I'm in the highest security prison in all of the known universe, it's not like I'm gonna go anywhere."

"River Song could walk in and out of the prison like the walls aren't there," Avalon smirked. "And she brings me on adventures. Fun ones too, make a note of that somewhere."

"Avalon," the Doctor warned. He could already see the trouble those two could get into if they were given the full reigns. "River, go get dressed. First right, second left, just past the helter-skelter."

"Oh, you haven't seen the TARDIS yet!" Avalon beamed. "I can show you my favorite room: the wardrobe!" She grabbed River's hand and yanked her for the corridors.

"Avalon!" called the Doctor. "Don't take too mu-" He stopped when the two disappeared. Great. He might never see them again.

Suddenly, he heard laser guns firing from outside. He didn't even feel the TARDIS land! Sometimes she just did it without him realizing it! He hurried towards the doors to open them up, only for Avalon to stagger inside.

"Woah!" He barely caught her and still struggled to stay on his feet. "Avalon! What the-"

"I told her you'd come! Ha! Looks like I win the argument!" Avalon smirked before limp in his arms.

"Avalon!" The Doctor exclaimed in horror. Just as he'd said her name, he heard River call for her too.

A second River rushed into the TARDIS and shut the doors, leaning her back against them as if something would break through. Soon as she saw him, she laughed. "She won the argument! Good boy knowing when to give in."

"What!?" the poor Doctor was utterly confused but he needed to figure out how to wake up the Avalon with him. He carefully laid her on the floor and felt for her vitals on her wrist. "Avalon! Ava, c'mon! Show me you're okay!" Her vitals were pretty strong, perhaps a bit too fast from the running, but she still wasn't moving. He then listened for her breathing, crouching down to her lips for a better measure.

Oh my God he absolutely hated her.

He looked down at her, ignoring River's quiet snicker on the side. "Avalon Harmony Reynolds, stop holding your breath!"

Avalon's lips stretched into a wide smile. She opened her eyes to see his glare. "Oh, are we about to argue again? I thought we were done with that. I love what happens afterwards."

"What the hell is going on!?" The Doctor helped her stand up and looked at the mother and daughter pair. "And who was shooting at you!?"

"That's her fault!" Avalon pointed a finger at River.

River rolled her eyes. "Oh please. It's just a few Sontarans."

"They've been chasing us halfway across the galaxy!" Avalon argued, very much out of breath just remembering.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have asked them if they were on a hen night."

"You can't just do things like that!" The Doctor groaned.

"Well maybe next time you shouldn't argue with me," Avalon folded her arms over her chest.

The Doctor rubbed his temples. Alright, so this was a future version of Avalon and somehow his future self had screwed up and argued with her. That was something to look forward to.

"Oh, I need some water!" Avalon decided, exhaling deeply.

"Me too," River agreed and marched with her daughter towards the stairs. "Maybe make a milkshake or something."

"No cherries though!"

"Of course!"

"Avalon, come back!" the Doctor called after her, not that it made such a different for Avalon.

"You're invited too!" She said in response.

"AVALON!"

"What?" came the first version, and his proper, Avalon from the corridor. She was frowning at him, making him wonder if he'd already messed up here too. "Who are you yelling at?"

"I wasn't!" The Doctor quickly said.

"I'm pretty sure I heard you yelling!"

"No, no, just me!"

Avalon rolled her eyes and went back into the corridor...and then the second Avalon emerged from the top of the stairs.

"Who the hell are you talking to?"

The Doctor slapped a hand to his forehead. "Myself."

"Stupid."

The Doctor dropped his hand to his side and glared. "Complicated!"

Avalon smirked. "Never bothered you before. Would you like a milkshake?"

"No, yes, I don't know!"

"Stupid and weird, just the way I like my Fairy Tale Man," she laughed and hurried away.

The Doctor leaned against the console to catch his breath. Sure he had dreams once or twice where he was gifted with multiple versions of his wife - something she'd kill him for no doubt - but it felt more hectic than he imagined. Definitely complicated. The Ponds were always complicated, weren't they?

When he heard the doors re-open again, he was almost afraid to see who had come in. He was only partially relieved to see just another version of River. No Avalon but there was still another River. What the hell was going on!?

"You really are nostalgic, huh?" This River was dressed in a fine black gown and had her hair picked up. "That or an idiot. I'll let you know which one I decided on."

The Doctor wearily leaned away from the console. "River, could you just check the light on top? I think the bulb needs changing."

River was naturally skeptic. "The bulb?"

"Mm-hmm…"

"The things I do for my daughter," River muttered on her way out.

"Okay!" The second Avalon came running down the staircase with her second River in tow. "I know I heard someone! I swear to God, Doctor, that I will murder you on the spot if I find another woman!"

"Avalon!" The Doctor shrieked and grabbed her arm to stop her from running all around. "Please just stop! I'm not your Doctor!"

Avalon's eyes widened with newfound anger. Behind her, River shook her head. "You just dug your own hole. Again!"

"No, no, I meant I'm not the Doctor you argued with...yet!"

Avalon raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, how do I know you're not lying? You might be using that excuse to get off free!"

"Wouldn't be the first time," River added.

"Stop helping!" The Doctor snapped at her. He found the Vortex manipulator around her wrist and grabbed her wrist altogether. "I assume other Me knows where to pick you up because he's from the future! And for the record," he looked at Avalon, "Whatever he did, he's very sorry."

Avalon rolled her eyes at him. "He better be."

The Doctor swooped down to steal a kiss from her. "Plenty more where that came from, I promise."

She blushed at his smirk. "Get us home!" She ordered before he did something else to embarrass her.

"Back to Storm Cage, Doctor Song. Make sure your daughter goes home with the right me!" River laughed before they disappeared with a flash.

The third River returned from outside looking quite crossed. "The light's fine, I don't know what you're talking about!"

And suddenly a third Avalon came rushing through the doors. "Mum, no! We were parked round the back!" The Doctor was flabbergasted to see her in the dark golden dress he tried so hard to get her into earlier. He was right. She did look amazing.

With her came a second version of the Doctor dressed in a black suit. Ironically, he wore the suit Avalon wanted for him earlier. "Younger version…" He said, remembering the moment all too well.

"Well that explains it," River shook her head.

"Hardly but I'll take it!" Avalon beamed. "I've had dreams about this…" She gave both Doctors a promising smirk. The black-suited Doctor glared at her and yet his younger version turned bright red. Avalon remembered it wasn't just them though and glanced at River. "You were not there. Actually, if you could step out-"

"Avalon!" River snapped.

Avalon pouted. "Fine." She curled her arm around her Doctor's arm and leaned her head on him. "But we'll talk."

"No, you will not," he promptly told her.

"Hey, I'm in the dress! I call the shots tonight!" She looked at the younger Doctor with a smirk. "No lip about this, Fairy Tale Man or you'll meet your end. I wasn't going to wear this but then she-" She jerked a thumb towards River, "-saw the dress and said that I couldn't wear it so naturally...I had to wear it."

"My daughter, gentlemen," River shook her head disapprovingly, although there was a smile she was trying to hide. It didn't surprise her one bit that Avalon had done the opposite and grabbed the dress. She would just have to watch her words next time.

"We need to go or we'll be late," the older Doctor told them.

"He's taking us to the Singing Towers of Darillium," Avalon said to the younger Doctor, completely missing the way her version went grim at the mention. She would also miss the recognition flash across the younger Doctor.

She still didn't know?

"He's been promising me for ages," River shook her head. "Changes his mind every time."

"Not this time," Avalon assured her. "C'mon Mum, let's find the other TARDIS. If I remember correctly, other Me will be around soon enough." She let go of the Doctor to take River's hand to walk out together.

The younger Doctor found a moment to smile at them. Avalon had called River 'Mum' as if she'd been doing for centuries. But then it got him wondering if it took her so much time that it was practically too late. "The first time we met River, at the Library, when she…"

"Died, yes," his older version nodded.

"She said the last time she saw us was at Darillium. Is that now?" The Doctor hated to think about the library knowing now what it truly meant to lose River. How could he ever explain this to Avalon? The events that happened were still so confusing.

Never mind that. Just thinking about it, terrified and so much that he could partially understand why his older version hadn't told Avalon about it yet.

"To be honest I might delay again," the older Doctor admitted. "It doesn't feel right taking Avalon to her last trip with her mother when she doesn't know." The young Doctor agreed. "Good luck tonight."

"You too," the young Doctor could honestly say.

The older Doctor headed for the doors and just as he slipped out the first Avalon and River emerged from the corridor. Avalon gasped when she caught a glimpse of the second Doctor slipping out the door.

"Oh, there were 2 of you and I missed it!? I had dreams about this!" She hitched the side of his dress and rushed forwards.

The Doctor wasn't sure if she was attempting to catch up with his older version but he wasn't going to allow it. He caught her and pulled her to him, cupping her face to kiss her. "I love you," he whispered to her.

Avalon smiled softly. Thirty years later and she still never got over the annoying butterflies in her stomach whenever he said that to her. "I love you, my Fairy Tale Man."

He turned her around with a twirl and pressed her back to his chest, leaving one arm looped around her waist. "Right then, Dr. Song, how's about that fantastic planet we promised you?"

"Oh please, leave the formalities behind," River came up to the console. "We are family, right? Even though I did shoot at you."

"Wasn't the first and I imagine certainly not the last time," the Doctor promised her with a laugh.

"My family is so weird," Avalon shook her head.

"You're a Pond, love. That should explain everything," he dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

"He thinks he's so funny when he says that," Avalon rolled her eyes, missing the smirk her husband gave behind her.

"So what was the other you doing here anyways?" River curiously wondered. It had to be a good story considering it was the Doctor.

"Sorry. Can't say!" the Doctor shrugged.

River had narrowed eyes on him. "What's that word you use?"

"Oh! I know! Spoilers!" Avalon was quick to say with snapping fingers. "You say it all the time. It's annoying but fitting."

"I like that word..." River admitted, making the pair laugh.

"You do," they said together.

River shook her head. "You and your secrets. You'll be the death of me!"

"Never," Avalon said on the spot, completely missing the way her husband's expression fell grim at the thought. The future was always coming for them and there he was without a way to change it.

"Please keep her safe. I lost my daughter, I couldn't keep her safe. I don't want Avalon to keep suffering. Please promise me that you will always keep her safe. When Amy and I are long gone, promise me that you'll put Avalon's safety first."

The Doctor's grip around Avalon tightened as soon as he remembered Rory's plead. He could never let anything happen to Avalon. She was his one and only priority in this world and if he could, he would do anything to keep her safe. He made that promise to Rory and himself.

"So when Amy and I are gone, you promise me that Avalon will come first no matter what."

"I swear Rory," the Doctor ultimately said. "Avalon will always come first. Her safety will be my first priority."

Cross his hearts.

[saiilorstars]

Written in the Stars teaser:

“Underneath all that power, you’re still just a child. You don’t understand what you have, what you know! The future changes!”

“I understand exactly what I know. Do you want to know what I see? I see the end of an era for you, Doctor. I see every Pond of yours leaving. Every. Single. One. This fairy tale will end like every fairy tale eventually does. And then something new will take its place.”

“However cozy things seemed, the facts of life were the same. You couldn't escape death: It would get us all in the end.” -- Rachel Ward.

Sequel to: Falling in Temptation

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel​ @stareyedplanet @perfectlystiles

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

[saiilorstars]

[ Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist ]

Fandom: Doctor Who 

Chapter summary: The Doctor, Avalon and her brother Gavin Reynolds visit Tokyo after a troubled call from UNIT pleading for an investigation on a strange soda promising higher intelligence to children. Unknowingly, it's the first step of a bigger plan in play.

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​ @anotherunreadblog​ @maaaaarveeeeel​ @stareyedplanet​ @perfectlystiles​

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

Disclaimer: This chapter's plotline is from Doctor Who's comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

'I'm Goruda! I'm your friend!' Drink the brain tonic, one, two three! And let's learn together!'

"These commercials are everywhere," Avalon tilted her head in a mixture of awe and weariness at the bright-colored soda commercial she'd seen at least five times since they started walking the Japanese streets. It had the oddest little cartoons and an eery gold glow to it.

"Who cares. They probably say the same thing about our McDonald's ads," said her cousin—brother—Gavin Reynolds. The sixteen year old was less than impressed with what he'd seen of present day Japan so far.

"That's America," Avalon shot him a sharp look.

"And this is a pointless conversation," Gavin quipped. "C'mon Avalon, you said the Doctor would take us somewhere for my birthday!"

"He said it, not me," Avalon raised her hands in neutrality. "I told him I wanted no part in a 16 year old boy's parties."

"How is that your husband is nicer to me than you—my practical sister—actually is?" Gavin crossed her arms.

"Because if I do something like this—" Avalon ruffled Gavin's brunette locks, "—you get mad at me."

"Look, Japan is nice and all, but where's the action?" Gavin nearly threw his hands in the air.

"You want action, Gavin Reynolds, then I've got it," the Doctor appeared behind Avalon. As soon as his wife caught sight of his face she knew their supposed calm trip would come to an end. "I've got a call...from UNIT…"

"UNIT?" Avalon and Gavin repeated, the latter's face already lighting up with ideas of 'action'.

"Martha Jones phoned in. Lovely to chat with her again, mentioned something about 'Shining Dawn Corporation' and 'Goruda' and since she asked for my help…"

"You said yes!" Gavin cheered.

"You said yes," Avalon glumly repeated.

"I said yes," the Doctor nodded, relishing in the vastly different reactions he was receiving from the two cousins.

"Awesome!" Gavin punched a fist into the air. "I'll beat you both to the TARDIS!" And he ran off in the direction of the blue box.

Avalon watched him go before jabbing a manicured finger at the Doctor. "If my brother gets blown up, I'm killing you."

"And if he doesn't?" the Doctor remained totally at ease but did eagerly await to hear his reward.

"You pick your reward," Avalon left it to his imagination and dragged him by the arm towards the TARDIS.

He definitely had some ideas brewing in that dusty head of his.

~ 0 ~

After getting briefed in by UNIT, they had found themselves in a full blown investigation over the popular 'Goruda' drinks in Japan. Major Hiraki of UNIT explained the odd disappearance of one of their own agents who was sent to investigate the soda company. Knowing that the agent must have gotten close to the truth and was therefore disposed, indicated that the company wasn't afraid to get their hands dirty.

Deciding that they would take the next crack at the investigation, the Doctor, Avalon and Gavin got themselves into a single mother's home with a potential victim.

"I'm sorry, who are you? It's quite late," the mother tried closing the door on them but she had never met the Doctor before.

"We're from the BBC. Making a...documentary," the Doctor flashed the psychic paper in her face. Behind him, Avalon shot him a look. He did just say documentary right? He had to because the mother let them in on the spot after hearing the poor excuse.

Avalon crinkled her nose when the first thing they heard upon entering the house was the Goruda drink's motto being sung on the television.

'Drink the brain tonic, one, two, three, and lets learn together!'

A small child, Kaito, was sitting right in front of the screen intently watching the commercial.

"Out of curiosity, does that actually work?" Gavin asked the mother - Cho - from the threshold.

"Yes!" Cho excitedly answered. "I had my doubts in the beginning but I kept hearing from the rest of the parents in Kaito's grade that it worked wonders. I decided to give it a try and now Kaito's exam scores have risen."

"Just from that drink?" the Doctor inquired, glancing at the small, silent boy on the floor.

"Yes! Well, that and the little snippets of shows the Goruda sometimes air for their tonic. It's all educational."

"So this drink...it just...makes them smarter?" Avalon had heard many things before but this one seemed plain ridiculous.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was quite familiar with unusual foods altering brainwaves in children. "Do you mind if I ask your son some questions?" he asked the mother. "I'd like...to see for myself…"

Cho understood and was happy to give them the proof they wanted. "Kaito?" she called to her son. The boy glanced back from the television, looking a bit irritated that he was asked to step away. "Come here, please." Without a word, the boy got up from the floor and walked over to the three. Cho set her hands on his shoulders and smiled. "Now these are nice people trying to make a documentary on our culture. They want to know about the Goruda tonic."

"We just want to see how it works," the Doctor clarified for the boy. "For example, could you tell me what is the square root of 998?"

Within the second, Kaito had given the response. Both Avalon and Gavin gaped behind the Doctor. The Time Lord merely gave a look.

"And what about the circumference of the oval office?"

Once more, Kaito proved to be knowledgeable.

The Doctor stared long and hard at the boy, and Avalon knew he was doing more than simply 'looking'. He was seeing something alright and she would like to know what it was.

"Last question, Kaito, I promise," the Doctor raised a hand. "Could you tell me the name of Mozart's cat?"

There, Kaito could not answer.

"Don't worry about it. Many people miss it," the Doctor gave the boy a pat on his head. "He named it Fluffy, can you believe?" he chuckled.

The boy wasn't finding it funny and so Avalon suggested they get to meeting other families instead. Last thing they needed was to have an angry mother calling the cops on them for harassing her son. From Kaito, they went on to visit seven more houses with children all knowing their fair share of knowledge. The Doctor had asked them the same questions as Kaito, always ending the session by asking for Mozart's pet cat. Seeing as every child after Kaito had gotten the answer right (Fluffy!) Avalon was a little more inclined to believe in Goruda.

As they returned to UNIT headquarters in Japan city, the three discussed their findings.

"I've never heard of Goruda in our history books," Gavin said. Since he and his father had moved back to New Earth for Lena, he had much more advanced knowledge of Earth.

"You wouldn't," the Doctor agreed with the teenager.

"But you always say Time is in flux," Avalon pointed at him. "Meaning that perhaps this is something new to the books."

"You think it works, then?" Gavin shot his sister a surprised glance.

"Well, I just saw a bunch of kids answer questions I could only dream of answering myself!" the ginger huffed. "Maybe that Goruda tonic really does work and it's helping the kids."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," the Doctor hummed, making both siblings desist from their argument to look at the Time Lord. "I've seen something like this before - a long time ago - in an English primary school."

"Hang on, is this one of your trips from like your last face or something?" Avalon mimicked a new face. "The one with the suits?"

"Yeah. Turns out aliens had added a special ingredient in the children's school chips to enhance their learning."

"And what was it really meant for?" Gavin raised an eyebrow.

"They wanted to crack the code of the universe."

"You can do that!?" both siblings exclaimed.

"Quite possible, yes. But this stuff doesn't seem to be from Krillitanes, no. There's something else going on."

"You want to share it then?" Avalon asked.

"I need to study it first," the Doctor said and to that they went for.

They returned to Japan's UNIT headquarters- which was still a place of awe for Avalon and Gavin - and went directly for the testing labs. Major Hiraki joined them a couple minutes later and of course asked over their investigation.

"They're like freaky geniuses," Gavin seemed like he couldn't help his response. "And I'm from the future so that's saying something."

Avalon jabbed her elbow in Gavin's ribs then spoke herself. "What he means to say is that...the knowledge these children have...it's beyond that of any human child...even prodigy children."

Major Hiraki simply nodded her head, indicating they hadn't been the first to say something like that. "The public research says that the tonic forces links between neurons to rise."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," the Doctor hummed. His attention was drawn by a scientist currently testing a sample of the tonic across them.

"We really aren't," Major Hiraki assured. "But until we can prove otherwise, UNIT can't interfere."

The Doctor turned around with a common smile. "But there is something else to that tonic. I asked the children we visited a series of questions - same ones to all of them - and I ended the questionnaire with one special question."

"It's a weird one too," Avalon mumbled.

"I asked the first child of he knew the name of Mozart's cat and he said 'no'. I then told him that the cat was named 'Fluffy' and suddenly all the other children gave me that answer: Fluffy."

No one yet could understand his implication.

"Not to defend this weird tonic…" Gavin began slowly, "...but isn't it possible that the other children just knew what the answer was?"

"Not in this case, Gavin," the Doctor wagged a finger at him. "You see, I've met Mozart, and he absolutely detested cats. Couldn't stand them!"

"So...Mozart never owned a cat?" Avalon was now more confused.

"Nope!"

"So then why did the other children answer Fluffy?"

"Because I implanted that answer in Kaito…"

Major Hiraki's face lit up with a new realization. "Are you implying there's some sort of telepathic connection between the drinkers of Goruda?"

"I think we're on the good side of 'yes'," the Doctor clapped his hands together. "Now we just need to prove it."

"But we've tested it before and the results say it's just H20…" Major Hiraki glanced at the scientists of the room.

"Well if it's done by aliens then who's to say they didn't just camouflage it?" Avalon raised an eyebrow. "That would be the obvious thing to do."

"Exactly," the Doctor strolled down the lab tables and promptly snatched a vial of Goruda from a scientist. "Which is why I will be testing it in my TARDIS. I can take this right?" he asked the scientist.

Avalon groaned. "You ask and then take it? Seriously?"

"Oh please, that's rich coming from you," Gavin snorted behind her. Avalon scowled and jabbed her elbow even harder in his side. "Ow!" Gavin exclaimed and quickly turned on her. "That hurt!" He purposely towered over Avalon. At his sixteen years he had surpassed both his sisters in height.

Avalon raised her head high, as if to equalize their heights. "And?"

Gavin pursed his lips together.

"The wife and the family, huh?" the Doctor awkwardly laughed and hurried back to the two Reynolds. "We'll be heading to the TARDIS now, Ava! Gavin, you want to stay and explore things with Major Hiraki? Lovely woman she is!"

"Sure…?" Gavin barely had time to process when the Doctor pulled Avalon out of the room.

"I am this close to kicking his ass!" Avalon grumbled all the way to the TARDIS.

The Doctor hid his smile well. He allowed her to complain about Gavin even while he performed the right sort of exams in the TARDIS.

She had a lot to say.

"I feel sorry for my uncle who has to deal with him every day! Two hours with me and I'm ready to kill Gavin!" Avalon crossed her arms and leaned back on an empty table.

The Doctor let the computers take over the last bit of exams and turned to face his temperament wife. "Are we finished, lovely?"

Avalon grumbled. "I forgot what having Gavin around felt like. I mean, Lena never gives me these problems. Never did. Must be a boy thing." The Doctor walked up to her, smiling adoringly at her, and slid his arms around her waist. "Why must you guys be so difficult?" she ran her hands up his arms.

"We're just...different…" the Doctor humored her.

"Natural disasters, you mean," Avalon mumbled. The Doctor had to laugh at that one. "And I'm pretty sure alien boys are worse."

"Oh! Really?"

"Yes! I can only imagine what your little boy version was up to in your time," Avalon jabbed a finger on his chest. "You're always so high and mighty about your people—"

"I am not!" the Doctor acted offended, which only made Avalon laugh.

"Yes you are! You're already so pompous and conceited I can only imagine what your teenage self was like with all those raging hormones!"

"You wound me, Ava," the Doctor tried turning away but Avalon gripped his arms to keep him in place. "I was nothing but a calm young man—"

Avalon burst into laughter. "Now that was the joke of the century!" she let her head rest on his chest. The Doctor could feel her vibrating body with each of her laughs.

"Laugh it up, Ava, laugh it up," the Doctor sighed lightly. He kissed her ginger locks and tightened his hold on her. He much preferred her laughing (even at him) than being all temperamental.

~0~

A young girl who couldn't be more than ten years old sat calmly in the chair of the Mr. Kin—the head of the Shining Dawn Corporation—and attentively listened to the grown men's discussion from the connected meeting room. However, her dark eyes were glued to the multiple laptops sitting on the desk. Each of them gave view of different locations throughout the city. Her eyes stopped when she caught site of a blue box sitting in one street.

Leaning forwards, she examined it as best as possible from different angles the security cameras had to offer.

"Let it begin," her soft voice said after a minute. She hopped off her chair and took one of the laptops with her into the meeting room. The meeting ceased the moment the girl walked in. "Mr. Kin we are going to have to up our plans."

Kin looked at the rest of the men questionably. "And why is that?"

"Because we have visitors," the girl opened up the laptop to give a clear view of the TARDIS. "The owners of these people can stop you if they figure it out. We have to start the conversions now, Mr. Kin."

~0~

Gavin was brought to Major Hiraki's home as a protective strategy. Apparently UNIT might not be as safe as they thought since they had discovered one of their workers had been an alien in disguise and not a good one. While he was brought down (and turned into nothing but goo), they had to be on maximum alert.

As soon as Gavin walked into Hiraki's home, his ears heard the Goruda theme motto from the living room. It was Hiraki's daughter, Takara, who was watching television on the couch.

"I'm no genius but should you really be letting her watch that?" Gavin quietly asked Hiraki.

"Absolutely not!" Major Hiraki growled and stormed into the living room.

Gavin inwardly groaned. It was never fun to be witness of a parent scolding their child in front of 'friends'. Thankfully, his phone went off in his pocket and eager for the distraction he answered it straight away.

"Gavin!" the Doctor exclaimed, bright and cheery as usual. "Listen I just tried getting through to UNIT but they're having problems so I'm going to give you a message for Major Hiraki."

"Uh...sure…" Gavin glanced into the living room to see Hiraki still going off on her daughter. "But she's a little busy right now…"

The Doctor just went on with his explanation. "The tonic has a sort of chameleon feature that hides its actual properties."

"Like camouflage? Hm, Avalon was right then," Gavin said, sounding mighty surprise.

"Yes, well, the Goruda becomes stronger every time it's swallowed which means-"

"Danger. Got it," Gavin spotted an orange bottle left in the foyer. He picked it up and turned it over to see 'Goruda' brightly written across it. "Oh boy…"

"Drink the brain tonic, one, two, three, and place your hands against the screen!"

"Takara? Takara? What are you doing!?" Major Hiraki's loud voice drifted over.

Gavin rushed into the living room and saw that Takara had gone up to the television and planted her hands on the screen. "Uh, Doctor," Gavin pulled the phone back to his ear, "I think something's happening."

"What? What is it!?"

"Well, there's this new saying that Goruda commercial just introduced and now Major Hiraki's daughter is in some sort of trance."

The girl was mumbling the new motto under her breath, unaware that her mother was right beside her shaking her. A faint golden glow began wrapping around her body.

"Oh my God!" Gavin stumbled back when the glow flashed strongly, turning the girl's skin golden.

"Gavin!?" The Doctor's sharp voice filled his ears. "What's going on!?"

"Uh - sh-she's...she's….turning gold!"

Major Hiraki screamed when her daughter turned around and revealed wide, creepy bug eyes.

"That Goruda thing—can it change physiology?" Gavin was frozen to his spot now. "Because this girl is gold!"

"We are golden! We are golden!" Takara began to chant endlessly.

"Gavin, listen to me, get out of there!" It was now Avalon on the other line. The Doctor had gone back to the testing tables. "I don't care what it takes—throw stuff, break things, burn things—just get out!"

"Gonna have to call you back, sis!" Gavin hung up and ran back into the living room for Major Hiraki.

"GAVIN!" Avalon was left to shout in vain. She put away her cellphone and ran for the Doctor. "What is out there? What is happening!?"

"I don't know! I don't know!" the Doctor growled, running his hands through his air. "I don't understand what it is! Let's see! Goruda causes them to become gold but why?"

Avalon decided to let him pace and work it out however he could. The quicker he did that, the quicker he found a solution.

"They get smarter, they get smarter! To do that they have to connect links in the brain—neurons! They have to connect neurons and—oh," the Doctor had finally come to a stop, eyes wide with realization.

"What?" Avalon urgently motioned him to get a move on.

"The tonic increases links between neurons but what are those links called?"

"I don't know! I hate anatomy!"

"Axons!

"What are Ax—AH!" Avalon was yanked out of the room by the Doctor.

They ran right out of the TARDIS to see a human barricade of UNIT employees who were taking aim at golden children storming down the streets.

"What...the hell?" Avalon gasped at the sight. How long were they gone? The children had already taken down public pieces such as benches and parking meters. Shop display windowed were shattered.

"No! No! No! Don't fire!" the Doctor went for the Captain of the UNIT barricade. "Don't you dare!"

"Doctor, step away!" Captain Yoshida ordered.

"You can't shoot them, Captain!" the Doctor extended his arms to his sides like that would be able to stop every single bullet. "These are Axons! They are inside these children's bodies and if you shoot them, the child dies too! Not to mention the fact they're almost indestructible!"

With that new information, Yoshida had no choice but to draw back.

"We should instead focus on getting the non-affected people to safe haven," the Doctor added on.

"Doctor, Gavin…" Avalon feebly walked over. "She was with Major Hiraki when we spoke…"

"They headed for the Major's residence," Yoshida informed and soon dispatched part of his soldiers to retrieve the two. "Doctor we need to return you to UNIT under our supervision."

"God knows he hates that," Avalon mumbled.

"Our TARDIS…"

"We will retrieve it as well," Yoshida started ushering the two towards his employees, "But you are our first priority now. Please just follow."

The Doctor agreed under the circumstances. He took Avalon by the hand and followed after the soldiers.

At UNIT, there was already growing panic at the amount of dead soldiers and collateral damages they were suffering. Already the children/Axons were wrecking havoc in the city and no one had a doubt that they would be spreading to the next city...and the next...and the next...unless something was done.

"Explain to me what the hell are Axons," Avalon's order shook with both anger and fear; fear for Gavin who had yet to make contact with her.

The Doctor was leading her towards the communication rooms in the UNIT building. The entire place was a mess without Major Hiraki to coordinate the people. With all the commotion going on, the Doctor barely heard his wife's words.

"You've met them before, haven't you?" Avalon made him stop in the middle of the hallway. The rest of the soldiers went on past them. "Th-those Axon things...you've met them right? Cos you knew their names...and the...the…" she swallowed hard, "...the host-th-the-children things."

"I've dealt with them before…" the Doctor said briefly. "They're horrid creatures and I've stopped them before, so…"

"But what do they do? What do they want?" Avalon's question was soft and now full of fear. "They're after children...and Gavin…"

"Axons can appear as golden humanoid creatures with covered eyes. But they can turn into these monsters that can...lash out with tentacles��"

"For what…?" Avalon dreaded to know about. The Doctor hesitated to answer, knowing that the basis of her questions were meant to have an idea of what the Axons could do to her brother. "Doctor?" Avalon gained a sharpened edge in her tone.

"They use the tentacles to shock...disintegrate people at their command...when they don't absorb their victims anyways."

Avalon gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Gavin!"

The Doctor hugged her tight, wishing that he could promise her Gavin was alright. The fact that neither he nor Hiraki had made contact with them wasn't boding well. Still, he would like to believe that Gavin had some of Avalon's resilience and gotten himself (and Hiraki) out of the situation in time.

"Doctor?" one of the female operatives called from the end of the hallway. "We need you in."

"Yes," the Doctor nodded. He pulled away from Avalon, cupping her face. "Let's go try and get in contact with Gavin, yeah?"

Avalon didn't think twice before agreeing. The two hurried into the communications room where various operatives were bustling with their individual tasks. An electronic map of the city had already been pulled up into one of the larger screens on the wall.

"What's our status?" the Doctor asked the nearest operative - a petite blonde woman.

"We estimate around 50,000 to 70,000 children have been affected by the Goruda tonic. A good portion of them are making their way for our building."

"Of course they would be," the Doctor mumbled.

"What are we going to do?" Avalon felt like pulling at her hair because of how helpless it all seemed at the moment.

"We need to cancel out that telepathic connection, for starters," the Doctor began to pace. "If we can cancel out the psychic wavelength the Axons are using to control the children…"

"How do we do that?"

The Doctor stopped pacing and looked at the open doorway. "With incredibly ability. I will be in the lab!" he declared with a finger raised in the air.

"I-I'm going to stay and try to get through to Gavin," Avalon reminded of their other plan.

"Of course you are," the Doctor gave her a short kiss. "Stay safe, alright?"

"Not much of a choice in here," Avalon tried to be funny, much to his dismay. As soon as the Doctor was gone she pulled out her cellphone and began dialing for Gavin's number. "Do you think one of you could try to hack into my brother's phone?"

"Of course ma'am," the same blonde man started right away on the task.

"Wow, didn't even need a reason, then?" Avalon once more tried to be funny in the dark solace moments.

"Well, you and the Doctor are basically in charge right now, so…"

"Me?" Avalon pointed at herself, genuinely surprised. "Why would I be in charge?"

The man took Avalon's cellphone to begin the tracking. "You're the current companion—"

"Wife," Avalon pointed at the man. "And the 'current' should be avoided because I like to punch things when I get jealous."

The blonde man smiled a little as he took a seat in front of the computers. "Yes, ma'am."

"What's your name, by the way?"

"Malaki, ma'am."

"Don't do the ma'am thing—makes me sound old. Avalon, please."

"Right, sorry m—Avalon. Alright, I'm into the cellphone wavelengths and…"

"Major Hiraki," another operative's gasp made everyone in the room freeze in their spots.

Hiraki and Gavin - both non-injured - stood at the doorway surrounded by their other UNIT operatives.

"Gavin!" Avalon breathed a sigh of relief. She ran to her little brother and encased him in a tight hug. "Oh my God! I'm so glad you're okay! What happened out there!?"

Gavin chuckled and pulled away from his sister. "Tough gig but we made it out in time."

Hiraki wasn't as cheery as Gavin. "My daughter is one of the affected. I didn't know she started taking Goruda."

"We're going to save them, okay?" Avalon promised her. "The Doctor is already working on it." She sincerely hoped her Fairy Tale man had something up his sleeve.

~ 0 ~

An hour had passed by and the Axon children had reached the area of the building. It was tricky trying to fight them without hurting the children nor the Axons. Things didn't get easier when the Axons/children started fighting back profusely until they ended up injuring or killing some of the UNIT operatives.

"Please tell me you've got something now!" Avalon ran into the testing lab room with Gavin and Hiraki behind her.

The Doctor had created some sort of hat-looking device over a metal table. Several of the scientists were around helping in whatever they could, but many of them seemed lost on what they were actually helping build.

"Doctor, the Axons are almost up to our floor—what is that?" Avalon stopped at the sight of the creation.

"My creation of course!" the Doctor cheerfully responded.

"I can see that," Avalon rolled her eyes. "What is it meant to do, exactly?"

"It will hopefully tune into the Axos psychic wavelength and put an end to it," the Doctor picked the hat up. "Haven't created a name for it yet so I'm just settling for 'Axon frequency hat' but I plan to—"

"Who cares!" Avalon exclaimed. "Just tell me what to do!"

The Doctor pulled out a metal cord from the hat, like that of an electricity outlet. "Find me an outlet!"

Everyone scrambled around looking for a right outlet until one of the scientists, frustrated, yanked the plug of a lamp and tossed it beside. "Over here!"

The Doctor came bustling through and was about to plug his creation in...when the light flickered off and they were left in the dark.

"What...just happened?" Avalon's whisper filled the dark, silent room.

"I'm going to go ahead and assume the Axons absorbed the electricity," the Doctor said, sounding like he was having trouble swallowing.

"Where to know, then?"

"The roof," Major Hiraki ordered and took lead out of the room. The remaining scientists, as well as the operatives, followed her up the endless stair case - since the elevators were off - and hoped to God they wouldn't find any Axons yet.

"Who's bright idea was it to make it need a plug!?" Avalon was raging all the way up. "You've never done that!"

"I worked with what I had!" argued the Doctor.

Up on the roof, a UNIT soldier was waiting for the survivors courtesy of Major Hiraki. Yoshida had joined the escape fleet and was ushering everyone else in first, but before the first one - being Avalon - could get in, the helicopter shot at them. Avalon fell back against a UNIT soldier. Everyone else ducked to avoid getting hit.

"Yoshida, tell me you have a grappling hook?" the Doctor hopefully turned to the man.

UNIT was always prepared for the worst situations. Yoshida handed the grappling hook over, and the Doctor handed his hat creation to Avalon.

"You're never been that good at aiming…" Avalon said but was promptly proved wrong when the Doctor shot the grappling hook into the nearest building. "Wow, okay," she sucked in a breath, "You just got three times hotter."

"Three times hotter?" the Doctor looked at her with a frown. "Only three?" Avalon rolled her eyes. "Alright, down you go! Go!" the Doctor helped her go first, despite her protests that Gavin should go first being the youngest in the group.

Still, she went first...and screaming.

"Gavin! Go!" the Doctor and Yoshida then helped the teenager go next. Little by little the UNIT operatives went down the grappling hook, until only the Doctor was left. When it came to his turn, he almost didn't make it due to the Axon/children making it up to the roof. "Not today!" the Doctor took hold of the grappling hook and went down shouting his usual 'Geronimo!'.

He landed on his stomach on the floor of a new office room. The hat creation was, thankfully, safe in his possession, but unfortunately…

His wife was not.

"I-I th-think this isn't my brother!" Avalon stammered as an Axon who had posed as Gavin held her by the neck. The other UNIT operatives were being held hostage by the other Axon.

The Doctor was face to face with a stringy looking Axon, its older version instead of the golden one. "Where are Gavin Reynolds and Major Hiraki!?" He demanded from the two stringy-Axons.

"He just turned into one of these beasts!" Avalon shrieked with frustration. "Where's my brother you stupid piece of—"

"Doctor, do not waste time!" Yoshida was focused on the prime objective. "The hat! They want the hat! Get it working!"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed on the Axons holding them. "I don't know where you're keeping my friends but we're going to get them back. We are going to—" The entire building shook with new golden Axons entering in.

"Doctor, just go!" Avalon ordered. "It won't matter if you stay. Other people will die."

"Avalon—"

"GO!"

"Yes, leave the humans with us…" the Axon holding Avalon hissed, "...choose the woman or the soldiers, Doctor."

"Oh screw off!" Avalon started fighting, and seeing her Yoshida followed through. The Doctor took the distraction to examine the room and find a source of power.

"Stop him!" the Axon holding Yoshida commanded the golden Axons that were beginning to fill the room.

The UNIT soldiers prepared a barricade for the Doctor to give him some time. They couldn't shoot the children but they could at least hold them back for some minutes. The Doctor ripped off a black wire from an outlet on the wall and stuck his hat's plug in as fast as possible. With it on, he started working on the little buttons on its side and just as the Axons took down one UNIT soldier, there was a screeching sound before the children collapsed on the floor.

"Let go of my wife right now!" the Doctor then turned on the two remaining Axons holding Avalon and Yoshida.

But before either Axon could response with an obvious 'never', one of the television screens in the room came to life. Mr. Kin appeared, sitting at his desk with his hands together. "Doctor, you will reverse and re-ignite our psychic link if you want those children to survive."

"Excuse me?" the Doctor scowled.

"The children, Doctor, we understand you're so fond of them in general. It would be a pity to have them all dying at your hands." Mr. Kin leaned forwards on his desk with a straight face. "Apart from that, I would think that you would prize your friends' lives." The screen flickered to a camera footage of a cell where they could clearly see Gavin, Major Hiraki and another UNIT soldier being held.

"Gavin!" Avalon called like the teenager would likely hear her.

The screen flickered back to Mr. Kin. "Unless you turn the psychic link on, the children and your friends will die. It's your decision, Doctor."

"Yes, yes it is, isn't it?" the Doctor mumbled under his breath, his eyes meeting with a nerve-wrecked Avalon.

~ 0 ~

"We have to get out of here," Gavin lightly tapped his head against the stone wall. Hiraki and the other soldier - which was the actual version of the man who had attacked UNIT earlier - sat on a stone bench. Gavin was irked that neither of them were trying to hatch a plan to get them out. He pulled himself off the wall and went up to the bars. "We need to get out and find my sister and the Doctor."

"To do that we'd have to get through a lot of aliens," the man, Machi, gruffed from his seat. "Doubt you have some powers."

"I do actually," Gavin glanced back at the man. "Just not the kind that turn me into Superman. Look, we can't stay here, alright? Don't you see what they're doing?"

"Using as bait and/or hostages to fulfill the Axons' plans?" Hiraki emotionlessly inquired. "You may be from the future but I'm the one that leads UNIT. This isn't the first time some of us get into situations like this."

"Okay, then that means you know how to get out of it, right?" Gavin walked back to the two adults.

"My soldiers can't harm nor kill children, Mr. Reynolds. There isn't much we can do."

"Blah, blah, blah!" Gavin swayed his head and turned back to the bar cell. "I am not staying here so that they can use me against my sister. And if I have to punch some stringy Axon then I will."

Just as he reached the bars, a dark brunette girl appeared. It was the same girl who had been up in Mr. Kin's office.

"I don't suppose you want to let us go," Gavin gave her a brief study. She looked perfectly ordinary and not golden like the rest of the children.

The girl smiled up at him. "Okay." She waved a hand at the lock on the cell and unlocked it, just like magic.

"Woah…" Gavin stepped back. Hiraki and Machi immediately got up from their seats and hurried up beside him. "I didn't think that would actually work."

The girl just smiled again. "You're going to have to be quick if you want to get out."

"Thanks," Gavin exchanged looks with the adults, all three of them confused.

"How have you not been affected by the tonic?" Machi stared at the girl like at any moment she would turn golden.

"More importantly, how did you get in here?" Hiraki asked.

"That is why you're the leader, huh?" Gavin smiled at the woman.

"My name's Chiyoko," the girl replied dutifully. "And I can stay here and explain or we can go back to your friends. It's your choice really."

"I pick my sister, let's go!" Gavin said, rushing out of the cell first.

~ 0 ~

Avalon would never cease to be surprised by her husband's thinking. Yes, the Doctor ultimately decided to turn the Axon psychic wavelength back on (because the children were to be protected at all costs) and yes, that basically left them surrounded by two versions of Axons, but he still managed to get them out in one piece. Using the hat itself, the Doctor had stunned the axons in the room, thus giving the remaining UNIT soldiers, Avalon and himself the perfect chance to escape. He then used Avalon's cellphone to call the Tokyo City Hall, directly to the mayor, to warn them of their 'visit' as well as to instruct them to barricade themselves against the incoming Axons.

They made it without a scratch.

"Give me the blue prints for the Shining Dawn Corporation," the Doctor didn't bother with the introductions once they were in the mayor's office.

"Please just give it to him," Avalon said in between her pants. They quite literally ran and hid all the way to the office and it was not an easy job to do.

The mayor scrambled to obey the instruction.

"What exactly is this plan of yours now?" Avalon decided to ask when the mayor left the room. "And will it somehow involve getting my brother back?"

"You know it," the Doctor winked at her. "The Axons had to arrive here by some means and I'm betting that its underneath their silly little corporation. If we can find it then we can use it to our advantage."

"We can force them to leave, you mean," Yoshida said coldly. "Those aliens are an outright threat. Tell me the spaceship can do that?"

"Make them leave? Yes," the Doctor confidently said. "To save the children we need to cut the connection at its core - the ship."

"H-here we are," the mayor returned holding a rolled up paper. "I don't quite understand what you need with it...much less who you are…"

"Doesn't matter," the Doctor snatched the rolled up blue print and walked out of the office. "Don't interrupt me!" he warned the rest. "Of course not you, my Ava—"

"Yeah, yeah, just go!" Avalon pulled out her cellphone and tried getting in contact with her real brother. Were the Axons stupid enough not to take the cellphone off him? Well, she was about to find out. She too left the office, and because the Axons were coming for the building, the remaining UNIT soldiers headed to the doorways to protect.

The mayor, a clumsy man, was left alone in his office.

~ 0 ~

Gavin, Hiraki and Machi were following Chiyoko the girl closely behind on a street. The golden children were a terrible sight to see when they were destroying everything in their paths. Chiyoko, however, couldn't be less bothered by it.

"I don't get it, why are you helping us?" Gavin was right behind the little girl. "And how are you managing to do it?"

"With incredible—" Chiyoko raised a hand to stop a street pole from falling over them, "—difficulty." The three humans jumped from the scare but Chiyoko merely walked over the pole like nothing.

"That girl isn't human," Hiraki muttered to Gavin.

"Yeah, I think I noticed," Gavin muttered right back. Chiyoko wasn't human according to her strength and telekinetic powers (and God knew what else abilities she had) but so far she was only trying to protect them.

"You might want to answer your cellphone," Chiyoko called to Gavin just a second before his cellphone went off.

"What?" Gavin pulled out his phone from his pocket. "But the Axons broke it?" He pulled it out and, to his surprise, he found his phone was intact again. Takara had broken it with her foot when they were trying to fight her off.

"I fixed it," Chiyoko said simply.

"A-Avalon?" Gavin asked, his eyes glued to the little girl who was beguiling them all more by the second.

"Gavin!? Is it really you!?" Avalon's relieved voice rang in his ears.

"As real as it gets. I guess you discovered that Axon thingy replicated me, then?"

"In the worst way possible! But where are you? In that cell thing?"

"No, there was this...this girl…" Gavin said, eyeing Chiyoko who had just thrown back another of the Axons. "She...she's helping us get through."

"Girl? What girl!?" Avalon doubted the story, and Gavin honestly couldn't blame her.

"Never mind that, just tell us where you are!"

"Mayor's office."

"Where's the mayor's office?" Gavin then asked Hiraki.

"Across the city," the woman shook her head dejectedly. "We'll get killed before we can reach them."

"It's okay, we can wait for them at a building," Chiyoko called from ahead. "I think a nice helicopter can do it."

"O-okay," Gavin looked at the two adults who just went with it. "We'll...we'll try to get to a rooftop and then...we can call you from there, okay?"

"Okay, but Gavin, please...be careful," Avalon begged.

"I'm a sixteen year old boy...how much trouble can I get into?"

Both the adults and Avalon groaned around him.

~ 0 ~

"Doctor! I talked to Gavin and he's okay!" Avalon found the Time Lord at one of the secretary tables. "He says they'll find some rooftop so we can find them and—what's going on?" she noticed the Doctor's troubled face.

"I was trying to look at the blueprints for the corporation but there's nothing here!" the Doctor turned the blue prints around for Avalon to see. The pages were completely blank!

Avalon snatched them to see for herself and frowned. "But why wouldn't they be? What does—wait, that means—"

"Means there was never a building to begin with," the Doctor crossed his arms, rethinking his strategies. "And if there was never a building to begin with…"

But before he could finish that thought, the building began to shake violently as if an earthquake was hitting them.

"Are the Axons here!?" Avalon fell onto the Doctor. Her eyes were trained on the front doors but the UNIT soldiers were still barricading against nothing.

"Doctor!" Yoshida ran out from the mayor's office. "The mayor! He's-he's done something!"

The Doctor ran into the office with Avalon at his side. The mayor was cornered at his desk by two of Yoshida's soldiers.

"I-I don't understand! I only did what I thought was right!" the mayor nervously had his hands raised in the air.

"And what exactly was that?" Avalon feared for the answer.

"Th-they s-said they only...needed power for their sp-spaceship! So that they could l-leave! I had th-the local p-power plant do the tr-transfer."

"And you believed them?" the Doctor rubbed his forehead. "Humans! Gullible the lot of you!"

"Now wait a second," Yoshida calmed the area down, but still had his soldiers on the mayor, "Where is that power going to, exactly?"

"The Shining Dawn Corporation, isn't it obvious?" the Doctor let his hand drop on the side. "Because the spaceship isn't underneath them, no, it is the building."

"We've seen that before," Avalon groaned as she remembered Craig's home. "Well, that's a recurring theme isn't it?"

"Never mind that, we need to get to that power plant now!" the Doctor started out the office.

"What are we going to do there?" Yoshida was right on his trail.

"Well that's their main power source now, don't you see? I'm going to hi-jack it."

"Just like that?" Avalon stopped him by the secretary table where he left the old hat creation. "Hi-jack it?"

"Yeah," the Doctor's eyes flickered to the side.

"And then what?"

"Well, if I can't break the connection then...the children will have to."

"There it is," Avalon crossed her arms. "There's the 'almost impossible' part of your plans."

"They're great, aren't they?" the Doctor planted a kiss on her then ordered the rest to get on an escaping plan again.

~ 0 ~

With a helicopter still controlled by UNIT (thank God), getting to the local power plant was a little easier than coming down to the mayor's office. The Doctor didn't bother waiting for anyone and ran straight for the machinery room where all power was controlled.

In the meanwhile, Avalon had another talk with Gavin and told him, if possible, to get to the power plant instead. It seemed doable - at least that's what Hiraki had said - and so that plan was set.

"Axons won't be long," Yoshida warned the Doctor once they found the Time Lord inside. He was busy trying to set the telepathic hat into the machinery wires.

"Maybe some of us should be looking out the windows?" Avalon suggested. Yoshida agreed and dispatched some of his men to guard the doors and windows.

"I'm working! I'm working!" the man grumbled.

"It should start working...now!" the Doctor raised his hands from the hat as if to let the energy start flowing without his interruption. He straightened and turned to Yoshida. "Well?"

Yoshida walked to the threshold and called out to the soldiers.

"Sir, the Axons are...creating something…" one of the soldiers responded.

"What did you do now?" Avalon gave her husband a crazed look before running out the room to see for herself. She pressed her face on a clean window and saw that the Axon/children had stopped in their spots and were indeed creating something out of thin air. "What is this? Transformers!? Oh great, now I sound like Gavin."

It was the Goruda mascot being created telepathically by the children.

"How is a freaking mascot supposed to help us!? DOCTOR!" Avalon stormed back into the machinery room.

"By attacking the Axos who remained in their forms of course," the Doctor shrugged. "That's all in the meanwhile I try to reverse the power plant's feed to their spaceship."

"Oh...carry on, then," Avalon innocently smiled and watched him begin to work on the machinery around. She knew it wasn't working out very well when he started growling and cursing under his breath. "Okay, what is now?"

"It's on automatic, basically," he looked around. "All their power is being sucked out from here."

"But...but is this place still hooked up to every other building this city?" Avalon began to examine the machinery herself.

"Well, yes. The Axons didn't take anything. The energy is just being used by their spaceship."

"So then that would mean we could - in theory - divert the power back to the people?"

"I suppose we co—" the Doctor stopped and slowly pointed at her. "Have I mentioned how much I love you?"

"Not today but you could fix that later tonight."

The Doctor laughed, kissed her, and took her cellphone right out of her back pocket. She didn't even question it and instead watched him hack her phone so that it would be able to call every last home in the city with one dial.

"Major plan update," she grinned. "I'm keeping it."

The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes. "Yes! Hello!" He began, despite no one physically answering him. The idea was to leave messages everywhere. "You're going to want to listen to me very carefully if you want your children to return! Turn on everything you can that is powered by electricity! And when I say 'everything' I mean everything! That includes microwaves, televisions, lamps, hair dryers, DVD players, radios - anything! Just turn them on!"

Avalon hurried back out to the windows where the soldiers were keenly watching. The Goruda had been stomping its way back - presumably - towards the Axos' spaceship. With the energy being diverted from the spaceship, the Goruda would be able to destroy it easily.

"How we doing, Avalon!?"

"Goruda's going off! And the energy!?"

"Being diverted quite nicely!"

Avalon laughed, delightfully, and hugged the soldier next to her on a whim.

~ 0 ~

On the ruins of the Axos spaceship/building, Mr. Kin was on the floor doing his best to stay alive despite the energy depleting around them. From under his eyelids he could see two familiar small-sized shoes walking towards him.

"You-you betrayed us!" He groaned and turned flat on his back. Chiyoko came to stand beside him with no visible emotion on her face. "You promised my kind a world to feed on."

"Yes, I did, didn't I?" Her voice was completely at ease despite the flames currently engulfing the building. Her eyes scanned the tarnished room. "But it was necessary for things to go this way."

"You're going to die with us, Chiyoko."

"No, I don't think so," Chiyoko turned away. "I only came to see how things were going—as they should be going—and now I can go."

"You promised us you traitor!"

"You were merely a means to an end, Mr. Kin. You were necessary for a new life to begin, you see."

Mr. Kin growled with fury and of pain while Chiyoko walked away without a care in the world. Her plans had been enacted and that was all she cared about.

~ 0 ~

With the city returned to normal, the Doctor decided it was time to call it a day and bring his Reynolds back to the TARDIS.

"You should have seen this girl, Doctor. She was beyond our world," Gavin was telling the Doctor and Avalon about Chiyoko who managed to bring him back to the power plant without so much of a scratch.

"Probably an ally of the Axos," the Doctor shrugged it off. "And a powerful one too. They can travel, really, although I do wonder how they managed to get out of the time loop I put them on."

"You put them where?" Avalon raised an eyebrow.

"Doesn't matter. Point is they're gone now and everyone's okay."

"Yeah, well thanks for the birthday trip. It was awesome!" Gavin laughed and soon received sharp looks from Avalon. "What?"

"You actually thought that was fun? Gavin Reynolds I was going out of my frikin mind worrying over you and you think it was fun? Let me tell you something—"

"Ah, why don't we just call it a day, hm?" the Doctor quickly set the TARDIS into motion then went over to Avalon. "I'm sure Gavin will want to rest before we bring him back home."

"Yeah…" Gavin was staring at Avalon who was glaring his way. "I think...I'll go do that now."

"Gavin, wait…" Avalon shook the Doctor off him and walked up to her brother. "Happy birthday. You're crazy and...you're my cousin/brother, so…"

"You're not gonna go all mushy on me, are you?" Gavin had a look of disgust on his face that brought back all of Avalon's earlier irritation.

"You're impossible!" she cried.

"Go!" the Doctor motioned to Gavin who heeded the words and ran off into the corridors.

"He's impossible! No, wait, he's a boy!" Avalon gestured after Gavin. "So ungrateful! You're all useless!"

The Doctor, more than used to her rages, calmly slid his arms around her waist and pulled her back to his chest. "We're not completely useless," he kissed her temple.

"Right now I'm finding it hard to believe," she crossed her arms, huffing.

"Please allow me to remind you then," he kissed her cheek then her jawline.

"That's not going to—" But she gasped when he'd kissed her neck then slightly lower. She rolled her eyes but admittedly was falling under his charms.

Eventually, she just gave in.

"Right, so..maybe Time Lords can be pretty useful…" she smirked.

A/N:

And there we have the first chapter that starts the main arc! So excited for this one! Plus, I never really got to write Gavin Reynolds in and I thought since I brought Lena in the last episode, it was Gavin's time to shine! Hope you guys liked him and his relationship with Avalon!

[saiilorstars]

Written in the Stars

Sequel to Falling in Temptation • First story: Stars Dance •

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC

Story summary: The Silence is gone & newlyweds Avalon & the Doctor can finally see the world. The Ponds begin to travel less with them, though, making the Doctor sadly conclude it's their time to start moving on. But HIS Pond, his wife, is forever & together they will be...hopefully. A mysterious child follows them through space & time to change the world, even predicting EVERY Ponds' departure.

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag​ @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​ @stareyedplanet​ @gloryekaterina @lenonizi @foxesandmagic​

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

{The cover was made by the fabulous @hogwarts-is-my-wonderland! Thanks so much!}

Ch. 1: The Musical Edition

Ch.2: Prison Break

Ch.3: Asylum of the Daleks

Ch. 4: The Golden Ones

Ch.5: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Ch.6: The Bookshop, the Wand and the Heist

Ch.7: Storyville

Ch.8: Amalgamation

Ch.9: Chains of Olympus

Ch.10: Don’t Go Gentle in the Night

Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)

Masterlist to all OCs

Avalon’s Masterlist

[saiilorstars]

Falling in Temptation

Previous chapters • Sequel to Stars Dance •  Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)

Ch. 29: A Pond, a Williams or a Reynolds?

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC

Chapter summary: Tying up loose ends means the time has come for River Song to give up her daughter so she'll grow up to become the one and only Avalon Reynolds...who will travel the stars...and ultimately (and inadvertently) lead to her own mother's creation. And, to the Doctor’s misfortune, it’s his task to see it through.

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​ @anotherunreadblog​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​ @stareyedplanet​ @perfectlystiles​

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

A newborn baby girl gurgled as a nurse passed her to her mother. Her bright blue eyes were glued to her mother, whose eyes nearly matched, while she listened to her first poem.

'A little fairy comes at night,

Her eyes are blue, her hair is brown'

with silver spots upon her wings,

And from the moon she flutters down.

She has a little silver wand

And when a good child goes to bed

She waves a hand from right to the left

And makes a circle round its head.

And then it dreams of pleasant things,

Of fountains filled with fairy fish

And trees that bear delicious fruit

And bow their branches at a wish.

Of arbors filled with dainty scents,

From lovely flowers that never fade,

Bright flies that glitter in the sun

And glow-worms shining in the shade

And talking birds with gifted tongues

For singing songs and telling tales

And pretty dwarfs to show the way

Through fairy hills and fairy dales.

A little fairy comes at night,

her eyes are blue and her hair is brown

With silver spots upon her wings

And from the moon she flutters down'

"You remember that nursery song?" Amy questioned as soon as River finished the nursery. She sat on the side of the bed while Rory sat on the other side.

"Yeah," River nodded distractedly. She couldn't take her eyes off her beautiful baby in her arms. She so small. It was unbelievable to think who this baby would grow up to be.

"You're alright?" Rory asked her after a few minutes had gone by in silence.

"Father, I am beyond alright," River looked up with a smile. "Look at her, she's beautiful. And she's mine." As if to comment, the baby gurgled at them.

"I know she is," Rory peered down at the newborn with a similar smile. "But I also know, we know, what's coming…"

"And what's happened," Amy finished for him.

River had 'killed' the Doctor and as the law demanded, she was to be incarcerated as soon as the hospital discharged her. Her daughter's fate was still to be decided. Stormcage allowed for a child to remain with their parent until they were of age. River had yet to say what she wanted.

"Have you named her yet?" Amy asked as she reached over to toddle with the baby's small fingers. She looked remarkably like River did when she was a baby, except her granddaughter had that tuft of bright orange hair on her head.

"Well, Avalon," River nodded. "Because of her father. Oliver wanted her to be named after the Arthurian legend. He was such a nerd sometimes…" She felt the tears pricking her eyes but she pushed them away. She didn't want to cry yet, that was coming later. "And Harmony."

"For Melody," Rory smiled, knowing the story all too well. It was so odd watching it happen in front of him.

"Avalon Harmony...Pond," River knew exactly what was coming with that sentence and she laughed when Rory huffed.

"Uuh, no," Rory shook his head, "That would be Williams. She's a Williams," he looked at baby Avalon with a soft smile, "You're a Williams."

"Pond, she's a Pond," Amy said with a dead serious face.

"One would say she's a Reynolds," Lena appeared at the doorway, smiling softly at them. "And she's one wonderful, tough sister." River smiled at her and couldn't help. but try to peek around to see if someone else was with her. Lena shook her head. "Avalon's outside. She says it's too dangerous to be in the same place as her younger self. Plus, she thinks it's weird."

"No, that makes perfect sense," River nodded. That was actually very responsible of Avalon.

Lena came forwards and took a peek at the baby. "She's so cute. Hard to believe she gets a mouth on her later on." Her comment caused a series of snickers between them. "So, what are you going to call her?"

River pulled the pink blanket just a bit from the baby's face. She was falling asleep again. Such an innocent little thing she was. "Well, I want to name her as Avalon Harmony Pond."

"The newest Pond," Amy chuckled when the baby yawned. "And what a sleepy Pond she is!" She fiddled with the tiny hand resting over the blanket.

"What a lovely Pond she will be." The Doctor had arrived in the room with a familiar cot in his hands. Just looking at it froze Any and Rory but River only stared at it, close to tears.

It was getting time to decide; decide what had already been decided.

"Wait, what if...well," Amy started suddenly, exchanging gazes with Rory. "We were talking earlier, and...we sort of came up with an alternative."

Rory agreed with a nod, "We, um...we take Avalon in," he nodded to the baby, "I mean, we have a house, a life on Earth. We could take her and raise her and still bring her to you every day."

River took the alternative into consideration, but her eyes landed on the Doctor. He wasn't saying anything. This was all on her. "If she grows up with you two, her entire history will be rewritten. It's as the Doctor said. She needs to exist so that I can exist...and I need to exist, so that she can exist. We are one complicated space-time loop, aren't we?" Her sour smile helped nothing.

"I just don't want you to go through the same thing I had to," Amy curled her hand around River's arm. "Because that is not a pain you can get over. I look at you now and it still hurts to know that I couldn't raise you."

"I know...but time's already happened." Every time she came to the same conclusion, a deep pain stabbed her heart. "I'm choosing to give her up just like I already had. I am not abandoning my child, I am giving her up so that she can grow up with a much better life. She'll have a family with the Reynolds, she'll have siblings…" She partially looked up to see Lena smiling sadly at her, "She'll have a Mother in Emmalina Reynolds. She'll get to discover that she wants to write, that she would love to travel. I want her to have dreams. I don't want her to be trapped in my prison cell. She didn't commit a crime." And technically, neither had she but the world needed to believe otherwise.

"River, she didn't exactly have the best of lives living in leadworth," Lena felt compelled to remind River seeing as she herself was a big culprit of Avalon's stunted life in the small town. "She had to take care of me, she had to deal with the small headed people of Leadworth."

"I know," River sighed, closing her eyes. Tears still leaked through. "But it would still be a far better life than the one she would live with me until her 18th birthday."

"I guess that's it then," Amy said quietly, rubbing her hand down River's arm. "I'm very proud of you. And I'm very sorry."

River nodded. "Could I just have a moment with her please? Five minutes."

"Of course," Rory nodded. He gave her a side hug and got up from the bed with Amy.

Together, the others left the room but the Doctor left behind the small cot on the side. The only sound in the room afterwards was the small clock ticking and the occasional noises the baby would make.

"It's so unfair that we only just met," Rover said with a sigh. She carefully pressed the baby's hair down. It seemed like even as a newborn, Avalon had already inherited her mother's bushy hair. "But if there's one thing that I need you to understand it's that I'm not abandoning you. I'll always be in the corners, watching over you and making sure you're safe. Every time you wonder why you didn't fall, or why you fell asleep without a blanket and you wake up with one...it'll be because of me. I'll take the long way and wait for you to grow up so I can tell you who I am."

The baby slowly opened her eyes, as if she knew she was on the receiving end of a very important talk.

"I just want you to understand that I love you so much. I know things in Leadworth won't be easy but this is really the best pathway for you. You will be brave and you will be strong. And just so we're clear, if anyone tries to mess with you, you have my full permission to deal with them accordingly." River was able to smile when the baby gurgled. It was like she understood. "One day, you and I will be mother and daughter, I promise. You just have fun in the meantime, maybe travel the stars or something. I think you'd be very good at that."

She held her daughter close to her, careful not to squeeze her...but she wanted to soak up every moment she had. She couldn't imagine what her life would be like without her daughter and she wasn't eager to find out. She wished things could be different but their lives were never meant to be ordinary. The Pond cycle continued.

When the group returned it was a very silent moment. River held onto her baby as much as she could until the Doctor held his arms out for her. He despised being on the other end. He was taking a mother's child away, the exact thing he never wanted to do to either of them. He was responsible for Amy losing her own baby and now he was doing the same again. How terrible was he?

River ultimately let her baby go but it was almost like the Doctor had to rip the infant away because otherwise the moment would've happened for ages. As soon as the baby was in his arms, Amy and Rory grabbed River's hands. She squeezed them as she fought off the stream of tears going down her face. She looked up only once and it was in time to see the Doctor leaving the room with her baby. When the door closed behind him, she burst into sobs.

~ 0 ~

"Big brother, can I come with you?" Lena was already tailing the Doctor down the hospital hallways. The question was a formality.

"Why would you want to be a part of this, baby sister?" The Doctor was making quick strides down the hallway and Lena saw it. He was trying to get the hell out of there as if that would make everything less terrible.

"Because clearly present-Avalon can't be with you right now and Amy and Rory are with River! Someone's got to be there with you, otherwise you're going to blame yourself!" Lena finally understood what Avalon had been trying to do back in Leadworth. The Doctor on his own for 200 years was his own type of punishment that released all the dark, self-loathing thoughts. She didn't want that to happen, not again.

"Lena, I have to do this on my own."

"No, you don't!" Lena finally grabbed his arm to stop him just outside the hospital. He wanted to keep the TARDIS out of the hospital in case there were any Silence nearby. She slowly turned the Doctor around and briefly looked down at the cot in his hand. Baby Avalon was fast asleep again. "You're going to go back in time to see my dad just before I was born so you can give him Avalon. Obviously he can't see me but that doesn't mean I can't be there when you come back to the TARDIS. Someone's got to give you a big hug, right?"

The Doctor smiled softly at her. "Oh baby sister, you are too good for this world."

Lena took that as a "yes". She took his free hand and gripped it. "You're not alone anymore, remember? Avalon said so and you'd be a fool to fight with my sister...your wife." She winked at him and laughed at his reddened face.

They crossed the hospital doors and while Lena followed quietly in that time, she couldn't help make her last question. She could already see the TARDIS poking out from the alleyway the Doctor hid her in. "What's going to happen, now? With...all of us?"

"Well, I think it's time for me to stay away for a while," the Doctor said, "You know, just be quiet and not be too out there. Amy and Rory deserve some time off. And you, I think maybe it's time you started thinking about what you want to do. Didn't you mention that you wanted to be a teacher?"

Lena playfully rolled her eyes. "Maybe. I don't know. But what about Avalon? Present Avalon, I mean…"

"Avalon, well..." he took a breath in, stopping when it got to him. Lena watched him go through the struggle of making yet another decision about Avalon. "...I need you to give her a message."

"A message? Really?" Lena would not hide her disappointment that he's choosing not to face her.

"I'm not strong enough, Lena…please, can I give you a message for her?" Lena was halfway nodding when she shook her head. "Lena—"

"You should just tell her yourself," she folded her arms, wearing a much too smug expression on her face. It was odd, really, but the Doctor followed her gaze behind him and found Avalon standing in front of the TARDIS.

"Did you really think you could get away from me again?" She was smirking proudly. She saw this coming even before the Doctor arrived at the hospital. She wasn't going to let him go like that again.

Lena took the cot from the Doctor and smiled at him. "I'll just head into the TARDIS."

Avalon's smirk faded as she saw her baby self in the cot. Her heart wrenched at the sight. River had given her up and now she was on her way to live with her uncle and aunt...

"You can go see her," the Doctor said once Lena disappeared inside the TARDIS. His voice was quiet as he was unsure of what to say to her. "River, she's...she's fighting it."

Avalon nodded silently. Her thoughts and feelings towards River were all scrambled at the moment. "I'm sorry for her," she managed to say. "And yet I'm thankful for her. They were going to throw me into that suit. I was terrified…" She could remember everything now with the time lines being scrambled and merging at one point. River had made the choice to take her place in the astronaut suit. "She saved me."

"She loves you Avalon and regardless of how you feel about her, the truth is she did not abandon you. She didn't leave you like you thought." The Doctor watched her nod with a clear struggle on her face. She was fighting off her own tears. He pulled her into a hug. She let herself be covered in his arms while she rested her head against his chest. "You've been through so much, Ava. I'm really sorry. I don't think I'll ever finish apologizing."

"I wish you did because it's not your fault. It's Kovarian's fault." She tilted her head up to meet his gaze. "I love you, Fairy Tale Man. I married you. You don't run off on me again."

"I love you too," he cupped her face, wanting nothing more than to kiss her senseless for hours but once again Time was against them. "I have to go for some time." Just as Avalon opened her mouth to argue, he added, "The Silence is still out there, Ava, and they're watching. They would know that I'm not dead if you disappeared with me."

"But I don't want you to leave me again," Avalon gripped his jacket as if he would run out right now. "What if I never see you again?"

"I will come back for you," the Doctor promised her. "You are my wife and I love you. I cannot live without you. I have no idea how I'm going to do it, to be honest, but it has to be done in order for everything to work out."

"But—"

"It's not forever," he leaned his forehead against hers. "It's a...it's just a moment longer. Just hang on a bit more and then we'll be off together."

"Do you promise?"

"I swear it. Cross my hearts." The Doctor pulled away from her to show her how crossed his fingers over his hearts. She smiled at the gesture. "You have no idea where I'm going to take you but rest assured that it will be fantastic!"

Avalon knew it would be. She was a very impatient woman but if he truly meant for them to finally be together then she would wait. It kind of ran in her family after all. Waiting. "Okay," she ultimately said, nodding lightly. She swallowed hard and looked at him. "I'll wait for you but please don't forget me."

"Forget you?" The Doctor almost laughed at the absurdity. "Do you know why I figured a way to weasel out of a fixed point in time?"

"Because you wanted to stay alive?"

"Well, yes, but for you! You, Avalon, made me want to keep living!" He snaked an arm around her waist again and lightly swayed them. "You asked me to find a way and I did my very best to do so."

"A robot," Avalon mumbled and scrunched her face. "I kissed a robot."

"Yeah, that was...interesting," the Doctor admitted, preferring not to think about it. "But here we are and now I just ask for a tiny bit more time."

"Okay," Avalon nodded. "I'll be...somewhere, waiting for you."

"Travel a bit, darling, on your own. Leadworth was never for you. It was a pit stop. Go out and see something," the Doctor smiled at her, cupping the side of her face. "Do things. And write them down."

In another time Avalon would've refused that idea, whether because she would want to take care of Lena or simply because he wouldn't be there, but right now that sounded really good to her. She'd discovered far too many secrets, remembered such terrible moments, that to go back to Leadworth like nothing happened was out of the question. She needed to do something else, she just wasn't sure what it was. Yet.

"Can I just ask for something before you go?" she asked quietly.

"Anything," the Doctor nodded.

"We got married, and even though you were inside a robot of yourself...our kiss wasn't real. You haven't technically kissed the bride yet…" She purposely trailed off for him to finish the idea. She smirked as his eyebrows raised with realization.

"Oh, you are very right…"

"Aha…"

"Can't have that…"

She shook her head. "Nope."

The Doctor straightened up with his arms to his sides. He met her gaze with affection. "Avalon Reynolds — Pond — can I—"

"You may kiss the bride," Avalon nodded, her expression softening with nothing but love for him.

The Doctor didn't need more than that. He held her head and pressed a kiss to her lips. His fingers gently brushed her skin while their kiss deepened. It would be their last kiss for a good while but never the last one, and that's what he worked so hard for to get. They parted slowly and very little. If they spoke, their lips would still meet.

"The end: the epilogue," Avalon whispered with happy tears. This time she knew that it wasn't the end. It was just the break between stories. Their first one had ended and soon they would sound another one. She couldn't wait for that one.

"I have to go," the Doctor said. He was studying her, committing her to memory for the dark moments he would surely go through later on. He couldn't be alone but he would try really hard not to fall into the darkness. He had a princess to come back for.

"See you later," Avalon said, giving him one last kiss. "And stay away from pretty people."

The Doctor laughed. "Right. Same for you. No flirting, especially with that Jack Harkness!"

Avalon laughed with him. "Sure."

"The Sapling will be around."

"I think that'll do me some good...seeing my...our son," Avalon felt different saying that now. While the Doctor was gone, the Sapling would be their companion. He was the only creature in the world that was half her, half Doctor. Their child. And now more than ever Avalon would want him around.

The Doctor eventually let her go and started for the TARDIS. It was a bittersweet moment but far better than the last time they did this. He would come back for her. Avalon waited until the TARDIS de-materialized before turning to the hospital. She had someone to visit.

~0~

"You okay, big brother?" Lena asked once the TARDIS was off. She stood beside the cot when the Doctor nodded and walked over, directly coming for the baby. "She's awake. Kinda fussy."

"Hm, I bet she is," the Doctor mused on what kind of baby Avalon would be. Melody was a sassy one even as an infant, surely Avalon would follow in the same steps.

"Was this really your cot?" Lena asked after a few minutes passed by. The Doctor had just watched the baby with no indication of what he was feeling. He was being tough again!

"Yes," he nodded. "And, once upon a time, my kids' too."

Lena gasped and met his gaze with her widened eyes. "Really? So these were your first stars—" she gently touched the hanging mobile, smiling when Avalon squealed at it, "—and your children's too? Not to mention Melody's...and now Avalon's. It's like a tradition. Wonder if it'll keep going…" She purposely smirked at the Doctor and he did his best to avoid looking at her.

"Very funny baby sister," he murmured then reached inside the cot. "Come here you," he gently picked the baby up into his arms. He couldn't get over how small Avalon was. She was so innocent. There were no thoughts inside that little head of hers except for the basic ones an infant would have. This was surely her quietest moment ever.

Or so he thought.

Lena heard the baby gurgle and suddenly the Doctor was scowling. "Are you seriously making fun of me?" He asked the baby incredulously. "You are a newborn and you are still making fun of me?"

"What's happening?" Lena stared at him like he was crazy.

"Your sister is making fun of my bowtie," he frowned down at the baby. "That is not nice."

The baby gurgled again. 'You're too loud. My Mummy wasn't loud.'

The Doctor huffed. "Would you stop that? I will have you know that I speak at a regular volume!"

'Stop yelling!'

"I am not yelling! You're being mean, Avalon!"

Lena watched the conversation progress into an actual argument and she didn't know who to laugh at first. The Doctor, who was over a 1000 years old, was arguing with a newborn. On the other hand, a newborn who couldn't even hold anything had just picked a fight with a thousand year old man. That was certainly Avalon Reynolds.

The TARDIS hummed to cut the argument short. The Doctor rolled his eyes at the box but it was enough to snap him out of the argument.

"You are definitely Avalon Reynolds," he tickled the baby's stomach. "I've got a story for you, Avalon. Would you like to hear it?"

'My Mummy sang to me. Can you sing to me?'

"Uh, I'm not that good at singing. But you will be! One day!"

Lena watched him go towards the console, deciding to stay quiet as he had his moment with the newborn. He started telling her a fairy tale. She didn't recognize it but now that she thought of it, she did remember that Avalon really liked the fairytale of the Bean, the Straw and the Coal. What really warmed Lena's heart was when he started to sing for a little bit, a very tiny bit just for Avalon. It was a nursery, and if Lena was right, it was the same nursery that River sang to Avalon earlier.

'A little fairy comes at night,

Her eyes are blue, her hair is brown'

with silver spots upon her wings,

And from the moon she flutters down.'

It soothed the newborn self as the TARDIS started taking them to New Earth where they would meet a past version of Ryland Reynolds. The story was about to begin (again).

~0~

Avalon gently opened the door of River's room and found Amy and Rory hugging River. When River saw it was her coming in, her entire face lit up but it soon faded. Avalon wouldn't know if it was because she wasn't that baby anymore or maybe she was just mad at everything that'd been said on the pyramid.

There were no words that came to Avalon in that moment. It was truly the first time she was completely speechless. She had no idea how to act around River and much less in this moment. All her life Avalon firmly believed her biological mother abandoned her. It fueled her anger for years and years. It made her cling to Emmalina even more. What she saw right now was nothing like what she'd been picturing. River was desolate, her face stained with so many tears that her face shined under the room lights. She was clutching her parents arms, truly nothing like the past versions of River that she'd seen. Those versions were always so cool and adventurous, brave beyond belief.

"I'm...I'm sorry," Avalon said. She had barely come into the room, taking caution to stay away from River. She might not even be invited but River had yet to say anything. "I had no idea that this was the way things happened."

"That I wasn't going to abandon you?" There was a slight edge to River's tone but any anger she felt disappeared when she looked up and saw her daughter. She was all grown up. Her baby was gone. "I told you that I wasn't going to do it and I didn't. I gave you up because I wanted you to live happily."

Avalon's eyes flickered to Amy and Rory, their expressions bearing sympathy for both of them. They'd witnessed their daughter giving away her own daughter but they had also witnessed the chaos that their granddaughter had to go through because of that very choice.

"I'm sorry," Avalon bit her lip. She blinked rapidly when the tears started stinging her eyes. "It's always my fault bad things happen to people who care about me. I try to stop it but I just make things worse. All this time I thought I was better off without my mother and the reality is...you would have been much better off without me. All of you."

"That is not true," River frowned. Beside her, both her parents nodded with agreement.

"C'mon," Avalon continued. "If I hadn't existed then you could've just ran from the Silence. Kovarian would've had no leverage on you. Hell, Oliver would've stayed alive. I've been ruining lives even before I was born."

"Avalon, quit talking like that," Rory scolded but it just made her move onto him and Amy.

"Rory, you would've been a rich man if you hadn't used all that money to bail me out each time I got arrested. And Amy would've had less migraines if I wasn't around."

"Get over here right now," River demanded in such a hard tone that Avalon actually winced. "Sit!" She commanded and patted a spot on the bed. "Now!"

Avalon swallowed hard before coming over as directed. She took a seat at the foot of the bed.

"Now you listen. Push all that hair behind your eyes," River actually waited for Avalon to do so. "You are very loved. You have always been. You've got a difficult personality but we all love you senseless. I can't imagine my life without you."

"It's the same for us," Amy agreed. "How could I have gotten through my 4 psychiatrists without you? Or the first date with that one?" She jerked a thumb over at Rory.

"Yeah, and you were the best football player in the field," Rory chuckled. "Definitely the toughest. You've been my Ava way before the Doctor. I can't imagine what life would be without you."

"You're our baby Pond," River smiled softly. "Our new Pond."

Rory groaned beside her. "Williams, dammit. She's a Williams!"

Avalon chuckled as he got into an argument with Amy about it. "I'm a...Pond," she said slowly, letting the name sit in her mouth for a moment. It was an odd thing to see the trio before her and knowing she was truly part of their family. She was a Pond. The Doctor must have had a lot of fun with that. She almost rolled her eyes imagining the secret jokes he had with himself while she didn't know.

"How about we talk for a few minutes?" River suggested to her, though she did it quite nervously. Avalon, however, nodded within the second. It was only fair.

"Will you be okay?" Amy asked her as she got off the bed. River assured her that she would be. Her daughter was right there now.

"We'll be right outside," Rory promised them as they left the room.

"You're going to jail, aren't you?" Avalon's tone had turned meek when she asked the question.

"Yes, I am," River answered her. She wished she could touch Avalon but she knew that her daughter wasn't there yet. It'd be a long time before she was.

"But it's not fair, you didn't do anything."

"Shh, to the world, I have."

"But you took my place," Avalon bit her lower lip. "You did it so that I wouldn't have to."

"And I would do it again," River said, shocking Avalon with the level of determination she said it with. "Make no mistake of that. I'm only sorry for the pain you went through. I'm so sorry about Oliver. He was really excited about you, he loved you."

Avalon swallowed hard when she thought about her father. She has held him during his last moments of life. "Can I...ask how you two met?"

"Well of course," River smiled. "We were students at the university. He was failing mathematics miserably and he was studying in the library. He was so loud that I had to tell him to be quiet. Imagine me, telling someone they're being too loud." Avalon briefly smiled. She could imagine that happening. "Anyways, we bickered for a while and then suddenly he was asking me out for a cup of coffee. He loved this little coffee shop around the university. He played shows in it all the time…"

Avalon's face lit up with recognition. "I know! Uncle Ryland showed me videos of that place. I want to visit it soon."

"I'm sure the owner would recognize you. Oliver must have talked about you in his shows at least a dozen times." River's smile saddened as seconds passed by. "I didn't think I would ever have a serious relationship with him. I just went out on a couple dates with him. You yourself were an unexpected moment." Even when the Doctor had told her that one day she would become Avalon's mother, she didn't think it would happen while she was still in school.

"You mean you didn't plan for me?" Avalon asked quietly, her eyes lowering to the bed sheets. "I was like...a mistake?"

"No!" River snapped. "I said you were unexpected but do you really think that I would call you a mistake? That Oliver would call you a mistake? Avalon Reynolds, for a woman who's the first of her kind - who knows more than most of us - you are quite dumb sometimes." River slowly chuckled at her reaction. She saw Oliver's pout there for a second. "You are my daughter and by far the best thing I have done in this world."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," River answered automatically, leaving Avalon silent. "You are the best of me. I only ask that you please let me be part of your life when you're ready."

Avalon wondered what that would be like. She'd spent so much time hating the fictional cruel birth mother she made up when the truth was from it. River wasn't cruel. She didn't abandon her, she sacrificed herself and gave her up to live a better life. "I...I think I would like that," she said slowly and watched the way River's face brightened. She was very hopeful and it was quite shocking for Avalon. "I don't think I'm at a place to call you 'Mum' though…" She was afraid of what River might do or say to that but she had to get it out before River made any assumptions. She knew now that everything she thought of her birth mother wasn't true but the fact was she had grown up far away from River, always seeing Emmalina as her mother.

River took it with a silent nod of her head. It was a fair starting point for someone who grew up thinking a certain way about her. She could work with that and maybe one day Avalon would call her 'Mum' too.