Deadly Games

[The First Doctor]

The gamma distributor was not, when you got right down to it, particularly impressive in appearance.

But getting to the gamma distributor? Well, that made up for the anticlimax.

The Doctor had led Susan and Amy deep into the TARDIS, several blocks out from the control room and down a dozen or so levels. The first two levels were the familiar grey hexagons with the circular impressions. The third level had walls of brick, while the fourth had cinderblocks. The fifth seemed to be plaster.

The sixth level was dull, polished metal, gleaming in the sourceless illumination. "I don't know if you've ever noticed before," the Doctor had mentioned to Amy at about this time, "but you cast no shadow within the TARDIS."

The polished metal hallway opened into a chasm. It was nearly a kilometer across, spanned by an open bridge, extending as far up and as far down as the eye could see. The sourceless illumination did not extend here - it was lit by enormous discharges of electricity, bolts and sheets of lightning dozens of meters wide, arcing from side to side with no rhyme or reason.

"Just across there," he said cheerfully, stepping onto the bridge.

At that moment, a sheet of electricity a hundred meters high erupted across the gap and flowed along the bridge. The Doctor smiled, his hair lifting up. "Come along, come along, we've no time to dawdle."

[Amy Pond]

They were so deep within the TARDIS that Amy wasn't sure she would have been able to find her way out on her own - but, she was in excellent hands and very excited, still, that he had so perfectly understood what they needed from him, even if Amy herself was still mostly clueless.

The Doctor caught her completely off-guard, though, when he said that she cast no shadow within the TARDIS. Amy wrinkled her brow and looked all about herself, the walls and the floor - and sure enough, she cast no shadow.

"But... How...?" she uttered, amazed and confused - and maybe a little bit worried. It was not normal to not have a shadow. "That's not a bad thing, is it...?"

While Amy puzzled about this, the Doctor urged the ladies to catch him up as he crossed over a chasm on a rickety old bridge, reminiscent of that old Indiana Jones movie - except in that movie, the bridge hadn't been electrified, or whatever it was that was sparking and arcing and causing the Doctor's hair to lift up.

But, it must be safe... If it weren't, they wouldn't be down here. Right?

Amy had faith in the Doctor - even if he wasn't 'her' Doctor. She took in a deep breath and let it out in a big rush before looking to Susan.

"Ye ready?" she asked, making sure the girl was still with them before stepping onto the bridge and clinging to the sides for dear life.

"Just don't look down..." she softly coached herself as she managed to take a step... then another...

[The First Doctor]

"Just don't look down..." she softly coached herself as she managed to take a step... then another...

The Doctor clapped his hands. "You're across," he told her. "So, you can probably release the railing, now."

The room with the gamma distributor was, after the chasm, a huge anticlimax. It was almost claustrophobically small, packed with identical-looking black boxes that made the occasional beep. The Doctor picked one, seemingly at random, and went to work with the tools he'd brought. In a matter of minutes, he had it dismounted and sitting on the floor.

"Well," he said, "that's that." He looked at Amy. "Once we get it back to the control room, what does my future self intend to do with it? If that isn't giving too much away, that is."

[Amy Pond]

"Well, without givin' away tha particulars, ye said ye were gonna sneak aboard that ominous looking space ship out there, an'... well, ye know, save all 'a time an' space, an' everythin' in it." She paused briefly for effect and then proudly added, "Again," all while wearing a big smile on her face.

She felt the explanation was vague enough that nothing had been revealed that shouldn't have been, and if this Doctor was anything like her Doctor - well, he WAS her Doctor... just younger (but older looking) - he wouldn't be at all surprised to hear about how he'd saved all of time and space several times over.

"Now... Wot do we do with it? Are ye gonna install it somewhere else on your TARDIS, or... Are we supposed ta go to my Doctor's TARDIS...?" Amy asked. She was soooo confused, but she had absolute faith in the Doctor.

[Susan Foreman]

The woman seemed about as comfortable on the bridge as a mouse was comfortable in a room full of hungry cats. “Ye ready?” Amy asked, directing a glance towards Susan. The young Gallifreyan offered a comforting nod and smile, amused by the way Amy most certainly did not seem ready. Susan slipped her hand briefly into Amy’s.

“You’ll be fine,” she said, slipping her hand back out from the woman’s grasp and hurrying across the bridge until she was next to her grandfather.

“Well, that’s that. Once we get it back to the control room, what does my future self intend to do with it? If that isn’t giving too much away, that is.”

“Ye said ye were gonna sneak aboard that ominous looking space ship out there, an’…well, ye know, save ‘a time an’ space, an’ everythin’ in it… again.”

Sounded a lot like her grandfather. Susan shifted closer to him. “Well, it wouldn’t make much sense for us to keep it here,” she pointed out, glancing hesitantly at her grandfather to see if he agreed with her logic. “Theoretically, it is all the same TARDIS, so it would not matter in which it was installed, but as my grandfather – the older one, I mean to say – is the one that knows what to do with it, we should take it to him. I don’t mean to be rude.”

[Amy Pond]

Amy reddened when Susan pointed out the obvious. She hadn't known what she had been thinking... But, she hadn't thought Susan was being at all rude.

"Oh, yeah... Right. That makes sense..." Amy mumbled, feeling a bit silly. "So, we'll bring it back ta tha other TARDIS, an' go from there," she said, feeling a bit more confident that they now had a plan in place. And, once they got the necessary part back to her Doctor, they could move forward to the next phase of her Doctor's plan to eliminate the Daleks.

[The 11th Doctor]

(I'll post when you get it to the TARDIS)

[The First Doctor]

Sounded a lot like her grandfather. Susan shifted closer to him. “Well, it wouldn’t make much sense for us to keep it here,” she pointed out, glancing hesitantly at her grandfather to see if he agreed with her logic. “Theoretically, it is all the same TARDIS, so it would not matter in which it was installed, but as my grandfather – the older one, I mean to say – is the one that knows what to do with it, we should take it to him. I don’t mean to be rude.”

The Doctor smiled approvingly, and nodded his agreement. "Well said, Susan. Yes, well said." He peered about. "Although it's too bad we can't simply hide the gamma distributor somewhere else aboard the TARDIS, walk over to my TARDIS, and recover it there." He hefted the case disapprovingly. "It would be so much easier than carrying the device."

He shook his head emphatically no, at the look from the two women. "Absolutely not. Out of the question. If I do that, I would have already done it. And then all I would have had to do is ask you to ask me to dismount the gamma distributor and put it somewhere specific so that I could then walk to that location and recover it."

He sighed. "But, since I haven't done that, then I shan't be doing it. So, I fear, we must portage it by hand from the TARDIS to the TARDIS."

"Oh, yeah... Right. That makes sense..." Amy mumbled, feeling a bit silly. "So, we'll bring it back ta tha other TARDIS, an' go from there," she said, feeling a bit more confident that they now had a plan in place.

"Well then, my dear," the Doctor said with a grand gesture. "Do lead on. The sooner I give this device to myself, the sooner I can use it and then return it to myself so that I can remount it."

[Amy Pond]

Amy nodded, feeling much more sure of herself than she had a moment ago. "All right, then... Follow me!" she declared triumphantly - and this time, going over that wild bridge didn't seem nearly as terrifying as it had the first time (of course, she didn't look down, all the same).

As she left the First Doctor's TARDIS, Amy's hand reached down into her pocket and gave her little TARDIS key a little squeeze - making sure it was still there, and also kind of giving it a little hug of sorts.

Oh, Amy was really starting to get quite excited - and scared. They had the one part the Doctor said they needed to get onto the Daleks' ship... But, being onboard a Dalek ship was one of the last places Amy - or anyone in their right mind - would want to be.

Amy led the way to the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS, pulling out her key and opening the door as soon as she, the First Doctor and Susan reached it.

"Home sweet home, eh?" she said with a playful smirk as they entered the other TARDIS, which her friends would find much had changed as far as interior decorating.

[The 11th Doctor]

The Doctor jumped back, startled. He was wearing a fez, and had been in the process of looking for a replacement for the Gamma Distributor when Amy, Susan, and his past self walked in. "Oh." He walked up in front of his past self. "Knowing you-and I do- you've probably figured out who I am. But I guess if not, I'll have to tell you. I'm The Doctor, the one and the only."

He smiled at himself slightly, then motioned to the visitors to follow him.

[Susan Foreman]

Although she was almost sure that neither her grandfather nor Amy was annoyed with her, Susan still felt out of place. A bit like a ‘third wheel’ to them both as she hung around. Is she his girlfriend one day? she wondered, looking between her grandfather and Amy. As she thought about this, she felt her nose scrunch up and she shuddered only slightly, trying to get that thought process out of her mind. But he had been flirting with her, and Amy hadn’t exactly been shooting him down. And the older version of her grandfather trusted her enough to give her a TARDIS key. She knew firsthand that that wasn’t something that her grandfather gave out sparingly.

She hurried beside the human woman as they returned to the police box. “Home sweet home, eh?” the ginger asked, pushing the doors opened. Susan wavered, not quite sure whether or not to enter. The inside looked vastly different than the younger TARDIS, but she knew that her grandfather could easily change the design. Still, she didn’t quite like it. It didn’t resemble their comfortable white room – it was like a big, eerie café.

Susan followed Amy, putting her hand on the woman’s shoulder. She stood on her tiptoes, and cupped her hands around Amy’s ears. “Do you love my grandfather?” she whispered. Her question asked, she put her hands back behind her back, staring up at Amy inquisitively.

It was then that her eyes caught motion from in front of them. The tall man that she had seen from earlier was approaching them. She stepped back, quietly moving behind her grandfather. She knew that this tall man in the fez was also her grandfather, but there was something about him that unnerved her. “Hello, Grandfather,” she said, waving at the older version of him.

[The First Doctor]

"Home sweet home, eh?" she said with a playful smirk as they entered the other TARDIS, which her friends would find much had changed as far as interior decorating.

The Doctor cast a skeptical eye on the current configuration. "Garish," he muttered. "It looks like a Romelthian..." he paused, eying the two young women. "It looks like a casino."

Then he saw the older Doctor, who looked up in surprise. "Oh." He walked up in front of his past self. "Knowing you-and I do- you've probably figured out who I am. But I guess if not, I'll have to tell you. I'm The Doctor, the one and the only."

The Doctor eyed his older self critically. "Yes," he remarked dryly, "I had rather worked that out." With a grunt, he presented the gamma distributor to the Doctor. "Hurry up, hurry up. As you no doubt remember, our back isn't doing so well at this stage in our life, and I feel as I've packed this thing halfway across central London."

He looked around. "Maybe the orange and amber color scheme isn't so bad, after all," he admitted. "But do turn some lights on." He paused, inspecting the console. "Oh, and why have you had the TARDIS manifest as a police call box? I know that you must know by now that they won't enter service for several more decades."

[Amy Pond]

While the two Doctors dealt with the Gamma Distributor, Amy received a whispered message from Susan. It was more of a question than a message, however, and one that took Amy a bit off guard.

Did she love The Doctor?

Amy looked at the two Doctors. The older-looking younger Doctor was complaining about his back, while the younger-looking older Doctor with the fez - Her Doctor - relieved him of the heavy device. The redhead smiled and silently wondered how anyone COULDN'T love the madman with the blue box.

Amy turned her attention back at Susan again and nodded her head in the affirmative. In a soft voice, Amy replied, "Yeah, I do... Absolutely. He's my best friend, an' I trust him ta tha end 'o tha universe - an' back again." She grinned. "An', we've been."

[Susan Foreman]

Susan watched as the woman contemplated her answer. She cast her own gaze at her two grandfathers, a small smile forming as she listened to the banter between them. “Yeah, I do,” Amy admitted quietly. “Absolutely. He’s my best friend, an’ I trust him ta tha end ‘o tha universe – an’ back again. An’, we’ve been,” the woman said, grinning. Susan looked at her, curiosity sparked in the dark brown eyes. Her grandfather had gone to the end of the universe with this woman. It was too incomprehensible to even think about; there was something… off-limits about the far ahead.

Therefore, it would make sense that her grandfather decided to jaunt their merry way to the end of the universe. Simple because it was ‘off-limits’.

“You are best friends? That’s good, I think,” she returned quietly, watching her grandfathers. “He needs friends. He pretends that he isn’t lonely, but I know he is. Sometimes… most of the time, he is very impulsive, and he needs someone to hold him back.” She paused, and turned a grin towards Amy. “I bet you do that a lot. Stop him from doing things.”

She slipped her hand inside of Amy’s. “I love him, too.”

[Amy Pond]

Amy wasn't at all surprised to learn that The Doctor was lonely. She'd feel lonely too, if she felt that she were the last of her kind, and if she'd been alive as long as he had been... Her Doctor was, what? 908-ish?

It kind of boggled the mind.

Amy let out a little chuckle when Susan said mentioned his impulsiveness - it was so very true!

"Yeah, that's pretty spot-on," she said with a knowing smile, and then Amy gave Susan's petite hand a gentle squeeze after she'd slipped hers into Amy's.

"An' we'll take care 'o him fer as long as he needs us," Amy added softly, again giving a little squeeze.