Author's Note: Hello again, all you people! I'm doing Panic Moon, now! Obviously, this is a sequel to Amy, Captured; to get the full experience, please read through that one first, before moving on. I don't intend to spend a lot of time explaining things; if you come in this late, you get to be a bit behind. That said, this is just the introductory chapter so...
A quick note on continuity: I had originally intended to set this series somewhere in the middle of season six of Doctor Who, hence Sander's allusion to the Silence at the end of the previous series. Obviously, recent events- I'm thinking of the last few episodes that went to air- have forced me to rethink this. Now, it's set between seasons five and six, which is a pity, because I had intended to do some things that are now impossible. Ah well, at least this means that Amy isn't a bloody Ganger... Also, my fiancΓ© kept making jokes about a certain pregnancy happening just after I'd finished Amy, Captured; I wouldn't argue if anyone else wanted to make that connection.
Many thanks to Isabel, my soon-to-be wife (we're having twins!) and to Allyourbase, a fine writer who's just submitted a new story that I can totally recommend. Anyway, without my pair of editors this thing wouldn't be half as good. Yay for them!
Votes, feedback and comments are highly appreciated, especially since this is a new thing. Tell me what you think, readers! Enjoy!
-Kurokami
******************
'Hello Viral.'
The shadows did not move, and yet the figure in the dark felt the unmistakable sensation of being watched. A shiver almost went down his spine, but he had been here before and the abomination that dwelt in the deepest part of the ebony curtain of shadow no longer held the same terrifying aura that it once did. Spotlight eyes slid open languorously, powerfully, and swiveled to regard the tiny being.
'Earth-clan,' The rumbling voice shattered the silence like a pane of glass, echoing through the gloom, through the man. He raised his chin, not in defiance, just as a message; that he was here to bargain, not to be intimidated.
'I take it you already know why I'm here?' He said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
'I never know why
you
come here,' Viral thundered. 'Truly, your thoughts are a mystery to me, human. So tell me.'
The man smiled in the dark, oddly serene given the situation. The creature seemed to shift on its perch; was it leaning forward in anticipation?
'Some friends and I want to be put in contact with a certain person. Think you can make it happen?'
'Yes. Although I am somewhat surprised to learn that
you
are working with others now. Your request will not be granted for free, Earth-clan.'
He nodded, 'I know. And we shall pay whatever price you require, Viral. Just so long as you can put me in contact with Sander Hackett,' His smile took on a toothy, predatory quality. 'I'd oh so
love
to see him again.'
*****************************
Below the surface, it glowed.
Below the surface, steel walls shuddered like the wakening of an ancient monster. Below the surface, endlessly complex mechanisms hummed into motion. Below the surface, orange light burned away the darkness and poured down through the steel, shaping itself into a familiar form.
Below the surface, the Engine awoke.
******************************
She awoke to the sound of waves, and the feeling of sand beneath her. Okay, so she must be on a beach. That's good; that was a good fact to know. Of course, there were plenty of other facts that she didn't know; prime among them was
why
she was on a beach.
She was lying flat on her back, which was something she quickly corrected, sitting up to survey her surroundings. Yes, she had been right: a beach.
The waves lapped rhythmically at the shore, each undulation shrinking and growing the shoreline by quite a large margin. At its peak, the tide almost came up to her toes, and at the lowest ebb it retreated several feet from her. When it was closest, she could see that something was moving in the water; some cloud of luminous blue particles.
That and the fact that the sky was a light blue, almost shading to purple, indicated that wherever she was, Earth was not it. Where had she been before? They had just left Kasterborous, after watching a whole solar system- uninhabited, of course- being devoured by a black hole. They had been in mid-flight... The Doctor had been in mid
sentence
, and then... here.
Amy Pond ran a hand through her mass of fiery red hair and sighed; was this all the Doctor's companions did? Wait to be rescued?
This was awfully familiar territory, this waking up in a strange place all of a sudden. A small, leaden weight dropped into the pit of her stomach at the memories that assailed her, at that infinitely bizarre fortnight spent at the mercy of a madman and his bestial assistant. But... No matter how familiar... It couldn't
possibly
be those two again, surely? Not after how they had parted. Not after the last time.
But...
She had seen madness in Sander's eyes, pure and undiluted by conscience. He'd stared at her, called her name, and her heart had practically stopped. The fury in those eyes; if there was a hell, then it was in those eyes that day. It was in his head. And she feared it,
knew
deep down... It wasn't done with her yet.
She also knew that a piece of it had come with her. That taint had travelled in her head, back to the TARDIS, to poison everything she did. A tiny fragment of Sander, a little thorn in her mind; the last remnant of his revenge. A success, even in his utter defeat.
These days, everything had changed. Things were stressed, almost to breaking point. She had thought she would be fine, but that wasn't true, was it? It had been months since that time, but she still found it hard to talk about. Found it hard to even
look
at the Doctor, lest certain memories assault her, prompting a confusing mix of emotions. Found it hard to let Rory so much as touch her.
She still
loved
him... It's just that lately... there was something wrong with her. When they had sex, nothing he did
worked
, anymore. She couldn't cum, could barely feel
anything
. And it was eating at her, even as it forced the two of them ever further apart. For his part, Rory had grown increasingly hesitant to touch her at all, as though she might break if he tried, shatter like glass. But that wasn't it. It
couldn't be.