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Amy and Danni headed back through the console room, Amy playing with her phone as she brought up the camera on it. Danni had gone with her to grab the phone in the hope she could save her from entering the Red Waterfall room and living almost 40 years on her own. This didn't seem to be like a fixed point, nothing that she knew was going to happen was related in anyway to this episode it was just a stand-alone and she was determined to save Amy from waiting.
"Look, I promise." Danni insisted, "It was just on Enthro."
"How come I don't believe you?" Amy retorted. She knew exactly what the pair were like, sometimes the Doctor couldn't keep his hands off her. Danni sighed in frustration.
"It's not like we just go... around rocks whenever the mood takes us." Danni defended, "I think it was the bikini." Amy looked at her, one eyebrow raised and Danni shook her head, "Fine, I promise not to wear a bikini again, okay?" Amy nodded, satisfied.
"Okay. I told you, I don't need to know what you two get up to." The TARDIS console groaned, almost as if it was protesting and Danni stopped at it, Amy continuing on as she flicked through some of her older photos.
"What's wrong, Old Girl?" Danni asked, stroking the console. The lights flashed once and Danni frowned, she didn't really speak 'TARDIS' but that didn't seem to be good, did it?
"Leave it, they're waiting for us." Amy called over, opening the doors again. Danni nodded and stepped away and the TARDIS groaned once more, the column in the middle flashing with light again.
"I'll be there in a sec." Danni replied, "Just go on without me." Amy shrugged and stepped out, "Not the Red Waterfall!" She shouted as an afterthought.
"What?" Amy shouted in reply.
"Not the Red Waterfall!" Danni shouted back, louder this time as the TARDIS seemed to calm down, "What was that about?" She asked, not expecting a reply as the TARDIS settled into silence. She shrugged and placed a kiss on the console before following Amy. As she reached the door the TARDIS groaned and flashed another time, "Do you not want me to go?" Danni asked the machine, which didn't do anything in reply. She shrugged, "I have to go with Amy." She explained stepping out to see the grey doors outside close, the Red Waterfall button glowing until they sealed.
"No!" Danni exclaimed, alarmed as she ran over, "No, no, no, no, no!" She looked at the two buttons apprehensively. She could go into the Green Anchor and explain to the Doctor what had happened, hopefully saving Amy sooner or she could go with Amy and have her spend 36 years there but not alone. She sighed, it wasn't like she would remember it after the Doctor saved them anyway. She hammered the red button, the doors slid open and there was Amy, looking at the large magnifying glass on a table in confusion.
"What part of 'Not the Red Waterfall' don't you understand?" Danni scolded, Amy turning to face her, looking surprised at her anger, "Do you have any idea what you've..."
"Rory... I think I've found her." The Doctor's voice stated slowly as he turned the magnifying glass on from the other room. His face appeared on the glass, Amy walking over to it, mystified.
"What do you mean you've found her?" Rory asked, appearing next to him, "Whoa! No, but, she's not..." Danni stepped forward when a large spike of pain shot through her head, She grasped it, hissing in pain as she almost doubled over. A wave of nausea washed over her and she covered her mouth as bile rose in her throat. She swallowed it back, the need to be sick fading as instantly as it came but the headache remained as a throb, "she's not here! I can see her, but she's not here." Danni looked around, confused. What was that about? She hadn't felt that bad since she had encountered all them Silents, but there wasn't any there. Maybe it was a delayed reaction to the hangover cure? She'd have to ask Amy if she felt the same.
"Where are we?" Amy asked, looking through the glass, "In fact, where are you?" Danni moved in front of her.
"Don't let the Handbots touch you!" She warned them as she heard the door in the other room open. seeing a robot step into the room out of the corner of the glass.
"Handbots?" Amy asked as Rory let out a noise of surprise.
"Hands! Hello. Hands. Handbot with hands, Rory." The Doctor told the other man, Amy and Danni craning their necks to try and see the robots, with very little results.
"Welcome to the Twostreams Facility. Will you be visiting long?" They heard the robot say. The image on the magnifying glass began to wobble, the image fading.
"Er, Doctor. Something's happening." Amy cried, alarmed.
"Amy!" He shouted, and then he was gone. She smacked the side of the magnifying glass as if it was a television, but nothing happened. She sighed in frustration and sat down on one of the chairs, crossing one leg over the other. Great, left behind, again. She looked at Danni, who was still staring at the magnifying glass.
"Now what?" Amy asked.
"We're in the Twostreams Facility." Danni explained, sitting in a chair next to her, "Our timestreams are now running at different speeds. All we can do is wait until they converge again." She rubbed her temples, squeezing her eyes shut. Amy saw her and rubbed her back soothingly.
"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned. Everytime Danni had a headache she worried terribly about her, they all did.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Danni bit out, not wanting to risk nodding her head, "It's probably a delayed hangover or something. It'll get better." She brushed off.
"If you're sure." Amy replied, not believing her.
"Don't you worry about me, Amelia." Danni reassured her, "Worry about them getting us out."
~0~0~0~
Amy flopped onto the chair with a growl, her hair bouncing as she crossed her arms. Danni paced backwards and forwards behind her, fingers pressed against her temples as she tried vainly to attack the headache that had not gone away!
"Two days!" Amy exclaimed, "Where the hell are they? The Doctor should have sorted this out by now! I'm going bloody mad in here!" Danni stopped and squeezed her eyes shut, her teeth clenching as her temper flared, "I mean, seriously! Why do I always have to wait for him to come get me? Can't he be on time for once? He's got a bloody time machine..."
"Oh for God's sake! Shut up Amy!" Danni screamed, her eyes shooting open in shock at the anger she felt. It dissipated almost immediately and Amy was staring back at her, "Oh God, I... I don't know why I... I'm so sorry, Amy. I didn't mean to snap." Amy smiled sympathetically, squashing her own hurt and outrage down as she saw how distressed she was.
"Still got a headache?" Danni nodded.
"It won't go away." She explained. Amy god up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, walking her to the chairs and sitting her down gently.
"Must be more than a hangover." Amy reasoned, "Maybe you're allergic to the hangover cure and you've had a delayed reaction."
"Maybe." It seemed plausible, but for some reason she knew it wasn't right.
"Do you know when they're coming?" Amy asked her and Danni nodded with a sigh.
"Not for a while." She admitted, "A long while, I'm afraid." 36 years, to be more precise but she couldn't bring herself to tell Amy that. It seemed cruel, somehow, to warn her before them first two weeks were up, before she was going to be saved. No need to worry the poor girl after all.
"He can't ever be on time, can he?" Amy joked and Danni laughed, shaking her head gently.
"No, he can't." She agreed, "But he's over 900 years old, that's not going to change now."
~0~0~0~
Amy was curled up in the corner, sleeping softly. She had her jacket under her head, using it as a pillow to try and get some rest. She thought it had been five days since they'd stepped into the room, but she wasn't sure because the lights never went off, so it was hard to tell when it was day or night. So she had taken to just sleeping when she was tired, or when there was nothing else to do.
Danni was sat across from her, leaning on the wall with her knees pulled up against her chest as she watched Amy sleep. She hadn't been able to get to sleep, not once since they'd entered. The headache had been keeping her awake, but in the moments that it disappeared she had tried to catch up. But, every time she closed her eyes it would spring into action, refusing to let her get any rest. She suspected she had huge bags under her eyes, though Amy told her she looked fine she knew she was just trying to be kind. She chuckled darkly to herself, kindness is what got them here in the first place. Kindness had been what caused her to press the Red Waterfall to be with Amy instead of the Green Anchor to be with Theta, where she really wanted to be. She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the wall. No one else could compare to him, and now she had to wait 36 years to see him again, to hug him and kiss him. She should never have thought Amy was worth giving him up for.
There was always the chance her manipulator would activate, it always did eventually but in a compressed timestream? Could it even work? She hoped it could, so she could get out of this godforsaken place and get some sleep.
She looked over at Amy, glaring at her sleeping form. She would never forgive Amy for this.
~0~0~0~
Amy crawled into the corner opposite Danni, watching the girl as she finally slept for the first time in seven days. She couldn't believe that this was happened, here of all places. Danni would either be able to sleep for days or wouldn't have sleep in weeks. Seeing her struggle with a headache just proved that this was where it started and she wished more than anything the Doctor was here so he could help her, maybe stop her.
"It's OK, I've got you, you're fine." She looked up to see the Doctor on the glass in the middle of the room. She glared at the image, her anger flaring because he still wasn't there to save them.
"Will you be visiting long?" A robotic voice asked and his disappeared out of view.
"Doctor, a little help. Doctor." Rory cried in the background, but Amy didn't care. They'd left them here in that room, and they still weren't trying to find them.
"And where have you been?" Amy asked, her annoyance coming through in her tone.
"Will you...?" The robot asked again.
"What do I tell it?" Rory interrupted loudly as Amy shot up and stormed over to the magnifying glass.
"Stop shouting, Danni's just got to sleep." She snapped, "We've been here a week!"
"A week?!" The Doctor shouted, his face now up close as the image flickered, "I'm so sorry! Aha! Same room, different times. Two timestreams running parallel but at different speeds. Amy, you're in a faster timestream." He rambled as it dawned on him what was happening.
"Yes, I know. Danni told me." Amy replied before looking over the girl, who was curled up on her jacket. She was asleep, but very restless, her face scrunched up in pain because even though she had passed out from exhaustion, she still had the headache. Amy turned back to the glass, "Doctor, she keeps getting headaches." His eyes widened.
"Headaches?" He asked, his voice going up in pitch as he came to the same conclusion she had done. The image began flickering again and she felt her chest tighten in panic. She shot out of the chair, slamming her hands on the table.
"Doctor, it's going again!" Amy cried.
"Doctor!" Rory cried from across the room and she saw the Handbot reaching towards his face.
"Danni!" The Doctor cried, "Amy!"
"DOCTOR!" Amy screamed before the glass went blank. She let out a sob and smacked the glass hard, falling into the seat.
"What's all the shouting about?" She turned to see Danni sitting up, rubbing her eyes as she woke up from only maybe an hours sleep. She had heard the Doctor, well, she thought she heard the Doctor shouting her name and then Amy shouting his. A sharp spike of pain rushed through her skull like a lightning bolt and she felt herself flare with anger at them waking her up. Didn't they understand she just wanted to sleep. She stood up, ready to shout at Amy when yet another wave of nausea washed over her. She stumbled over to the side of the room, unceremoniously throwing up. Amy rushed over to her, gently pulling her hair out of her face as she dry heaved. She sat back on her heels, wiping her mouth with the back of her hands and she was suddenly very grateful Amy was there. She frowned to herself, these mood swings were getting worse and worse.
"Feeling better?" Amy asked her kindly, and then Danni was suddenly feeling so guilty she was ever going to shout at her. Amy was so kind to her, helping her deal with any emotional issues that had cropped up over the last almost-year, and she was going to scream at her for being scared? What kind of friend was she?
"Yes, thanks." She replied, although she didn't feel better at all, "Was that the Doctor?"
"He came on the glass when you were asleep. I'm sorry we woke you." Danni shrugged as they stood up, Amy keeping a grip on her just in case she stumbled again.
"It's fine. I'm glad you did, I miss him." She admitted, "I think he comes back soon, lets wait for him." Amy sat her on a chair then picked up a spare chair, heading over to the corner and flipping it upside down. She covered up the sick with a grimace, not really knowing what else to do with it and sat down next to Danni.
"How long?" She asked. Danni shrugged again and crossed her arms on the table, leaning on them and closing her eyes.
"Soon." She replied, hoping she was right. She just wanted to see him again, otherwise the next 36 years were going to feel longer than she wanted them to.
~0~0~0~
"Come on. Gotcha!" Amy jumped as the Doctor appeared again, only maybe 15 minutes after the last time she had seen him, "There. Stabilised, settled, shh! Danni, are you okay?" He asked, seeing her leaning on the table in front of him. She tensed, what a stupid question? Did she look okay? She was trapped in a different timestream to him, what a ridiculous thing to ask. She looked up, her brows furrowed angrily.
"My head hurts." she snapped angrily at him, lying back on her arms, "This is stupid, I wanna leave now." Amy sighed as the Doctor looked at her, his gaze slightly hurt. Danni had been snapping at her for days now, but the Doctor had just been with a happy Danni and now she was angry. She knew he would be blaming himself, when really Danni had just followed her into the room because she had pressed the wrong button.
"Why has this got hands?" Rory asked, cornered by the Handbot. The Doctor got up and walked over, looking at the hand it was holding up towards Rory.
"Organic skin, ultimate universal interface, grown and grafted, not born. It's actually seeing with its fingers, scanning the room. But why not just give it eyes?" He asked, still very confused.
"Will you be visiting long?" The Handbot asked again.
"As long as it takes." The Doctor replied, striding back over to the glass, "Amy, what exactly did you do?" He asked, shooting a glance at Danni who didn't move.
"I just, I came in, and I pressed the door button." She explained, motioning to Danni next to her, "Danni followed shortly afterwards."
"Ah..." Rory said in realisation as the Handbot left him alone. He headed over to the glass and she grinned at the sight of her Roman, "Amy, there are two buttons. Green anchor, red waterfall. Which one did you push?" Amy looked down, looking slightly guilty.
"I pushed the red waterfall." She told him, "Danni told me not to, sorry." She apologised to the other red-head who didn't even look up.
"Sorry's no good now, is it?" Danni snapped before sighing and sitting up, rubbing her temples. Her head was pounding, the lights were too bright and she was feeling slightly claustrophobic but that wasn't Amy's fault, "Sorry, sorry." She muttered, wondering if she would ever have to stop apologising to Amy. She hadn't been treating her very well.
"Great." Rory muttered as he pressed the exit button, leaving the Doctor with them on his own.
"How long have you had the headache?" The Doctor asked her gently, not wanting to annoy her.
"Since I entered the room." She replied and watched him deflate, frowning slightly at him. Why was he so sad over a headache?
"I pressed Red Waterfall, and they weren't there!" Rory exclaimed, exasperated as he re-entered the room. Danni nodded, she could have told them that. She should have told them that, actually, but she had just wanted everyone to shut up. The Doctor pushed himself off his chair and he began pacing as Rory took his place.
"So you can't follow them directly. You know, it's never simple!" He growled, "Hear that, Handbot? She just pressed the wrong button. We're aliens, we didn't know."
"Statement..." The Handbot paused for a moment, "rejected." The red light on it's chest lit up, "Apalapucia is under planet-wide quarantine. This is a kindness facility for those infected with Chen7." The Doctor immediately covered his mouth with his coat collar, Rory doing the same. Alarmed, Amy covered her mouth. 'Planet-wide Quarantine' didn't sound very good, neither did 'infected'. Danni rolled her eyes, if they were going to be infected surely they would have been been by now. She reached up and tugged the girl's hands off her face, shaking her head when Amy shot her a look.
"What?" The Doctor exclaimed.
"Chen7, hmm?" Rory asked the Doctor.
"The one day plague." The Doctor replied and Rory's eyes widened.
"What, you get it for a day?" He asked hopefully. The Doctor shook his head.
"No, you get it, and you die in a day."
"There are 40,000 residents in the Twostreams Facility." The Handbot explained, "Please remain in the sterile areas. Visiting hours are now." The Doctor and Rory slowly lowered their collars as the robot bowed and teleported away.
"Sterile area, I'm safe."
"What about us!" Amy exclaimed, pointing between her and Danni. They weren't in a sterile environment, were they?
"Chen7 only affects two-hearted races like Apalapucians." The Doctor exclaimed.
"And Time Lords." Danni piped up, smiling. Her headache had vanished, disappeared into nothingness and she felt fantastic! Suddenly 36 years that weren't even going to happen seemed fine, she felt like she could take on the world, "We're fine, I told you we would be."
"In that facility, I'm dead in a day." He confirmed, "Time moves faster on their side of the glass. Amy, you said you'd been here a week. What did you eat?" Amy frowned, she hadn't even thought about it. The thought of food hadn't even crossed her mind at all, she had been too worried about Danni and how they were going to get out.
"Nothing. I wasn't hungry." She replied.
"Danni, what about water? Didn't you get thirsty?" The Doctor asked her and she shook her head.
"Neither of us did." She confirmed; that's what compressed time did to you, she supposed.
"No, because Red Waterfall time is compressed." He explained, confirming what she was thinking, "That's the point. The Time Glass syncs up the timestreams for visits. You could be here for a day, watch them live out their entire lives." Rory sat down in front of the glass as the Doctor leant over him, trailing off.
"And watch them grow old in front of your eyes? That's horrible." Rory exclaimed and the Doctor turned to him, frowning.
"No, Rory," The Doctor turned to him, "it's kind. You've got a choice. Sit by their bedside for 24 hours and watch them die, or sit in here for 24 hours and watch them live. Which would you choose?" Rory couldn't reply and the Doctor picked up the magnifying glass, cutting off the signal.
"Doctor?!" Amy cried and Danni shot off the chair, peering closer at the glass. He couldn't just leave her like that!
"Doctor," Danni exclaimed, "Don't leave us, please!"
"I'm here, Danni. I'm right here." He reassured her and she visibly relaxed at the sound of his voice. She felt so safe when she knew he was near.
"Where are you? Am I looking at you?" Amy asked, smiling in amusement despite being trapped in another timestream. She did always love the adventures they had, the adrenaline and the mystery of everything was addictive.
"Turn left, just a fraction." They both moved in unison, "Bit more, stop. That's it."
"Eye to eye?" Danni asked hopefully.
"Eye to eye to eye." He promised her and she grinned, waving and he chuckled. She knew he was waving back and she felt giddy at the thought.
"Hello." Rory's voice added, sounding a bit confused and Amy smiled as well. That was her Rory, not quite comfortable with something he didn't understand.
"Amy, Danni-Girl, I'm taking the Time Glass back to the TARDIS. Like satnav, I'll use it to get a lock, then smash through, using the TARDIS to get you out. Until then, you're on your own." The Doctor explained apologetically. There was a buzzing as he attempted something with his screwdriver.
"What are you doing?" Rory asked him.
"Locking onto Amy, she less likely to jump away. Small act of vandalism, no-one'll mind." He brushed off as an alarm sounded over the connection, "Ah, that will be the small act of vandalism alarm. Amy, Danni, I need you to go into the facility just for a bit. Find somewhere safe and leave me a sign. Remember, you're immune to Chen7, but don't let them give you anything. They don't know you're alien. Their kindness will kill you. Now go!" Danni grabbed Amy's hand, squeezing it reassuringly and the pair stood and headed over to another door with an exit button next to it. Amy had wanted to try it before, but Danni had told her that if they went through it they would be stuck. Now they were heading through it and Amy was scared, just how long would they have to wait? She pressed the button anyway, trusting Danni and her Raggedy Man and they stepped through together. Amy paused and turned back to where the Doctor had been talking from, just needing to talk to Rory one more time.
"Rory, I love you." Amy told him, wanting him to know. Danni nodded and smiled.
"And I love you, Doctor." She added, hoping that he knew that.
"Now, save us. Go on." Amy finished and the doors closed, cutting them off from the men.
~0~0~0~
Danni and Amy stood hand-in-hand as the doors behind them closed and they were immediately sprayed with what Danni guessed was disinfectant. She was immediately reminded of Ten on New Earth, one of the few times he seemed to have been semi-civil towards her. Amy shrieked at the cold liquid, shying away while Danni took a leaf out of Ten's book and began rubbing it into her hair as if she was showering. Amy watched her before laughing at her actions and copied. They were then blasted with warm air and they were dry as they walked into a large welcome area, filled with large sofas and a desk lining one side. The word 'One' was spelled in giant lettering on one wall. Amy looked from left to right, frowning as she took in the monochromatic room.
"Where is everyone?" She asked Danni, who shrugged.
"There's so many timestreams, maybe we've been separated." She offered. To be honest, she wasn't really sure why Amy had been on her own all them years. Was everyone else in the facility on their own? How was that better than dying with your family?
A beam of light shot down from the ceiling, encircling the two girls. Danni shielded her eyes, it bringing back her headache almost instantly while Amy squinted as she looked upwards, trying to find the source of the beam.
"Welcome to the Twostreams Facility." A female voice declared before the light disappeared.
"What was that?" Amy asked Danni before looking upwards again, "Erm, who are you and why can't I see you?" The light reappeared, blinding the pair once more.
"I am the Interface," The female voice told them, "between yourself and the systems of the Twostreams Facility. I will be your guide, your teacher, your friend." The light disappeared again and a woman in a smart uniform appeared on a screen behind the desk next to them.
"Welcome to Twostreams. What are your names, please?" She asked with a smile.
"Amy. Amy Pond." Amy told her uncertainly. She didn't really trust the computer, anything involved with the place holding them hostage didn't seem someone to rely on.
"Danni Fielding." Danni added.
"Welcome, Amy Pond, Danni Fielding." The woman said, still smiling, "I see you're travelling together. As residents you will now have access to all of the entertainment zones inside. For a taste of adventure, why not try the mountain zone," A picture of the mountain zone appeared on the screen next to the woman's head, "and explore Apalapucia's famous Glasmir Mountains. Or try our roller-coaster zone," The image turned to one advertising the zone, "authentically modelled on the famous Warpspeed Death Ride at Disneyland, Clom. All that you could wish for and more is through the Departure Gate," She motioned with a smooth motion to the door at the end of the room, "provided for you with kindness." The woman disappeared and Amy looked around, still not quite understanding what they were suppose to do. The Doctor wanted them to go somewhere safe, but where was safe?
"Come on." Danni took her hand again, "Straight out of the door." Amy nodded, stealing herself and the pair headed out onto a platform, a Handbot patrolling just in front of them. A plaque on the wall told them they were in 'Arrivals'.
"Unexpected visitors. Welcome. Please seek assistance." The female computer voice told them in its airy tone.
"We should ask the robot." Amy suggested and Danni shook her head.
"No, if they touch us we'll die." She pointed out firmly.
"We don't know what to do." Amy argued, "Come on." She pulled Danni towards it despite her protests, "Hello? Hey! Oi, wait!" The Handbot turned and used its hand to scan them. Amy frowned, finding the movement creepy. Maybe Danni was right.
"You are carrying unregistered bacteria." The Handbot declared quietly, "Please let me help you." It's chest panel opened and it removed a syringe from the flap. Amy's eyes went wide and Danni tried to pull her away.
"No, we're not from this world. Your medicine'll kill us!" Amy told it, stepping back.
"Statement..." The red light on it's chest panel lit up, "rejected. Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness." It jabbed the syringe towards the pair and they ducked out of the way. Danni dragged Amy towards what she guessed was a giant bin next to a counter, hiding behind it and closing her eyes. Oh, why did she do this again?
"No, no, please, I hate needles." Amy stuttered out, terrified.
"Secondary delivery system engaged." The Handbot declared and it's head opened revealing a group of needles. It turned on the spot and shot them all towards them, one landing right by Amy. She shrieked as more Handbots appeared.
"Unauthorised infection on check-in, version 223." One declared. She looked the other way to see two more appear. She turned to Danni hoping she knew what to do but saw her with her eyes squeezed shut, a headache racking her brain. She wasn't going to be any help, it was all down to Amy. She tugged Danni's hand and she motioned to the counter when her eyes opened. Danni nodded, wincing as the pair jumped over and ran through a door, finding themselves at the top of some stairs.
"Always bloody stairs." Danni grumbled as they headed downwards. Her mum used to laugh when she was a child because she was adamant she was going to live in a bungalow. And, to be fair, the TARDIS didn't really have many stairs. Only in the console room and the library. Danni blushed slightly, now was not the time to think of that.
"Unauthorised resident detected." The female computer voice announced, accompanying the alarm ringing through the dark area.
"Come on." Amy told her, pulling her down the hallway and around a pillar, the pair pressing themselves against it.
"This is a kindness. Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness." A Handbot repeated as it followed them. Amy pulled Danni across the room to what looked like a long tunnel for a vent and they hid behind it, panting lightly. A hand appeared underneath and the pair shrieked again, jumping out from behind it to see the Handbot there. They headed down the hallway, stopping only when three more Handbots materialized in front of then, blocking their way.
"No. No, no..." Amy breathed, clinging to Danni's hand.
"This is a kindness. Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness. This is a kindness. Do not be alarmed." The Handbots repeated as they slowly made their way towards them. Danni yanked on her hand.
"Over here!" Amy turned and headed to the centre of the room where a vent stuck. They ripped off a part of the caging around it and Amy dived in first. Danni scrambled in after her, stopping her as she tried to jump upwards into the tunnel above and they hugged each other, still panting and with their eyes shut.
"Come on, please..." Danni heard Amy plead and even though she knew it would work she joined in, the two begging together to be okay.
"No residents detected. No residents detected." They both relaxed against each other, utterly relieved that they were okay.
"They didn't see us, they didn't see us!" Amy panted and Danni nodded.
"The steam is from the engines." She explained quietly, trying to remember what it was exactly and failing completely. Her head was still hurting, and when she thought back it just hurt more. She dismissed the thought, not believing for a second that the two were in any way related. She was just reacting badly to the purple liquid, nothing more.
~0~0~0~
The pair quietly made their way through the hallway, not wanting to alert anyone to their presence and Amy chose a door, pushing it open gently and checking to see if there were any more Handbots. If they were going to survive, they'd have to look out for those robots and she wasn't about to get killed by 'kindness' before she saw Rory again. On the other side of the door was a circle of seven white doorways with a podium in the middle.
"Interface?" Amy asked and the light appeared, shining just on her this time.
"I am here, Amy Pond." It told her.
"Turn that light off!" Danni snapped, the light blinding her even though she wasn't underneath it. They needed to keep a low profile and a large spotlight wasn't going to aid with that at all.
"What is this? How does it work?" Amy asked it, heading towards the podium.
"This is the Gate. From here you may depart to any of Twostreams' entertainment zones." The podium had seven buttons going around the outside and Amy pressed the one nearest to her, "Cinema." The computer declared. Danni tried one, "Aquarium."Amy pressed one more, a grimace on her face. As far as hiding places went, a cinema and an aquarium weren't much use, "Garden." Amy turned to Danni.
"Garden?" Danni shrugged.
"Why not?" She replied and Amy pressed the button again, wondering how they got to the garden. The doorway next to them began to flash as it seemed to spin through a reel, landing on an green scene. The pair ran through the doorway, ending up in a stunning garden. Large trees stood in front of them sculpted in strange yet beautiful shapes and the sky was blue above them, not a cloud in the sky.
"It's... beautiful." Amy declared, "I mean, freaky hedges." The light appeared above them again, barely illuminating the pair in the sunlight.
"The perfect replica of a Shill Governor's Mansion on Shallanna." The Interface told them.
"I think the Doctor was going to take me to Shallanna at one point," Danni recalled, smiling slightly at the thought, "back when he was Ten. Just before I went to Venice." She had been with Donna for a while, and the Doctor had taken them to some magnificent places. They were going to some mansion just before she appeared in the cake at Rory's stag night, and the name rang a bell. She smiled and turned from the light to the garden, "It's very pretty."
"You really could spend a lifetime in here. Not that we're going to." Amy declared to the Interface firmly, convinced that the Doctor was going to save them. Danni walked down the steps in front of them.
"Let's have a look around before we head on." She suggested, "It's too beautiful of a place to just leave." Amy nodded in agreement and followed her down, walking around until they found a terrace with a large fountain on it, statues surrounding them.
"We need to find somewhere safe." Amy told Danni, who nodded.
"We need to find the engines. The smoke in the vents blocks the Handbots from being able to see us, so we need to hide near them."
"And they are..." Amy asked leadingly, but Danni shrugged. She was never good at remembering the technical information from the show. She just knew that the smoke in the vents shielded Amy from the Handbots, "Interface?" Amy asked and the light appeared once more.
"Amy Pond?"
"What were those vent thingies?" She asked the voice.
"The vents channel the exhaust fumes from the temporal engines that hold the multiple timestreams in place." The Interface explained.
"And these temporal engines mess up the Handbots' sensors. So where's the temporal engines?" She tried.
"Temporal engines held within."
"Okay..." Well, that wasn't much use really. She supposed they weren't really 'within' at the moment, being outside in a garden. Maybe they should head into the facility again, start from there...
"Amy!" Amy jolted out of her thoughts to see two Handbots on either side of them, holding their hands out to touch them.
"Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness." They approached the two girls, who pushed against each other, afraid. Not really knowing what else to do, Amy grabbed their wrists and forced them to touch, ducking out of the way as they sparked and disabled themselves. She slowly stood up, still apprehensive but then grinned when she saw they weren't moving anymore.
"Ha! Don't like that, do you?!" She taunted them. Danni rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her.
"Come on, we need need to head inside." She told the other ginger, "We have to find that other engine."
~0~0~0~
In the Arrivals section of the facility, they headed through a door and into a large factory-looking area. They headed deeper and deeper until they came across a line of large engines. Amy and Danni smirked at each other as they looked up at the giant machinery.
"Temporal engines. Somewhere to hide." Amy stated and Danni nodded.
"Go leave them a message." She pushed Amy back out before moving to the wall and sliding down, head in her hands. Her head hurt so much, the running hadn't helped in the slightest and now she had stopped it was all she could do not to cry out in pain, but she didn't want to worry Amy. She rubbed her eyes and looked up, frowning in confusion at the red splodge on her hand. She cautiously reached up and wiped under her nose, blood covering her fingers and she stared at it, alarmed.