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Chapter Text

The Tardis whirred, in and out, black and white.

"Doctor? What's happening?" Amy asked as she hung upside down from the railing. She must have been well off on the Monkey Bars. A chip off the old Block really. The Doctor straightened himself from his position beneath the console.

"It's a 13th dimensional slip, happens sometimes," The Doctor lied, trying to appear smart. He needed to live up to the reputation of his bowtie after all.

Rory moaned from the ceiling. "This was not what I had in mind for my wedding night." Rory, good old chap, even better roman. Not that Rome was a part of Rory, Wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff really.

The Doctor shut down that train of thought, right whatever was happening, he couldn't reach the controls, at least not with his hand... shame that old hand was all metacrisised, that was a good hand. Handy Dandy. Heh.

Right right. He switched the atomic whatevermadohickey with his trusty sonic screwdriver. Bits and bobs came flying off the console but that was hardly his fault was it? Defineitely was, but nobody noticed did they?

The Tardis, in her wisdom, swapped up and down, the Doctor found his head slamming into the floor, nothing he couldn't take.

"RORY!" Amy screamed, still in her wedding dress. The Doctor tilted his head up. Rory was falling from the ceiling and fast.... He'd be fine. There it was right then, Rory sliding down the Tardis's time rotor like a fireman on his way to work.

The Doctor vigorously shook his head. Amy rushed to hug her husband. Rory looked looked cross, cross with a little terror.

"Right, now, where are we, when are we?" The Doctor didn't bother turning on the Console. That would be so boring. Rule 72 never check where you are if you can help it.Instead he strolled to the door, knocked twice, and when there was no answer, opened it.

"What's out there?" His more cautious companion, Rory asked.

"2001 earth, some kind of greek city in the sky above the empire state building." The Doctor noted in an instant, couldn't help noticing things. "Different earth than what you're used to, I can tell you that much."

"Doctor, what are you talking about, there's nothing there." Amy said. She peeked out of the Tardis. "No City in the sky, we're floating 600 meters in the air."

The Doctor flitted his head between Amy and the clearly real floor, Amy, floor. "Amy, c'mon, it's there, meet the completely trustworthy and stable floor."

Amy tenatively took a step out of the Tardis. Her foot slipped through the floor, and then she was falling.
THe Doctor screamed, "Nevermind, do not trust the floor, evil floor."

*I am the Doctor* The Doctor thought of that particular song, that one Murray Gold had composed for him. He repeatedly stomped his foot on the floating stone that he stood on. "Rory, catch!" The Doctor threw his sonic to Rory, "Use it on the console, point and think remember."

Again and again, rapidly he stomped, Amy was getting dangerously close to the Empire State building's spire. The Doctor stomped, harder than most of his lives ever had.
Amy was almost impaled, yet the spire shifted due to tall buildings not standing entirely straight, by 6 feet, he had a couple more meters to work with.
The stone caught up, and the Doctor slowed down the pace of his stomping, as he held Amy in his arms. a complete stop would kill both of them instantly.

Inches from the roof of the Empire state building, The Doctor and Amy started rising again.

The Tardis, beside the Doctor, welcomed Amy inside.

"Amy, are you alright?" Rory asked. Amy nodded. "Brilliant!" she smiled. "Doctor, why did Amy fall through the stone?" Rory asked. Interesting he could see the stone. "You can see it?" The Doctor said. Rory slowly nodded. "Of course I can."

"The question is, why couldn't Amy?" The Doctor wondered. "Amy, stay here in the Tardis, Rory, you're with me, we'll investigate this city, together."

The Doctor wiped his forehead. "I'll be back in a moment." he said.

Amy's smile melted from her face, "Okay."

Chapter Text

The Doctor strolled one step at a time, Rory followed behind. The Floor would not give out, but the fun was in pretending it could. Pillars supporting an impossibly high roof, something more than physical was going on here. It was yellow and aged, yet clean. Bronze braziers filed with flames that resembled the force of life itself, something the Doctor had only seen on Karn before...

"Doctor where are all the people?" Rory asked.

Rory was right, this place did not look abandoned in the slightest. Bar nanobots, which the Doctor severely doubted, those things were finicky, this place should not be this pristine. Not even a worker robot in sight. "Maybe it's like a summer home." The Doctor answered, judging by the temperature, slightly below whatever the air conditioning was trying to achieve, indicated winter. That and the snow outside on the clouds.

There was a vase, lovely vase embossed with people in togas, dancing about. Everything looked greeker and greeker to the Doctor. The pillars, greek, the floor, greek. This vase, now this vase, What would happen if he vandalized this vase?

The Doctor, not trying to be subtle at all lifted the vase and hurled it across the room.

The shattering that followed, echoed off the polished floor.

Rory gasped. "What- what, did you do that for?" Rory stared at the Vase which spilled a golden nectar.

Rory bent down to touch it, "Stop!" The Doctor yelled. "That could be dangerous, more dangerous than anything." Rory hesitated.

"Rory, think about it, if this is a summer home, one grand as this must face thieves and vandals all the time." The Doctor explained, though some thought wasn't coming to him yet, what what was he missing. "So, what better way to check, than to test the security?" Rory nodded slowly, why was he scared? Ah that.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can handle security." The Doctor adjusted his bowtie.

"But-" The Doctor put a finger to Rory's lips. ""Hush, something's in the air." Love perhaps? Wrong! A burning \ brighter than a lightbulb, but less bright than a star.

A flash of energy that would incinerate any human who looked on it, appeared behind Rory.  "Rory, whatever you do, don't turn around." The Doctor said. Rory, stiff as a plank, obeyed.

The light faded, slowly. A woman in a shawl, and wearing a veil, was before them.

"Who are you?" She asked.  The woman was warm to the eyes. Resembling the virgin Mary really. still something was off about how she moved, as if she wasn't truly there at all. It was in the way her lips moved, how her shawl moved like the floor was halfway there.

"Doctor is it safe to look?" Rory asked, and also answered the woman's question. The Doctor nodded, "I'm certain it's safe."

"Yes it is, pretty sure." The Doctor nodded. "Hullo, I'm the Doctor, and this is Rory- Rory Pond?" The Doctor looked to Rory for confirmation. Names were tough, especially marriage.

"Rory Pond." Rory said. He looked ready to bolt he did. Knees shaking ever so slightly, eyes firmly on the woman. Hands hunched at his sides.

"You have invaded Olympus, to break a vase." The woman, probably Hestia at this point, context clues did matter, raised an eyebrow. The Doctor grinned. "Sorry about that, Miss... Hestia was it?" Hestia blinked.

"I am, yet You are unused to gods." Hestia smiled. "Or else you would know better than to hurl a pitcher from it's place." she reasoned.

"Did, that woman just claim to be capital g God?" Rory pointed at Hestia. "Even when I was a roman, I didn't believe in those things." Rory stammered. The Doctor shook his head, honestly the man didn't know his own beliefs.

"Rory, Rory, this is just a guess, but being forced to participate in that culture... may have absorbed itself into your consciousness. If we're to believe our eyes, then yes Gods are real." The Doctor diagnosed. It left a bitter taste in his mouth to know that somewhere, Gods existed.

"Why did you break the vase?" Hestia asked again, unwilling to get sidetracked, though she gazed at Rory suspiciously, the Doctor saw something flickering in her eyes.

"To call security, maybe do a little running, I love running, don't you?" The Doctor said, being the goddess of the Home and Hearth, Hestia probably didn't like running.

Hestia looked to be literally weighing several facts in her hand. "Olympus is in a meeting, I will bring you before the council to decide your fate." She said simply..

"Love a good council." The Doctor's smile didn't reach his eyes. He snuck a glance at Rory who seemed terrified. Hestia noticed of course, what kind of God wouldn't? He mouthed, ' I have a plan'

Rory nodded. Hestia chuckled.

Chapter Text

Hestia led Rory and the Doctor up the mountainous city, an open yet mazelike set of domains. Domains of flowers, Domains of laughter and satyrs, nymphs, and what the Doctor assumed were godlings. A particular Domain that smelled like petty wars and bloodshed... it screamed pointless glory to the Doctor, and electricity, many many clouds of pure electrons without an atom in sight.

If that wasn't important, the Doctor was a wacky sort of chicken. A chicken with two hearts a screwdriver, a metric ton of allies... oh and a blue coop.

"Doctor, what are you even thinking?" Rory asked, a smile must have crept onto the Doctor's face. Hestia was right there, but but but, would this information be best hidden or shared, Hestia could tell him of what ever strange things were going on here. Or imply them through actions.

"Have you noticed the excess of electrons in the air here?" The Doctor decided. "Electrons? what are those? I'm the goddess of the home and hearth, not of science." She didn't know then, then whatever had created that mass was also unknown to her, or had slipped under her nose.

The Doctor clasped his hands. "Somebody, or something, has caused a reaction in the air, can't you feel all those loose electrons zipping about, clinging to your omniscient skin?" he said. Rory paled, suddenly afraid of the air around him. "Wouldn't there be radiation?" he asked. Hestia had chosen to remain silent, however there was a look of recognition in her face, as she brushed off her skin.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, but this place, it's restorative, there's not enough damage to hurt us immediately, so we're being healed before we notice." At least that was his runnign theory on why nothing was going wrong with their skin, making them mutate into unsightly creatures.

Hestia cursed in Greek. "that fool!" she started to march faster, and the Doctor found himself running to keep up with the woman, who was growing taller and taller by the second. Rory rushed after the Doctor following in his footsteps.

Through dining areas stuffed to the brim with nectar and ambrosia, and chocolate fountains, couldn't forget those, and long stairways aside a snowy mountain, the Doctor ran. Until eventually... Hestia made it to a set of doors, where an audience of godlings watched through a gap in the wall.

This was it. Time to put on a show. he adjusted his bowtie, and before Hestia could even think open the arrive, the Doctor pushed the grand set of doors open.

"Hello there, counsel." Inside the room were twelve very large seats, about 3 tall, a variety of decorations adorned them, fishing poles, grapes that the Doctor could smell from here, disgusting wine. That smell mingled with the smell of the soul, of death and rebirth, with perfume, bronze, and of blood which also smelled of bronze.

A small boy, couldn't be older than 12, knelt at the feet of the fisherman's throne. The Doctor could see he was struggling, but why?

"Woah." Rory said simply, out of breath, his chest heaved. Hestia stared at the Doctor, as she took her seat. Her look said 'you're getting what's coming to you, clever boy'

"So this is the disturbance." Someone the Doctor assumed was Zeus said. "Such disrespect in a single hour, first the boy, and then you."

"It is only right that he defers to his father." The Doctor assumed the god was Poseidon, he did not like where this was going.

“You still claim him then?" Zeus asked, menacingly. “You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"

"Zeus I have admitted my wrongdoing." Poseidon said. "Now I would hear him speak."

Something in the Doctor snapped. The child was struggling, not because of the weight of gods around him, but because he felt unloved. "Wrongdoing?" The Doctor muttered under his breath. The world felt so far away right now. So far far away.

He was plotting, gears turning like 60 in his mind. It felt like the eleventh hour, where every false good had it's wool torn off, to be revealed for the terrified people they were. Yes these gods were terrified, not of losing the child, no he was expendable, they were more concerned about speaking under a veil of lies to placate one another.

The Doctor, waited, and plotted.

"And what of the other disturbance? A mortal on Olympus?" A god that the Doctor assumed to be Hephaestus. The gods seemed to be in various states of distress as if this meeting had been impromptu for the rest of them.

"Let us consult with the Fates." Poseidon said.

Because they had forseen this, the Fates entered the room holding a ball of yarn. No not a ball of yarn, a ball of timey wimey strings. Potential futures.

Their eyes landed on the Doctor, and the Doctor laid eyes on them. They looked ready to bolt, as if afraid.

"They're afraid? Why?" Apollo asked. He covered his eyes. and started mumbling, restarting his sentence over and over and over.

The Doctor, waited, and plotted. And then he spoke.

"They're afraid because..." The Doctor started slowly, he had to time this perfectly.

"I'm the Doctor, I have torn down planets, rebuilt futures, I heal time and space, and you, 'Gods' have made your last child cry. Basically, run." Zeus stood, Fist shaking, the lightning bolt glowing hotter and hotter. The Doctor held up his sonic screwdriver.

"You know nothing, Die." He said, simply.

The Doctor ignored the angry god.

"Doctor? What are you doing?" Rory asked, just as afraid as the Fates were.

A blue box smashed through the gap in the wall displacing several godlings.

"Summoning our ride, c'mon Rory, and you too kid." The Doctor waved to child, he wouldn't survive staying here. A snap of his fingers and the Tardis doors were open. The Doctor, Rory, and the child stepped inside. The flash behind htem dispersed the Tardis, but not the dimensions inside.

"Doctor... who's the kid?" Amy asked.

Chapter Text

"Ah, him, well I, don't know actually." The person claiming to be... the Doctor said.

"Percy... Jackson." I said. I kept my hand in my pocket. The Doctor sounded happy. I couldn't help liking him, even though someone like him was a Greek monster that Annabeth would warn me about.

"Percy, percy, percy, short for Perseus? Right? right." The Doctor looked at my face funny before clapping his hands, and walking over to the table... that had a glass pillar. The Pillar was working, up and down, and making this grating noise.

"Hello, I'm Amelia- Amy Pond." A redheaded woman in a wedding dress and a strange accent said. A British accent. I had watched TV, before Gabe caught me going to the store front, and demanded I be home sooner.

"And I'm her husband, Rory." Rory looked at the Doctor. "That alien in a bowtie is the Doctor."

"Alien? not greek? and definitely not a monster?" I asked. Rory sighed, he looked like an onlooker at a car crash, so fascinated that he couldn't look away. Later I would discover this described Rory and the Doctor's relationship perfectly.

"He's a good man, used to be my imaginary friend when I was a little girl." Amy looked at the Doctor like she was my mother remembering my father. She was in love with her imaginary friend... but she was married? I turned red.

Amy looked smug as a said, "How are we still alive?" I asked the Doctor. "You made Zeus mad. He was shaking his fist." I pointed at him. "None of us should be alive right now." I didn't like that a god could blast us all if we said something stupid, but the Doctor had done that been blasted, and lived. I was alive too.

"T-A-R-D-I-S, Tardis, Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Percy, you're on a time machine. Got there and got out, right as Gods decided to blast us. I used the screwdriver on it earlier, so it smashed right in." What did a screwdriver have to do with a time machine? The Doctor winked as he pulled a lever on the table. "Now where, where in all of time and space would you like to go?"

All of time and space? "Montauk, Summer, twelve years ago." I said. That was when my father, Poseidon had left my mother. "Really? Montauk? Percy, you have the whole wide universe." The Doctor looked at me, he was an old old adult, that was using pity to say, 'You don't want that'.

I clenched my fist, stood tall, and stared the Doctor straight in the eye."I want to see my Dad... before this happened, and ask him how he felt." The Doctor frowned, but his voice was still the same bouncy one he'd used to anger the gods.

"Right then. Montauk, Summer, 1989." The Doctor said. The lever that he previously flipped up, was in a down position now, he fiddled with all sorts of switches and levers, before finally the same grating whirring from before.

There was a thump, and The Doctor leapt to the door. Amy, still in her wedding dress, and Rory in his suit and tie followed the Doctor out onto a sunny beach. I stayed behind for a second before following. Amy's veil trailed on the sand.

"POSEIDON!" The Doctor yelled, hands cupped around his mouth. The Doctor had found my father already? I scanned the beach, looking for my-

"Who are you?" The voice of my father swished through the air. "Hello, I'm the Doctor, and a very lucky kid wants to meet his father." The Doctor grasped Poseidon's hand and shook it.

"My..." Poseidon looked at me, and froze. "Yes... Perseus."

The Doctor looked between me and my Dad, he was ready to spring into action.

"Hi... father." I said.

"Perseus, how have you travelled back in time? Only my father Kronos can do that. This man worries me." Poseidon said. I looked back at the Doctor, that man seemed to cheerful to be Kronos. I gripped Riptide in my pocket.

"Oh, time machine, you know, 11th dimensional physics and all that." The Doctor said, slowly backing up. Amy and Rory were too.

"Peace, if there is one thing I know about my father, it is that he doesn't run." The Doctor perked up at that, and did a little jump on his toes.

"Lovely, Lovely... speaking of Love, do you love your son." The Doctor said to Poseidon, going past any form of respect. He looked less human in that moment, more threatening.

Dad didn't say anything at first.

"I cannot admit that." He said simply, I felt tears prick at my eyes. It didn't make sense, it didn't make sense!

The Doctor, however accepted the answer like a summer cloud. Like it didn't exist.

"I said, do. you. love. your. son." His tone was dangerous.

"I must protect him." Poseidon said, coolly.

The tears dried a little, but I still felt hurt, why couldn't he say it?

"I see, come along Percy, he said he loves you." The Doctor said, and the tension in the air blew away in the wind.

"What?" I asked the Doctor.

Rory was the one to answer, strangely. "He can't admit it, because..." He looked to the Doctor for help, the Doctor mouthed something. "It would put you at risk to be attacked." Rory finished.

"Oh." I said, I trotted back to the Tardis, disappointed, warm, conflicted, loved, unsafe.

"Bye dad."

Poseidon, even though he was the god of the sea, didn't even wave.

Chapter Text

The Doctor, inside the Tardis asked Percy an important question. "Do you believe your father?" It was plausibly deniable that the father did not love Percy. However! it was just as plausible that admitting love would be like a beacon for monsters, The Doctor knew some names had that power.

Percy shrugged. "You know? It just hurts that he can't say it to my face. He's been missing from my life all this time, and when he shows up, I can't tell how he feels." The Doctor sighed. When Percy asked him to go 12 years back he became afraid of this exact thing. 12 years for a 12 year old like Percy, so logically, he wanted to see his parents. The Doctor saw a boy, standing at the bottom of the steps, eyes unfocused wondering.

Amy knelt by Percy's side, talking at his height. The Scottish red head brushed her hair out of her face.

"Look, Percy." Amy began. "One thing I learned when my parents were erased from all time, was that even though they're not there, they're always going to be part of your life." Amy swallowed. Percy looked at Amy questioningly.

"Erased from all time?" Percy asked, Amy nodded, grains of sand broke free of her wedding dress.

"Yes, from all time, I grew up with a crack in my bedroom wall, things in my life tended to go missing, my parents, my uncle... I couldn't remember them at all, it scared me to death. when the Doctor disappeared after looking at the crack in my wall, I thought he was gone too." Amy shot him a pointed look, she still hadn't forgiven him for making her wait.

"I did come back." The Doctor said. Amy nodded, "And you brought my parents back with you." She smiled. "I haven't thanked you for that yet, have I? Thank you."

Percy stayed quiet, wasn't right that, children were meant to talk and talk, "Percy, I promise-" The Doctor drew in a deep breath, this was a big one. "I promise that you won't... That, you won't shed tears because of your father again." Nothing witty would convince Percy, the Doctor saw that, so genuine it was.

Percy frowned for a split second... then it vanished. "Ok Doctor, do your best." Percy was challenging him.

The Doctor laughed and scrambled for a change of subject. This stuff was too dramatic.

"So, the Gods yeah, they have more children, than just you?"Obviously there were, the gods in greek mythos couldn't keep their hearts to themselves. Percy nodded. "You haven't heard of Camp Half-blood? it's safe there." Percy said.

"But there's a problem at home, Gabe, my step father. I think he's hitting mom, Sally." Percy said. Rory gasped. "That's horrible." he said.

Amy whipped her head towards the console. "Doctor can we do anything?"

The Doctor flipped a lever, fiddled with switches. "Of course we can!" He said with a big smile.

"Lets go chase out your nasty stepfather." The Doctor said. The Tardis whirred, groaning.

With a thud, the Doctor could hear shouting. "What in the name of-" The Doctor stepped out of the Tardis... onto a billairds table.

"Who the hell are you?" A man, that stunk to high heaven asked. The Doctor felt the pain of his nose wrinkling too much.

"I'm the Doctor, I assume you must be Gabe," The Doctor said. "What the hell is your box doing on my Poker table." Out of the corner of his eye the Doctor detected a flash, unnatural, smelled of something slightly acidic and sweet, sort of red or green, he could barely detect it over Gabe.

A potbellied man, covered in stains of... was that Pepsi? sat at the table.

"Hello? I'm talking here!" Gabe yelled.

"I hear, you've been hitting Sally Jackson... so lets have a bet, if you win, you get this time machine, goes anywhere in time and space... and if you lose, you vacate the premises and never speak of Sally Jackson again.

"And why should we play you?" The Pepsi man asked. Yep definitely a god of some kind. Now if he could just figure out which on had followed him. He seemed amused.

"Yeah why should I play for your stupid time machine?" Gabe asked, as if this god was someone he trusted. The Doctor knew for a fact that there was some memory modification going on here.

"With this time machine you could end wars, rule the stars, have a great big party... you a-ny-where you want." The Doctor put extra persuasion into the word anywhere. Gabe frowned. Pepsi man was intrigued. "A party you say, then we must play."

The god in disguise waved his hand, and the Tardis floated off the table. Gabe blinked, yet didn't mention anything strange. Definitely some kind of perception filter. Amy and Rory exited the Tardis, along with Percy...

"We play too." Amy said.

"You three can even the odds as a single player... Me and Gilbert versus you four. Now let's begin our game.' The god said.

"Do your worst, the dipstick." the god said, not even bothering to misremember the Doctor's title in capital letters.

Chapter Text

The hands were dealt. In the center was the Ace of Spades and the King of Hearts. With his Ace of Hearts and his 2 of hearts, funny how things work out, having two hearts and all. He frowned, nothing could defeat his hand. it would be a full house.

Rory, Amy and Percy took one look at their cards and held a silent conversation. Amy and Rory were doing a better job, Amy especially. Percy struggled to keep up with the raised eyebrows, judging form the looks of things.

Gabe's eyes were wide and glossy, his breathing was slow and relaxed, more relaxed than a room that smelled like second hand smoke would allow. Funny one of his cards was spotless... The Doctor looked back at his hand, one of his cards was covered in smudges.

The God on the other side of the table's hand was as dirty as Gabe's, one clean card, one covered in imperceptible crumbs and stains. His expression was unreadable.

"All in." The Doctor said. "Percy?" Gabe was the dealer, and the Doctor was left of the dealer, Percy was left of him.

"Check...?" Percy said. Rory nodded, "Check." They were passing their turn without betting anything or forfeiting.

"Check." Gabe said, interesting they were all checking. Perhaps he had been too confident.

"Check." The God said... The name was on the tip of his tongue.The God flipped over the next two community cards. King of Spades, and King of Diamonds.  Gabe blinked too late to be natural.

The God was as inscrutable as ever.

Rory, and Amy looked to be telling Percy no, it was in the way they shook their heads, blatantly obvious.

"Call." The Doctor matched his own bet, the only way anybody else could beat his hand was if they had an Ace and a higher card Only three others existed. And only two would match the Kings on the table.

"Check." Rory said for Percy, who looked upset.

"Call." Gabe said, he was confident too, what a risky move. The Doctor worried for a moment, Gabe may have An ace of Diamonds and a 3 of diamonds or higher.... But the Doctor had the distinct impression that Gabe was a lousy better.

"Call." The God said, He was holding out for the last card, hoping for a way to win, The God's stench had gotten stronger.

The final card was revealed to be the King of Clubs. The Doctor started to plan an escape route.

"Call." All or nothing.

"hold on, something's not right here, Check." Amy said.

"I dunno seems fine to me." Gabe said. "Call."

"Call." the God said, ending the game.

They revealed their hands.
the God had the Ace of clubs, and the two of Clubs.

Gabe had the Ace of Diamonds and the two of Diamonds.

Amy and Rory had the two of spades and the Ace of spades.


"Somebody cheated! It was you!" Gabe Roared at Amy and Rory. Percy shrunk back in his seat slightly, before adjusting himself to look Gabe straight in the eye.

"Oh, well, you cheated, your time machine is mine now." the God said, as if it was boring.

"Hold on just a minute! We knew from the start there was a fifth ace!" Percy said. Amy nodded. "And we checked every time, Why would we be the cheaters?"

"What? no." Gabe waved his hand dismissively.

"But we all tied, isn't that suspicious too?" Rory said

"They're right you know, none of us had the opportunity to mess with the Deck, I would say it was you, but it's more than likely that these cards have been in the Deck for a little while now." The Doctor said. "In fact," the Doctor said, acting on a hunch. He flipped the Deck of cards over. spilling them everywhere, and sure enough there were.

"Three more Aces, all with the same amount of wear as the other cards in the deck." The Doctor said decisively.

"So what?" Gabe rolled his eyes. "You still cheated."

"so!" The Doctor pointed to The supposed cheat. "Amy, Rory, and Percy, have the only legitimate ace, native to the deck. These clean ones were added a day or two ago, judging by their freshness, not quite new car smell is it?" The Doctor said. "So all of our bets are meaningless, and The Ponds and Percy win by default."

The god stared at the Doctor sharply. "I see why you are a man to be feared now, Doctor, fine I shall uphold his end of the bargain." The god said, Gabe was soon replaced by a bunch of grapes.

"Change him back." The Doctor said. "Change HIM BACK!"

"Oh, so you want it that way?" The god, Dionysus said. "Fine, he'll be drunk and get amnesia, never remembering this place again. "

The Doctor seethed. "Into the TARDIS. Now!"

Percy and the Ponds complied.

Chapter Text

The Doctor jammed his finger into a button on the Tardis console... "Ow!" And then proceded to flip several levers, all making bangs and bumps, right now, he cared little for where he'd end up.

"Doctor, what's the matter?" Rory asked, The Doctor analyzed Rory's face, eyebrows raised, it looked hunched protectively on itself, "We got the man out of Percy's life, right? What are you so furious about?"

The Doctor wiped his face with his hand. "Look Rory, it's not just that, it's that... The gods of this planet, world, skewed dimension- are just like that man we defeated."

"Planet? Skewed Dimension? Do you mean this isn't Earth?" Amy asked, stomping toward the Doctor in her wedding dress. "I'm pretty sure that was the Empire State Building I almost got skewered on."

Percy sighed, "Welcome to the club, Of course it's Earth.... Right?" He fidgeted with his orange shirt... his dirty orange shirt, and his eyes looked far away.

The Doctor waved his hand up and down in a non commital gesture. "Eh." And flipped a few more levers on the console for good measure. "Doesn't matter, Right then, where are we headed next?" The Doctor's face covered in a smile, hiding the fangs of a bad wolf. Metaphorically speaking of course, he wasn't THE BAD WOLF...

Oh Rose...

Any way!

"We're headed to the camp right, what was it's name again?" Amy's dress caught on a bit of metal sticking out. "And I need to get out of this bloody thing." She said as she tore the dress free... gently, she didn't want to ruin it. Rory looked down at his suit and bowtie, "Same here."

"But the bowtie!" The Doctor said, rushing around the console to snatch it off of Rory's neck.

"What's this about? One minute he's all angry, and the next, he's cradling... that." The Doctor indeed cradled a bowtie and whispered sweet nothings to it. The Doctor's smile stretched wider. "Oh? Don't worry about it." The Doctor said, ignoring how the muscles on his face inclined him to frown.

Amy looked Percy straight in the eye. "He's... hiding."

Percy shifted his feet, "Oh..." A a tiny smile tried to appear on his face too. Percy turned to the railing, and gripped it tight. "We're going to Camp Half Blood right? It's on Long Island. Annabeth probably knows the address" Then his eyes went wide. "Oh no, I left Annabeth and Grover at the Empire State Building!"

The doctor happily undid all his previous lever flips, button pushes, and knob turnings. "Alright then, let's go pick them up shall we?" The Doctor was pretty sure, that the Empire state building would be in the same place right...?

And with a the sound of the Tardis brakes scraping against the time vortex, they were off. Really he needed to turn his brakes off... Not today though!

The Doctor stepped out of the Tardis, as fit as a fiddle,... and he'd landed them in an abandoned city, too far into Earth's future, no wait everyone was asleep? He heard snoring.

The Doors of the Tardis creaked behind him. "Doctor, this clearly isn't the right time, so can we please leave?" Rory said,

"But Rory!" The Doctor gestured at the sleeping city. It was a mystery.

Rory stared down the Doctor. "We could accidentally make it fact that Percy has been missing for years." He said bluntly.

The Doctor sighed. "Fine."

The Doctor stepped back into the Tardis, with one last look at the sleeping city... goodbye adventure.

The Tardis's brakes screamed.

And they were gone.

The next time they landed, The Doctor was met with a bronze weapon to his chest. "Why hello there!" He said to the blonde 12 year old. "I assume you must be Percy's friend?" He said.

"Where have you taken him? He's been missing for hours." The girl, Annabeth seethed as she pressed the knife closer to his hearts.

"Oh you know, a brief trip through space and time." The Doctor said flippantly. Annabeth's eyes widened.

"Kronos?!" And the knife cut through the Doctor...  The Doctor stumbled out of the way, grapsing for whatever could prevent him from falling. He gripped some fabric... For a moment he worried that he would regenerate but...

It passed through, like it didn't exist at all. "Clearly not." The Doctor said, knives were meant to be deadly right?

Awful, just Awful. Annabeth immediately punched his gut, and as the Doctor keeled over, ran straight for a real lamp to throw at him, The Doctor presumed. "He's mortal!" A boy said, he had goat legs, like a satyr perhaps? And his pants were on the floor, had he pulled them down?

"Woah, what's going on out here?" Amy said as she exited the Tardis... with Percy.

Percy blinked. "Wow. You work fast." He stared at he Doctor hunched over his stomach, eyes flitting to Annabeth briefly once or twice as she held the lamp threateningly.

"Your friend here delivers a mean punch." The Doctor winced. "I'm here to take you back to Camp HalfBlood, would you like that?" He said as if offering candy to a baby.

Annabeth almost threw the lamp then and there.

"Yes, we'd very much like that." The other boy interrupted. The Doctor looked at the boy with goat legs gratefully.

"Why is that boy in his underwear?" Amy asked.

"He's not in his underwear, he's a faun." Rory said. "I assume this is like when you fell through that stone?" He tilted his head towards the Doctor.

The Doctor nodded.

The boy flushed. "She can't see through the mist...? How did you even kidnap Percy from olympus?"

"Oh you know, go exploring, get caught, threaten the gods, the works." The Doctor said with a smile. The Goatboy shut his eyes tight. "Di immortales!"

People in the lobby were starting to gather around the strange scene, of a girl holding a lamp threateningly, a boy in his underwear, a man and woman dressed for a wedding, and a british police box. "Now I say it's time we leave, wouldn't you?"

Annabeth and who the Doctor assumed was Grover, piled into the Tardis.

"It's bigger on the inside." Grover said, Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Of course it is." She said.

And the people were left with one last strange sight, of that police box fading from view.

Chapter Text

The TARDIS must have looked strange to the summer camp, an old british police box, whirring and groaning into existence, must have made several demigods take arms. The Doctor pitied that as he saw the children haphazardly armed with bronze. Some of them even in pajamas.

"Why hello there! I am the Doctor, and I have some very lucky campers with me..." Percy and his friends did not exit from the TARDIS. "Percy that's your cue." The Doctor whispered as loudly as he could. Some of the less jaded campers lowered their weapons, others raised them higher...

The first to exit the Tardis was Amy. "Doctor... are those weapons? I can't be sure, they look like pens and rings held threateningly so I assume they are." 

The Doctor nodded. "Yes Amy those are weapons... now if you could fetch Percy for me?" The Doctor smiled nicely. Amy rolled her eyes. Whispering broke out among the camp.

'Who is he?"
"Is that woman really a mortal?"
"I want to steal that box."

At last Percy and friends exited the Tardis, with Rory, Amy in tow. Campers broke into cheers and sneers. 

"Annabeth where have you been? It's been weeks!" A camper with a beautiful posture said. "I burned your shroud personally by the way." Annabeth shook her head.

"I'm not dead Drew." Annabeth said flatly. "And it's only been a couple hours since we were at olympus."

*SNORT* "Hours? Okay, now we know we're hallucinating right?" "Absolutely."

"Knock it off." Percy said. "We came here in a time machine, big deal if we're late."

"Time machine? It sounds so stupid, it may be true." A girl with the face of a bully said. Her sarcasm melted the grass beneath her feet. Mean and harsh eyes... child of Ares?

"Alright I don't know what beef you have with Percy over here... just cut it out." Amy made flipped some hair out of her face. The girl used her meanest look on Amy... and Amy responded with a look that would have made a swearing scottish sailor run for the hills.

"Fine... mortal." The girl said.

"I'll have you know spear girl, that she's a brilliant wife!" Rory said, the girl flushed, 
"And an excellent kisser!" The Doctor added, Rory shot him a dirty look, but that tactical decision defused the tension, The campers started to laugh.

"What is all this commotion?" 

The campers stopped laughing, on the hill was a centaur. Trainer of heroes, Chiron. The respect they gave him was so palpable that... "Doctor, how did that horse make them go silent?"

Rory facepalmed. "It's a centaur, Amy."

"Ahem." Chiron coughed. "What are you doing here with mortals and dead heroes...?" The centaur asked the Doctor.

"Hello I'm the Doctor, and I'd like to have a word about your training policy."

"Follow me." Chiron said.

And so Amy found herself following a horse...?

Chapter Text

The Doctor adjusted his bow-tie. He felt like inserting a slight pause between bow and tie about now. Felt right. If Chiron were to look at him with wise old eyes, he'd see the Doctor assessing every escape route while judging the strawberry fields, the wall of lava and the big house that they were approaching.

'You know a big wall of Lava seems like a safety hazard." The Doctor said.

The house The Doctor entered was big and fancy, and dusty.... enough said.

Chiron's rear-end collapsed in on itself as it folded itself into a chair. "It's perfectly safe, I assure you, campers only get minor burns, and we heal those fast."

"The centaur... where did his legs go?" Rory said, oh Rory, so easily surprised. Part of why the Doctor liked Rory.

"Centaur? Rory we've been following a man in a wheelchair... is that wheelchair his rear end?" Amy backed up suddenly not trusting the wheelchair.

"Ah so the perception filter is retroactive then... good to know." and then without missing a beat the Doctor turned his voice to Chiron.

"But why would you need a wall of Lava? Why get hurt?"

"There are monsters in this world-" Chiron started.

"I know, I've defeated many a monster under the bed, creepers in the night, conquerors, The political Masters." The Doctor waved his hand dismissively.

"Doctor, I have the distinct impression that we aren't referring to the same monsters." Chiron let his chin rest on his hands. "So you're a hero?"

The Doctor flushed... "No no no, very much no, I'm a madman who stole a box. What gave you the impression that I was a hero?" The Doctor smiled, thinly. 

"Doctor, of course you're a hero!" Amy shouted, just as flustered as the Doctor. "No need to be humble."

The Doctor shook his head. "Amy, I'm making a point."

"You fight monsters, you gave the camp hope by returning Percy..."

There it was there it was! "And that's the sticking point! Hope!"

"This world doesn't need monsters or heroes, it needs hope" The Doctor said.

Chiron opened and closed his mouth, "O-of course, but where is the hope without heroes to fight evil?" His eyes flitted about the room taking in the irrelevant furniture.

"Hope is change everlasting, it's what drives a man to protect his wife in a world without stars." The Doctor said. "Sorry I know that sounds rubbish."

"Rubbish? Absolutely, not every person has that. Only heroes..." Chiron's gaze drifted to Rory.

"Doctor... why are we here?" Rory asked.

The Doctor smiled. "To drop Percy and his friends off! I still need to keep my promise. We'll leave soon."

"Promise?" Chiron rolled closer. "Did you swear an oath?"

"Oh nothing like that, a promise is enough. He'll never cry over his father again."

Chiron blinked. "I see...?"

The Doctor scoffed, this immortal was stuck in his ways... though he could see a spark in those eyes, working step by step through... thinking... thinking was terribly hard for anyone immortal, the price of progress was age and death after all... The Doctor thanked the stars for his capacity to regenerate after death... to live and learn.

"I still can't believe that man was a horse before." Amy held Rory's hand, and squeezed it, as they left the house.

"I can't believe he squeezed into that wheelchair." Rory responded.

Chapter Text

The instant Amy stepped out of the Tardis in her new orange shirt and too small jeans, she was hit by the smell of perfume. Machines played indistinct songs over eachother, dispensed tickets, were loud and flashy... Amy blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Doctor? Am I seeing the real deal here, because that looks like an arcade."

The Doctor stepped beside her. "Yes Amy, you are seeing the truth. RORY! Come out here and help your wife!" The Doctor shouted over the arcade's din. Several arcade goers shot the Doctor a dirty look. He smiled.

"Doctor, you don't have to shout. I was on my way already." Rory said, as he attempted to raise his pants just a little bit higher. "Why did they give me low risers?" He complained. as he winced. "Amy? Amy what's the matter?" Rory said to his wife who was clasping her hands over her mouth and jittering excitedly. "They have board games, look Rory, cluedo, scrabble, monopoly, yahtzee, cribbage." Rory and the Doctor whistled at the complicated structure of cardboard boxes towered in a quieter corner.

"That's massive!" Rory said. The Doctor seemed to be calculating in his head how the pile even stayed up, as Amy walked over to the pile. "Amy? what are you doing?" Rory asked, still tugging at his skinny jeans.

"I'm just lookin'" She said. Amy scanned the tower up and down. The game she was looking for was there just a minute ago? She'd have to settle for something else... Ah perfect, this one would do. The smooth cardboard felt nice under her fingers as she carefully pulled a box from the arch. Rory and the Doctor stepped back. The structure tilted by a small amount but did not collapse.

"What? obviously if they have all these board games, somebody's gonna play them." she held up the box and tilted it side to side in front of her displaying it excitedly. "c'mon just a quick game of Monopoly?" She pleaded. Rory and the Doctor shared a look. Her  husband was the first to step forward. "Alright, let's get it set up."

The Doctor gazed back and forth between Amy and Rory, he pointed a finger between the two of them. "Monopoly? Seriously? That game takes forever, and when I say it takes forever, I mean FOREVER!" He said.

Amy shrugged."C'mon Doctor, join the fun." She shook of the lid, and carefully set up the pieces. On the board. "That's odd... where's the money?" She said as she dug around in the sheets of paper of the box... Something thin and plastic brushed her hand. "That's a credit card... must be a fancy version of monopoly." Rory said, the Doctor's eyebrows shot up. 

"Give me that," He said as he snatched a card from Amy. He scanned it with his sonic screw driver as Amy found the card reader.

"Alright, let's roll for first." Amy said as she rolled the Dice, Rory rolled less than her... and the Doctor didn't roll at all. The Doctor shot instead her a look that meant 'Amy something funny is going on here' Amy shot a look back that said 'No it's perfectly fine.'

The Doctor suddenly grabbed her face. "Amy your pupils are impossibly wide right now, are you alright?" Amy smacked the Doctor's hand away."Course I am, now are you joining the fun or not?" Amy said, Rory nodded in agreement. "Yeah Doctor, are you?"

The Doctor sputtered, "Rory, your eyes too!" The Doctor held a finger to the air. He jammed it in his mouth. "That's funny, the perfume it's an emotional-aphrodisiac...  and where are the windows, and the clocks?"  He said... There weren't any windows in this room, that wasn't odd for an arcade was it? Amy shrugged it off He turned his eyes to the Ponds. "Rory, Amy we've got to get out of here, the longer we stay the harder it will be to quit."

"Ignore him. He obviously doesn't want to join." Rory said, Amy was in complete agreement.

The Doctor shook his head, right, right, two very helpful people, put out of commission, by a game of monopoly. Great. Time to start picking apart this puzzle.

Wait, two second ago, his eyes had flitted over someone extremely unhappy... that seemed impossible in a place full of perfumes meant to keep you happy... so the Doctor walked to investigate. A girl sitting on a bench, watching a kid play card games with another kid.

"Why are you unhappy?" The Doctor asked. the girl gripped her dress and scooted away from the Doctor.

"I mean you're right to be unhappy, but why?" The Doctor elaborated.

"It's not fair... not here with us" She said. The The Doctor plopped down beside her, giving her lots of space. "What isn't fair...? Who's not here?"

"I- can't remember." She said. "Sorry."

"That's alright, what's your name? I'm the Doctor?"

"My name's Bianca, Bianca Di Angelo."

The Doctor smiled. "Hello Bianca. Is that kid over there your brother?" He asked.

"Yeah. I have to watch him all the time, and I can't convince him to go to bed most of the time. It's strange, he's barely said a word to me this whole week." Bianca rambled. The Doctor nodded. "I'll see if I can do something about that," He stood to leave.

"Doctor? Where are you going?" Bianca said, her pupils were growing wide. "It was so fun talking to you." The Doctor nodded, poor girl, a simple conversation was enough to excite her and put her under whatever spell was going on here. "Then come along, I'm going to check outside." He said as he walked out the door.

Bianca glanced one last time at her brother, before following the Doctor outside.

Chapter Text

Following at arms length, He really seemed to care. That door to the outer world opened up, that sweet smell left the air. Sunlight shining on high, reflected off a black car. She took it in... buildings towering into the sky, how had they popped up overnight? How could it be? The Doctor twisted on the spot, on the edge of her mind it felt like she forgot, something important.

"The Lotus Hotel and Casino... Bianca how did you get here?" How did she? How could it be...? On the edge of her mind, something nagged, wasn't there something familiar?  Try as she might the thought escaped her tongue.

*click* A woman, dressed in leather with skin as dry as some sand. She stepped out into the world, out of the black... Sedan. "Bianca, getting some fresh air aren't you?" A voice crackled like hell, a sulfury nasty smell. BIanca recoiled from the woman's strut. Her eyes snapped up, She used those eyes to plead, "Doctor do you know this woman? I think she's a lawyer, you asked earlier how I got here, and that-" The woman nodded. "Is the answer."

"Uh- no. But hello, hello, it's nice to meet someone Bianca knows!" The Doctor smiled all the while, while squinting at the woman's clothes. "Bat leather, how exotic!" The Doctor exclaimed, as the woman rolled her eyes. "Not important at all." The woman said. She slid a finger under his chin. "I must respectfully ask that you leave Bianca alone, or I'll need to sue." she dragged her long nail like a knife. The Doctor smiled, and stood there calm, shouldn't he be fearing for his... life?

"You'd hardly need to sue... wouldn't you?" The Doctor laughed. "Quite a furious temper you have there... you haven't introduced yourself have you?"

"I'm Alecto, you're charmed I'm sure," She said quite terse.

"Alecto?" a nod.

"Like the Fury?" a nod.

"On Nico's cards?" a nod.

"Weird." Bianca said.

"its... not a coincidence Bianca, you should know that gods and monsters are real." Bianca shook her head, no, no no the Doctor must just have busted trust in reality. Alecto shared a look with her exasperated and worried. "Doctor..." Alecto sighed, dropping the poise she had earlier.

Maybe going outside with a strange man from a casino hadn't been her best idea. So Bianca ran inside.

The sweet smell was back now, it felt oddly comforting.

Nico and the boy he liked to spend time with were still playing cards... the match hadn't progressed at all.

It hadn't progressed at all.

Bianca found herself calling for the Doctor.

Bianca had been shocked at all the buildings... but he'd still detected some recognition of the street in Bianca's eyes. So when the Doctor heard her call out "Doctor!" slowly, it all clicked.

That building was a time distortion, that aphrodisiac had muddled his senses. Ignoring the woman that was clearly a Fury from hell, the Doctor rushed inside, excited. He heard the woman following behind him.

Might as well talk.

"Do you know who owns this place? You must have put in so much effort getting Bianca booked here." He said idly as the sliding doors opened.

"It's a Charity." Alecto said.

"What?" The Doctor said as he reached Bianca, asking both the Fury and Bianca different questions at once.

"Nico's usually so impatient with his cards-" Bianca started.

"It's a Charity, a Grace." Alecto said unhelpfully.

"Bianca, can you ask your brother if I can borrow his cards?" The Doctor asked Bianca. "Do you think something's wrong with the cards?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No- well, maybe, look I just need to check something."

Bianca's brother, Nico smiled. "Sure you can take a look at my cards!" He said with a toothy grin, unscarred by life at this age. *1

"Thank you so much." The Doctor said, he shuffled through the cards at a lightning pace, searching for the answer. Charity... it wasn't about the casino itself, it was a title.

Three Charities/Graces. Aglaea, Euphrosyne, Thalia. *2

Minor gods of the good things in life. Light, Joy, Blooming. Casinos were full of lights, caused a false kind of joy, lotuses were beautiful blooms.

The Doctor cupped his hands around his mouth. "I'd like to speak to the Managers!"

Chapter Text

The Doctor got MANY downright disgusted looks for shouting over the hustle and bustle. Not that he cared one bit, something was wrong here, and he was going to fix it. He cupped his hands around his mouth again. "Aglaea, Euphrosyne, Thalia!"

...

...

but nobody came.

"Oh well that was worth a shot. C'mon Alecto, Bianca." Kicking off into the run, the Doctor dashed past tables where old men played black jack. Jogged through a dining area themed around the petals of the lotus.And straight into a door that was helpfully labelled staff only. "ow." The Doctor said as he stubbed his toe on the door. He flicked his wrist to extend his Sonic Screwdriver, and scanned up and down the door. Once the lock was found, The Doctor vibrated all of the bits and bobs that held it together apart. Pity wood was too absorbent to use his Sonic on.

"Doctor? Why are we breaking into the staff area?" Bianca asked. "Isn't that illegal?"

Alecto nodded. "If they don't sue, I will." She pointedly eyed the floor. Ah was she talking about the judgement of hell?

"Oh nonsense, the quickest way to see the staff, is to go where they are." The Doctor waved his hand around as he opened the door.

"This is a kitchen." Alecto stated the obvious. "An empty kitchen." Nobody was cooking in the kitchen, despite how busy the bar & grill outside was.

"A kitchen no cooks, curious." The Doctor said. He stepped towards the refrigerator. "Do they not cook it fresh?" He opened the doors.

"It's full of flowers!" Bianca said. She wrinkled her nose. "They must have a good reason for this, It's weird." Had she figured it out yet? The Doctor had an idea the instant he saw the flowers.

He cupped one in his hands. "Fish Fingers & Custard, Medium rare." Soon enough his hands were dripping with custard and fishfingers.... The smell, The smell! OH IF COULD JUST HAVE A TASTE!   The Doctor dove to lick his fingers, and analyze the substance. "I wouldn't! if I were you, Doctor." Alecto said.

The Doctor stopped, his tongue inches from one of his fingers. Not the fish ones.

"The Food of the Lotus Eaters is designed to keep one.... wanting." Alecto said. Slowly but surely, the Doctor retracted his tongue. He considered his options before scraping it off on the sink. Bianca moved to turn the sink handle and wash away the Doctor's favorite food, but he held up a hand. "Stop, I need to know what its made of." The old Sonic wasn't as good as tasting the chemicals directly, but it would have to do.

.bzwzwzwzwzwzwzwzwzwz.

The Doctor's eyes flew wide open, Alecto was right of course, but a single taste would have- "Doctor, what is it?" Bianca asked. The Doctor smiled the kind of smile that he'd give someone who was doomed. "It temporarily inhibits higher brain function, and leaves permanent damage after the effect wears off. Memory loss, motor function impairment, the works."

"Why do they feed it to the guests...?" Bianca trailed off. "Is that why I feel like something's missing?" The Doctor brushed Bianca's forehead with a finger. His mind brushed hers.

Alecto sucked in a sharp breath. The Doctor shook his head. "No, Bianca, you've been hit by something far worse." The Doctor looked to Alecto. "Bianca and her brother... you booked them for special treatment? Is this some punishment for what they did in their lives?"

Alecto laughed. "Far from it Doctor,"

"Then what?" The Doctor almost yelled.

Alecto smiled. "Not in front of the children... Doctor."

A loud chime, "Lunch is served." A bright and cheery voice said over the intercom. "Come and get it while it's free!"

"Amy...!" The Doctor dashed out the door.

Amy regretted picking was having SO MUCH FUN playing Monopoly.... Oh she could just play for hours and hours on end.


"Lunch is served, Come and get it while it's free!" An intercom rang.

"Free lunch? Amy, we've got to go try some." Rory said.

"Not so fast! We go when one of us wins." Amy said. Rory looked crestfallen. "But Amy! Free Lunch?"

She shook her head. "Rory, You're losing, and I'm not letting you cook up a plan over a meal."  Amy said.

Her stomach grumbled.

No. Rory would not beat her at Monopoly, not when she was finally winning!

A shadow stood over the board.

"Yes,*huff* Amy*huff* get that win!" The Doctor said while standing over the board.

She did not see the Doctor withdraw his Sonic screwdriver, and increase the cash on her and Rory's cards to astronomical levels. Because 1, The monitor only showed cash at the end of a turn. 2. She was focused on planning her next move.

Later she would thank the Doctor for the time he bought them.

Chapter Text

The Doctor skipped into the elevator, past the glass doors trimmed with gold. Bianca and Alecto followed him. "Why are we here Doctor?" Bianca asked.  The Doctor grinned.

"The first thing you should do in any elevator is what?" The Doctor couldn't stop shaking. Would she guess? Would she know instinctively?

"Push the floor for the button you want?" Bianca asked.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "No of course not. What would your brother do?" He flicked his Sonic and started to scan the interface. It needed a card... well he had a card.

Bianca eyed the nice carpet. "...He'd press them all, he did press them all." She admitted. The Doctor danced... badly.

"Yes! YES! YES!" He clapped... "Now I'm about to do that... and more." 

Alecto glared at him, her arms crossed in her leather jacket. "More...? You couldn't possibly...?" oh but he could! He started by jamming his finger into the plastic of each button so fast that they felt as stiff as rock instead of pliable as the actually were.

"And now for the last of them." The Sonic Screwdriver was thrust upon the panel... two circles of light lit up under the metal. At last he inserted his card.

Bianca gasped. "But... but but- we're on the ground floor!" Alecto shook her head as she watched the bits and bobs of flooring pass her by.

She turned her head towards the Doctor. Did she know her glare was so nasty? Maybe. "You don't cease to surprise." She said, curling her fingers.

The Doctor scoffed. "Oh that? That was a lucky guess, it just happened to be true," The Doctor leaned against the wall. "Now where does this lead? It sounded like you knew, Alecto."

"The Manager's floor." Alecto said. "It will be fun seeing what they do to you." She smiled like a sweet old lady that wished death upon him AND his grandaughter. The Doctor coughed. "And the other one?"  He said.

"Oh, I've never been troubled enough to go there..." She kept smiling.

The Doctor rolled his eyes again. He'd been doing that alot lately hadn't he? But as the glass doors showed the bright sterile floor beneath the building, The Doctor startled Bianca by pressing his face against the glass. There were so many varieties of flowers, Roses, Tulips, Potato flowers, Apple blooms.

"Thats...." Bianca said. The next thing she would have said was pretty but... A short plump woman who stood a head below the Doctor's height stepped into the elevator.

"Come this way!" She said as she jolly well strutted to  the desk. Her name tag read 'Euphrosyne'

"You're fat." Bianca said, concerned. "That can't be healthy for you at all. I think my school said people like you eat too much."*2 Alecto looked at Bianca alarmed... The Doctor could tell that it wasn't because Bianca was rude. Bianca had remembered just a little.

The Doctor didn't have to correct Bianca or stand up for the woman, because she said. "It's the way I am. I'm meant to be this way, aren't I? And I'm happy with it." Euphrosyne said. *1

"But-" Bianca said.

The Doctor glared. "She's right, some people are born to be healthier... and happier this way."  He said.

Euphrosyne coughed. "Enough about me... what are you here for dearies?"

The Doctor flashed a charming smile to the jolly woman. "I'd like to speak to the managers...?" He gestured at Euphrosyne. She smiled sweetly.

"You're looking at one of them... what may we do for you?" She said.

How to phrase this how to phrase this... "I'd like to shut this place down." The Doctor said. Euphrosyne's face fell and she sighed...

"Oh you're one of those people..." Her eyes shifted. "And here I thought you understood... denying others joy are you?"

She snapped her fingers. "Well we can fix that." From behind the desk two tall woman with undeniable but different beauty to match their sister stood, and snatched Bianca and the Doctor's hands.

Alecto laughed. "Thank you Euphrosyne." She held out her hand

Europhrosyne squinted her glinting eyes. "Oh you're getting lessons too dearie. Can't exactly forgive your work in the fields of punishment can we?"

Alecto's hand was shaken as she, the Doctor, and Bianca were taken down the hall.

Chapter Text

The glass underneath Bianca's feet exposed a colossal lotus. She couldn't see past the glass. Nobody with desires could. Not Alecto, not The Doctor, and especially not a scared ordinary girl.

Say perhaps if one's desires were forgotten? Then they might see a mist, with brief promises. That was what Bianca saw. Bianca heard cackling from the demon in the corner. The rambling from the madman about solving unhappiness with time. All while shouting how glad he was that everyone was safe. Bianca, our scared ordinary girl... Couldn't leave with the madman and the demon. not while Euphrosyne, Thalia and Aglaea were watching. Mind stuck, the mist just kept her wondering what was inside.

She had to smile so much her teeth hurt, and pretend to be entirely enamoured by the mist beneath her feet. Bianca did not dare look back. The Charities probably knew this wasn't working on Bianca, at least that's what Bianca's irrational mind said. The thought seemed rational, enough to keep staring at the floor.

“Look how she shivers at the sights, She's so overwhelmed, oh she needs us!” the woman with ratty hair, Aglaea said. She clasped her hands over her chest covered by black shirt, patterned with twinkling stars. Her rectangular glasses resting on her nose emphasized eyes eager to celebrate every single moment. That woman was eager to care, too eager. That did not help Bianca think.

“Are you sure dearie? Shivering isn't what I'd call delight.” Euphrosyne said, hands on her wide hips covered by maroon pants, A stormy grey sweater with yellow, almost white, sunbeams printed on the collar. horn rimmed glasses resting on her strong dimples. Dimples at the moment, that sagged just slightly.

”... Euphrosyne is right.” Thalia drawled. A floral dress patterned with flowers of all kinds, poofy shoulders that hid how relaxed she was. It was no ballgown, as evident by how it ended just below the knees striding into Bianca's view. “what do you see child?” Thalia gestured to the mist of desire. Bianca couldn't look into those soft eyes under those full moon glasses.

Oh bother.

“There's someone I don't know. He's with another person, I can't make out what they're doing together.“ Thalia blinked slowly. Bianca squinted at the mist. *1

“And...?” Thalia said.

“I hear a man telling me I'm... right to be unhappy.” Bianca said. “He shows me where I am. Tells me that I won't need to cry anymore.” Something clicked in Bianca's head. Waves of clean information overtake the mud. “He's right there.” Bianca pointed to the rambling madman.... The Doctor. He'd never told her she needn't cry in reality, but that was exactly what she wanted... no needed to hear. Her eyes were off of the floor now.

“That makes no sense child. Unhappy without crying somewhere in your heart?” Thalia said. “Yeah! It's never right to be unhappy!” Euphrosyne piped up. “There's so much to celebrate, how could you ever be dissatisfied?” Aglaea said. The Charities approached Bianca. They kept putting more and more noise into the air, objections, and indignation. It was overwhelming. Difficult to think. Bianca backed away from the trio closing in on her location.

Her eyes snapped back to the glass floor, looking for that same guidance that had cleared her mind. The desire for everything to stop silenced the Charities voices. The desire to be unhappy cleared her mind. The desire to stop this madness led her to call out for someone she just barely believed in.

“DOCTOR! HELP!” Bianca called. There was no time to feel embarrassed about it.

The Doctor snapped out of the reverie at the cry of a child. He briskly walked to the demon and punched her in the face. ”Alright then, I've had about enough of this re-education.” He kept his nose high in the air, like he was displeased. He tilted Alecto's face up to do the same. She wasn't a woman anymore. Bianca sighed in relief. The Charities gasped in shock.

“Alecto, wouldn't it be delightful for you if I tore this building down.” The Doctor said in a snobby voice. Alecto's mouth stretched into a chesire grin. “They've overstepped their domain. Punish them Doctor.” She said in a warbly strained voice.

“Alright then. Come along Bianca. Chin up, back straight, nose in the air.” The Doctor adjusted Bianca's posture without looking at her.“ The Doctor gently held her hand and guided her to the door... Which the Charities blocked off with their bodies.

“You still need more, You need to be happy!” Aglaea shouted. Euphrosyne was about to say something to the same effect but the deafening whoosh of Alecto's wings carrying The Doctor and Bianca over the women's heads was too deafening.

————

Amy's stomach gnawed... She couldn't put off lunch any longer... Rory would get his strategy in after all.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Chapter Text

The Doctor tapped his foot, Oh these doors needed to close! Alecto protected Bianca as she stood as far back in the elevator as she could. The Doctor had his tapping foot just beyond the elevator's sensors. That was the point that if the Charities crossed, well... escaping would become more complicated at the very least.

Thalia Euphrosyne and Aglaea, were powerwalking directly toward the elevator. He would think they would at least jog, but powerwalking was the way of these women. Wouldn't it be fun to...?

“Don't those angry gods look a tad slow?” The Doctor said to Alecto, Alecto glared at the Doctor as the Elevator doors inched closer together. ”They could be jogging, but I suppose that isn't as... relaxing? Yes relaxing, do you suppose that they don't realize we've almost escaped?” The Doctor said. Alecto mumbled under her breath.

The Doctor heard every last word, what interesting words they were, not for the child's ears of course.

The angry godesses rose up into the air and flew towards the elevator.

“Are you insane?!!” Bianca screamed, she was guarenteed to know wasn't she... after seeing him like that. The Doctor shrugged, which flowed into Checking an imaginary watch as the doors shut right in the charities faces. Their faces smushed against the glass of the doors.

A tense moment passed before the elevator started moving up.

“There!” The Doctor spun in the elevator “Now, we only need to smash that great big flower, and we'll be off scot free!” 

“Flower?” Bianca asked. The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Of course there's a flower... why do you think I looked at it in the first place?”

Alecto and Bianca shared a glance, before going back to staring at the Doctor. Alecto was resigned to him by now, but Bianca was ready to protest further. “But all I saw was mist!” 
“Oh I did too.” The Doctor lied with a great smile. “I scanned it with my trusty sonic.” He jiggled the sonic screwdriver like car keys. “Can't fool a computer that way.”

“Really Doctor?” Alecto asked. 

“Yep, can't fool a computer that doesn't have a mind!” The Doctor said. Alecto just leveled a flat stare at him... “Are you really that awful with computers?”

“...” Alecto gazed down at the floor. Good.

The elevator dinged... The Doctor stepped out. “Come along, back to the Tardis!” He said, ignoring the food bar entirely.

If Amy and Rory were there... The Doctor gazed stiffly ahead.
The Doctor heard the Elevator doors close.

“I've got to go get Nico!” Bianca said, The Doctor turned to look at Bianca, but she was already rushing to the food bar, where her little brother was chatting with a red head-scottish woman... and a thin man. Oh no.

“That's a fixed point then.” The Doctor said. 

“A fixed point... What exactly is fixed here Doctor?” Alecto asked.

She had dropped the pretense then. “Amy and Rory, eating from the Lotus.” The Doctor said. “You should know what fixed points are, right?” He asked Alecto.

“Yes, they are fate.” Alecto closed her eyes fondly.

“and Fate has a weakness-!” The Doctor said over Alecto's same quiet words. He wouldn't ask. The Doctor saw the abandoned monopoly board sitting close to the Tardis. It had gotten closer.

“Yes, knowing about it, or predicting it in advance helps, as well as always wanting to change it no matter if it happened or not. To take care of this for example...” The Doctor waved Alecto into the Tardis.

She blinked. “It hasn't changed at all.”  The Doctor leaned on the console for strength, he was nothing like these gods.

”Go get the flamethrower from the third room on the fifth right hall, it's in the attic.” The Doctor said to Alecto.

Alecto complied, smelling the air of the Tardis.

They both knew he hadn't met her for the first time yet. That was obvious, despite how she tried to hide it from Bianca.

When she returned from the depths of the Tardis, despite being given incorrect instructions, the Doctor refused the flamethrower. 

“You do it.” He said to that goddess of punishment. Madness in her eyes. Bloodlust.  Detestable. Why would he...?

Alecto smiled. “Gladly.”

The Tardis appeared in the room beneath the looking glass... Alecto set the flamethrower by the door and turned it on.

The doctor opened the doors with the now quite loose lever.

The smell was burnt to a crisp by the flames, and the plant soon followed.  The Doctor and Alecto shared silent glances, but didn't dare speak.

-----------------------------------------------------————-

Alecto knew the Doctor. As they waited in line at the restaurant, in the middle of a hostage situation, where the madame president was being held at gunpoint on Live Television.

So many terrible people in this world... The Doctor thought himself among them.

To put it plainly, he was an idiot, and idiot who was stupid enough to believe.

That was why, among every damned soul in the universe, the Doctor was someone she admired.

Right now, he was fighting to change fate, like he would in her past. The president would not remain a hostage today.

Nothing in this world could stop an insane determined, lucky idiot.

-----------------------------------------------------————-

In the kitchen, after a trip to a McDonalds from 5000 years in the future.... The Doctor set the takeout bag on the counter. He dumped the burgers and nuggets onto a platter. Alecto leaned against the kitchen wall.

“Order up for one Nico!” The Doctor shouted.

“This isn't what I wanted!” Nico complained.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

The child thankfully, didn't argue with that... so he went to a solitary table to eat.

The Doctor smiled at the boy not quite understanding the wrappers on the burgers. 

“Is... that McDonald's” Amy asked... “They serve McDonald's in a place like this?” Amy looked at Rory, who shrugged. “Seems like it.” He said.

”You like it? I don't know how to open this.” Nico said.

Amy blinked, then looked at the boy with pity in her eyes. “Sure.” She unwrapped the burger for Nico.

The meal was surely too much for him.

Nico bit into the burger and his eyes lit up. “Woah.” He said.

“Mind if we snatch some of your lunch?” Amy said to the child... “I dunno who gave you all this but it seems a bit much for a little kid.” Rory said to Nico...

Nico thought for a moment. “I don't mind. You're one of the first adults here who hasn't ignored me. But....”

The Doctor turned the ensuing rant about cards out.

In just a moment....

The fire alarms turned on. The people who weren't in a daze fled the building.

The ones who didn't were guided into the sunlight by waiters, bellhops, and all of the other workers.

“That's it then.” The Doctor said to the corner, where Alecto had vanished from moments earlier.

“Amy! Rory!” The Doctor shouted for the couple. With the smoke obscuring the aphrodisiac, their pupils were about the right size for a human.

The Doctor smiled. Amy and Rory had so many questions.

NEXT TIME ON DOCTOR WHO:

”You knocked a titan out from under the sky... who are you?”

“The Tardis... oh it might not last under that much pressure.”

“Blashphemer!”

GARDEN OF BLOOD.

Don't miss it. 

Chapter Text

*THUD* The Tardis landed. The Doctor clapped his hands and walked towards the door. He heard someone groaning on the other side.

After being forced to play Monopoly for hours, it could be rational for Amy to check where they were. The Doctor had never been insane enough to play Monopoly for 5 hours. Anything that said otherwise was a lie... especially cows. "Doctor, check this out?" Rory said. The Doctor waltzed to Amy and Rory who were staring at a screen. 1 ,2 ,3 ,4 steps exactly. "Oh those are nasty knives he has there. Wanna go have a looksee around?" The Doctor asked Amy.  Amy shook her head. Was there something worrying about a man in a suit  picking himself up? "He looks like he needs help" The Doctor said.

Rory stared at the Doctor. "Knives, bloody--- doctor, he has knives? How is that not a problem?" Rory asked. 

"Well he's wearing a nice pinstripe suit I'm sure he must be a lovely fellow." The Doctor clapped his hands together. "C'mon I'll go first. Off we pop." The Doctor opened the Tardis doors. He was met by a knife to the heart... that went straight through him, not tearing through flesh, just in one end and out the other. "See? Nothing wrong with a man in a suit." The Doctor smiled at the man that towered over the Tardis. "Hullo." He waved at the man. 

"You're mortal. You're mortal and your box knocked me out from under the sky" The man said dumbly. Interesting how those knives had done no harm. They must be made of whatever Annabeth's dagger was made of.

"And you have lovely taste in suits. Atlas I presume? The titan cursed to hold up the sky?" The Doctor said. The man raised  fist to strike at his neck. Knock him unconscious no doubt. The Doctor decided to run.  Amy was right behind him. Rory on the other hand was walled off by the giant man. Amy took a look back and saw the door closing through gaps in the giant man's silhouette. "Rory!" She shouted. 

She was worried about the lock? "Don't worry, he can't break in!" The Doctor said, looking back to Amy. "It's got a brilliant lock."

The Doctor snapped back to looking ahead. At the bottom of the mountain path was an overgrown garden. The Doctor decided to run there first, was good as any a place to start figuring out how to rescue Rory from the giant man. A titan or a god by the looks of it. A Giant or a Cyclops didn't strike him as the type to dress sharp. Or run militantly after him and Amy. Amy was stumbling here and there. It clicked, the Retroactive Perception Filter! He needed a better name for that. It must be creating matter at Amy's feet, hold on... she was following his running path exactly? "Amy find your own way there!" The Doctor shouted, while he pointed at the garden.

"I'd rather not!" Amy shouted back. 

"My perception is creating a clearer path for me only!" The Doctor said. Despite this Amy continued to follow the Doctor. The Doctor swallowed, that was the only way Amy would escape from the titan.

So he threw himself down a steep incline. Not a cliff, now sliding down something that rough would surely tear up any skin. Case in point the tweed jacket he shielded himself with was torn to shreds. Nothing he couldn't fix. And if his hunch was correct, the Titan would slide down too.

Wait a minute... The titan was wearing a fancy suit, of course he wouldn't want that dirty!

"Nevermind Amy! I was wrong! He won't tear his suit!" 

Amy did not get what the Doctor was trying to say. She was running from the Titan, The Doctor was at the bottom of a steep hill. So The Doctor picked up a sturdy looking stone and hurled it at the Titan... Not to hit the Titan, no of course not, just to do this.

When the cricket ball sized stone slipped under the Titan's foot he stumbled. Which way? Down the hill. Suddenly screaming bloody murder about his suit. 

Amy stopped running to look at the spectacle, she slowed down to a walk. In the mean time the Doctor had to distract this man.

"How much did that thing cost you?"

The Titan heaved furious breaths between words. "You. Don't. have. a. clue. how. much. it. costs. to contract. a tailor. while. holding. up. the sky." Oh, right, that.

He raised his fist to kill.

"Atlas, this is ahead of schedule." a distinctly Californian voice said.

"This mortal knocked me out from under the sky, with his blue box." Atlas said, relishing his freedom. and then added as if it were an afterthought. "AND HE ruined my suit," he was clearly more angry about the latter.

"Oh interesting." The blonde, apparently named Luke said to Atlas. "Don't kill him yet, I have so many questions."

Luke turned to the Doctor, and almost instantaneously a dangerously harmful sword was under his throat, this could kill the Doctor, if he made one false move.

Luke started with the most obvious question of all. "You knocked a titan out from under the sky... who are you?”

"Hullo, I'm the Doctor."

Chapter Text

The thing about being held at gun-- well, knifepoint was that it was absolutely boring if one looked past the tension. The Doctor, clever as he was, looked at the well-dressed Luke and thought his clothes did not match his scarred and dirty face. "The Doctor... Olympus is after your head." Luke said as he relaxed his sword. It tightened again. "What was it you promised them? No more crying children? What a sorry job you've been doing."

The Doctor winced. That was going to fix certain aspects of the timeline.

"He's a fugitive from the gods, a man like that must either be astounding or pitiful," Atlas said. 

"Astounding in this case. I've heard rumors that he can escape death." Luke said. "I'm not so sure if he's even afraid of BackBiter." that last word was in Greek. Luke sheathed his sword. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about that, I don't know who to trust. Join me. 'no more crying children' right?" Luke held out his hand, and smiled.

Atlas sneered at the Doctor. "I will not kill you. Do not be mistaken, you owe me."

"Hold on, are you not doing the 'threaten me with a sword' bit anymore? Well alright,"  The Doctor smoothed his dress shirt and threw off his ruined jacket. The Doctor stared at BackBiter. "So..." He said awkwardly. The Doctor scanned the garden for Amy. He lost track of her when she crossed over a ridge. On second thought, if she was out of sight, he could just--- The Doctor shuffled his feet. Making a show of awkwardness to disguise his retreat.

"I'm sorry but weapons tend to cause crying." The Doctor said. That was a fact rooted deep in his mind. Where pain was implied, sorrow followed. "If you'd put down your swords, I'm sure we can overthrow the gods peacefully." he continued. 

Luke immediately tensed. "That's ... The gods can't be overthrown peacefully." He spoke in a friendly tone, but his stance betrayed him.

Atlas grinned. "Restoring Kronos and overthrowing the gods requires a war."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up.

"Didn't Kronos eat his children? Why do you need someone like that? Didn't he get cut to bits?" The Doctor asked.

Luke's right eyebrow twitched. Interesting. The Doctor was assuming a whole lot, but it looked like Luke didn't entirely agree with what he was doing.

"He has power, he just needs to heal faster." Luke said, his hand rested on his sword.

The Doctor shook his head.

"Well Luke... I'm sure you won't like what happens next." The Doctor said. He turned around and started to move away.

Luke's right eyebrow twitched again. He was already swinging his sword at the Doctor.

The Doctor was already running. He dodged a nasty swipe here and there. Not many people could keep up with the Doctor. He ran and ran.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amy and the Doctor collided with each other. The Doctor had lost Luke after diving through a hedge. It wasn't luck that led him to collide with Amy. It was his keen sense of hearing. 

"Ow...! Doctor do we need to keep running?" Amy asked before anything else. 

The Doctor brushed off his dress shirt. "No. I think we're away from those two." He looked around the clearing, another set of hedges, and a tree beyond that. He couldn't see the fruit in detail. Sure, they were apples, golden apples. He knew that from context.

Amy was, of course, slightly confused. "There was only one man. I believe you but..." She said. "If you were running, why are we safe here?" She said.

"We're not." The Doctor said. "There's probably something in here, that they think will take care of us." And if he knew his Greek mythology, this place had something very much able to take care of them.

"Ah." Amy grumbled. "We're going to go have a look, find out, right now aren't we?" She asked.

The Doctor grinned from ear to ear. "Spot on!"

Chapter Text

The shadows of transparent leaves cast the garden rest in perpetual twilight. Amy who couldn't see the garden as well as the Doctor could, whistled. "This is breathtaking." She said, looking a nearby tree up and down. Amy's hair framed her face as she turned to look at the Doctor, who was pressing on into the garden. "Doctor... are you seeing this?" She said, gently touching the wood.

"Yes breathtaking." The Doctor said. He rubbed his hands together. "Do you see that tree over there? The tall apple tree?" He exhaled cold foggy air into his hands, then pointed.

Amy crossed her arms and smirked, the shifting weight caused leaves to crunch. " 'course I can." She laughed. "It's been staring me in the face this whole time." She said. The Doctor smiled.

"Do you know your Greek mythology?" The Doctor said he raised an eyebrow at Amy. Despite the book about Romans in her room, he doubted Amy knew.

Amy shook her head. "Uh, nope. I mean, world history doesn't really focus on myths." She laughed and leaned forward. "So what's this place about?"

"Garden, the garden of Hesperides, has a great tree just like that one for making apples." The Doctor said as if that was the important bit. It wasn't. Amy had to ask the question, the important question.

"What's so mythical about red apples?" Amy asked. She looked toward the tree, its branches swayed. "Are they delicious? Is this like some Garden of Eden situation?" 

"Yes, probably, no-- well maybe," The Doctor answered the three questions in order. "they're gold... immortality apples. Time energy, or conentrated artron when exposed to space is golden yellow, not the real kind of yellow. Its The second kind that isn't really yellow." The Doctor rambled. Amy gave him a flat look, then she smiled and shook her head. *1

"So it's being guarded then right? That's the dangerous thing isn't it? The thing that they hope will get us." Amy grumbled again.  

The Doctor walked around a hedge. Amy followed. "Yes, by a dragon." He bowed and showed it to her with a wave of his hand.

"It's a lion on my end." Amy said. "So...?" She raised an eyebrow at the Doctor.

"We're stealing one?" Amy asked. She licked her lips. " You just can't resist trying can you?", For someone who knew so little and so much, Amy was right. Alarmingly so.

Amy saw a mountain lion, probably yawning and lounging in the sun. The Doctor saw a coppery dragon with so many heads, not like a traditional angular dragon, more like a bunch of snakes sewn onto a crocodile instead of a head.  Definitely workable.

"Definitely, and if I'm right that lion will make this easier, it only has one head." The Doctor rubbed his hands together. "You know why we're stealing?" He dropped down into a hunched crouch.

Amy shook her head. "For fun?" She crouched beside the Doctor in the misty grass.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Our pursuers told me something interesting. They're trying to revive an old god, Kronos, got sliced into nasty little bits---" The Doctor heard air being displaced. The grass shifted. Four women shimmered into existence before the Doctor and his companion. The Doctor instantly identified them as the Hesperides. Greek chiton, oiled black hair, caramel skin. Had to be. Never mind the shimmering. The women merely looked at the Doctor with mild curiosity. The Doctor waved.

"Doctor, who are you waving at?" Amy asked she couldn't perceive the Hesperides, and the Hesperides were ignoring Amy. Either just as good, That meant they could keep plotting.

"The gardeners. Anyway we need a bargaining chip, what better than an apple for immortality. They want Kronos revived, we want Atlas under the sky when the Tardis leaves." The Doctor said. 

"Can't we just sneak into the Tardis?" Amy swallowed, her eyes flitted towards the dragon.

"The Tardis is holding up the sky for old Atlas." The Doctor said, "We've got to put him back, Though really... would the sky fall?" 

The Hesperides watched the Doctor and Amy, they hadn't interfered yet, just listened.

Then Amy noticed. "Doctor, why aren't the gardeners trying to stop us, If they're here?" She searched back and forth, for the women standing over the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned a great honest grin. "That's the question isn't it? Gardeners usually would guard the garden from pests. So you four, tell me why?"

Amy looked at the space where the Doctor gazed.

"Two mortals can hardly steal from this garden. Even one with clear sight such as yourself." A leader stepped forward, her hands placed gracefully in front of her. "Besides, tis not our place to interfere in mortal lives. So go on. Be as you were. Ladon will stop you." She said with a quaint smile. *2

Amy bit her lip. "Doctor? The Hesperides?"

"They might as well have not have even bothered appearing, some silly non interference policy. It looks like our pursuers misjudged." The Doctor flipped his hand. "Though the Hesperides are watching, and if they're watching, we may as well put on a show."

Chapter Text

"Amy, I need you to distract it." The Doctor whispered as he approached one of Ladon's heads. 

Amy lifted a stick from the ground. "OI!" She shouted in the way of the Scottish.

His Hypothesis turned out to be correct, All of Ladon's heads turned their attention toward Amy, they snapped at her as she ran back.

Moments, the Doctor shook the tree as much as he could as he climbed. Hoping that at least one apple would fall.

"DOCTOR!" shouted Amy, she was somehow holding all of Ladon's hundred-some mouths off with a single stick, somehow being the operative word to describe the unprocessable gap between the two versions of real. That stick was one that creaked, on the verge of shattering.

The Doctor's hand clasped around a branch.

"Guess what Ladon? She's the distraction, and, I've got a tasty tasty Apple, oh just look at it, I could just bite it!" gloated the Doctor as his hands clasped around an Apple. Ladon hissed, and his heads slithered towards the Doctor. That was bad news, it turns out animals were not put off by grand speeches that could stop even the Daleks.

The Doctor felt the first head bite his arm, venom bled into his system. He fumbled the Apple into his other hand. These Apples were made of the blood of time, they created immortality, the Doctor could heal himself with one bite... but no, that was not right.

Out of the corner of his eye or perhaps a hallucination brought on by the venom, he saw and heard something he forgot. 

The Doctor didn't know the significance of that whisper, nor could he consider it, more of Ladon's heads sped towards his other arm, the one with the Apple.

"Don't wait for me! AMY GO LONG!" He shouted, hoping that she would understand the American Football terminology.

He threw the Apple as two more of Ladon's heads collided with his hearts and arms, that amount of poison...

But the Apple flew true, despite the Doctor's condition, and landed on a hedge, almost beyond the garden centre. Amy rushed through the hedges of the Garden gathering sticks and stones in her hair.

She grabbed the Apple, and turned to face the Doctor.

Amy winced. "Doctor! You're purple."

"I'm dying Amy, no new faces this time... let's just hope for parole." The Doctor wheezed with a worried smile. He fell to earth from the branches dying, as he lived, in motion.

"Run Amy! Go kiss Rory!" He shouted.

Amy refused to cry.

Amy ran with the apple close to her heart. She ran up through hedges, a forest, climbing up the mountain.

When she saw the titan, her heart pulsed so much that her skin was jumping. The Titan saw her.

This apple was supposed to be a bargaining chip, right? But couldn't someone like him force it out of her hand. And how was she supposed to...

Amy held the apple close to her open mouth as she calmly walked towards the Titan.

"Let me past, or this apple gets a great chunk taken out of it." She said, it would probably be useless if it was half eaten right?

"Do not test me." The Titan said.

"Let me through." Amy shouted. "I don't care who you are, you codger! Let me through or else your Chronos or whatever doesn't get this!"

The Titan's eyebrow twitched. In a quiet voice he said "BLASPHEMER."  calmly, patiently, violently.

Amy almost dropped the Apple there. She saw the door open just a crack... good, Rory was still alive.

She rushed past the Titan.

Amy had intended to drop the Apple in the doorway, but Atlas's hand swooped to grab it. Amy ducked on instinct.  He was pulling on her shirt.

The Tardis screeched, Rory rushed to her side. "Let go of Amy!" he said. He tried to push the door shut. Another hand was attempting to push through, and it was all Amy could to hold him back...

What could she do? All of this had gone horribly wrong the instant the Doctor---

Amy threw the Apple at the console. "Fine! Come and take it!" She shouted.

Her shirt tore.

Then the door shut. The Titan's fists pounded at the door.

Bang after bang, wheeze after groan, Bang BANG BANG, then it stopped.


Amy sat there, for awhile, sobbing into Rory's arms.

They had got away, and the Titan was probably holding up the sky again, he didn't have the Apple.

But her best friend had died.

The Doctor awoke with a start.

He was in a reception lobby. He knew which one, the one before he was taken to the Underworld to be judged...

The receptionist was eyeing him. "Don't bother trying to escape. You're a dead man." He said.

The Doctor smiled. "Of course." he winked and crossed his fingers behind his back.

NEXT TIME:

A GOOD MAN WHO FELL

Chapter Text

The Doctor stared at the crack in the wall. His head rested on his hands, and he held his fingers in front of his lips, considering something. He'd already tried the door out of the barn, but he couldn't bring himself to cross it.

An intricate wooden box, covered in gears, slept beside him.

That box, he still feared that box. So his thoughts ran away from him.

The Doctor remembered A court. The final court, where the ambered wood stretched to an infinite orange sky. The Doctor stood behind the defendant's bench, looking towards the three judges. Great dead men of good character selected to judge the dead. They wore golden masks and black robes. Those did nothing to stop the Doctor from seeing.

"This man... is an affront to responsibility, an irresponsible highwayman drunk on vanity." Said the soul of Thomas Jefferson. "He is a man who destroys the lives of his closest companions, a man who has destroyed billions of lives." Thomas gaped at the years of the Doctor. "I will deliberate no further."

The Doctor remembered not objecting to that.

"This man does confuse and beguile. Wit is treasure, and passion is a gift... but his talent has offended the gods." The words trailed off. William Shakespeare's eyes could not look at the Doctor, no matter how he tried. 

"The gods, what use does humanity have for these gods?" The Doctor shouted at William.

William swallowed, and with a shaky voice, he said, "I will deliberate no further."

"I will not entertain deliberation," said King Minos. "We are agreed then?" 

"The Fields of Punishment, your sin can not be forgotten."

The Doctor did not object as Alecto took his bound arms by force. 

"I wonder what an idiot like him will get, don't you Tisiphone?" One of the other Furies had said.

"The fields might explode to accommodate his punishment, Megaera."

"He deserves Tartarus." Said Alecto.

The Doctor heard this, but he was trying to learn about Alecto's through her eyes, wondering, 'What did I see in you?'

"It's a barn?"  Tisiphone whispered. "It's so... small."

"It's the moment." The Doctor said. "The moment I--"

Alecto clamped his jaw shut. "Inside!"She shouted!

The Doctor stared at the crack in the wall. A moment that lasted for hours. His eyes should have dried, he should have needed to blink.  The box sat loyally beside him.

That box. A weapon capable of destroying every galaxy. The Doctor stared for another long while. "No." He said.

Children vanished into never. At least 2 billion, and if he remembered the rest of the number...

If those children hadn't died, so many more would have died to the war.

The Doctor touched the box with a single finger. He swallowed and picked up the weapon with both hands. He didn't remember using it, but the aftermath was burned into his psyche. He could never let it go. The Doctor wasn't supposed to ever be cruel, and never be cowardly.

This was... "Is... this the same moment? It must be an illusion..." The Doctor couldn't detect a flaw anywhere, but the moment could change itself to be anything.

The crack in the wall smiled without warping and spoke, "It is. Did you want to use it? Did you want to run?"

The Doctor closed his eyes and punched the crack. "I don't need it! I..." The Doctor's shoulders collapsed, and he screamed into his hand.

When he looked up, the damage had caused the crack to smile wider. "Of course you don't need it, that'd be absurd."

The Doctor frowned. "You're the interface, right?" The moment did one thing that made everyone with any dignity or shred of decency fear touching it. The interface had a conscience, and much like breaking promises or oaths, its judgement haunted him.

"I am. Just breathe, you're scared and need to think." The crack frowned further into the wall.

The Doctor breathed.

The Doctor closed his eyes, bowed his head, then examined the box closely. "Is this... the real moment?" He squinted at it. "I think I remember the interface looking different." He said.

"You could have caught on sooner, this is close enough." The crack said as its frown turned to fangs, its smile tore the wall more as it grew. The crack laughed itself open, and pieces of wood fell to the floor.

He could see outside now.

The Doctor saw the Fields of Punishment, people screaming, sliding down razors, chased by dogs. People were suffering, they were corrupt, but they were suffering.

"I hate this." The Doctor said.

"I know you do... There's something you need to hear, Maybe it's something old, maybe it's something girls have been telling you all your life, maybe it's something you haven't heard yet. Maybe I want to say it for once." The barn shook as the crack ran the length of the walls. "Run, and remember me." The crack said.

The Doctor shivered. Why was it happy and genuine? Why did it sound like a friend telling him to be proud of himself? 

The roof would fall on his head at this rate. He'd survive. Yet his skin itched. What exactly was Hell like? There was a door to freedom now. Would he take it?

Why not?

Chapter Text

The Doctor could have closed his eyes, folded his ears closed, and held his breath to stop his sense of touch. The Doctor did not.
Oh well, might as well ask for directions. There was a man beating himself with a beer bottle, his bones shone through his skin whenever it tensed. Hold on, was that?

"Oh, it's you." The Doctor said to Gabe. The man was bruised and battered, but he kept on bashing himself. "Why are you doing that? It's stupid." the Doctor asked.

"They=" Gabe coughed. "Need to provide for me! I'm teaching 'em a lesson!" He coughed again.

The Doctor couldn't bear to watch, and he couldn't bear to close his eyes, so he caught Gabe's arm mid swing. 

"You're hurting yourself. They aren't here." The Doctor said.

Gabe snorted. "Of course they are." He pointed to himself. "Right there, crying like idiot kids in the corner." He said with a crack in his voice. The Doctor's hand clenched as Gabe struggled. "Let me go!"

Was this how hell worked? It was time for the Doctor to test. "I'm telling you, you're hurting yourself, so will you stop or not?" There, the future was in Gabe's hands now. The Doctor let go of Gabe's arm, it was still tense when he let go. 

Gabe swung the bottle at himself, the swing slowed soon after. "I'm so tired." He slumped in his seat, and stared towards nowhere. He didn't drop the bottle, didn't even shift his grip to drink.

The Doctor knew what that meant. Well- oh what was that? The Doctor ran towards a fiery point that wiggled on the horizon, it definitely wasn't anything good, because c'mon, he was in greek hell. 

The red thing wiggled happily as the Doctor went closer, he was in denial for what it definitely and absolutely was. It could be a worm that ate the souls of the damned, it could be someone cursed to be their least favorite band's biggest fan waving a glowstick. It could be a swarm of= nope. It was... was that Tisiphone chasing a man with a flaming pool noodle?

"Hullo." The Doctor waved. The tortured soul screamed. 

"Oh. Hello." Tisiphone said, as she flew.

Tisiphone crashed to the floor. She scrambled to stare at the Doctor. The Doctor knew his face looked like his hands were caught in the biscuit jar. Oops. The tortured soul's scream filled the silence.

Tisiphone screeched, and gripped the Doctor by the bow-tie. 

"Not the bow-tie!" The Doctor screamed. He knew where he was being taken... back to the moment.

Wind rushed through the Doctor's ears before it stopped for a brief moment. It was pointless, but he flashed a winning smile at Tisiphone. 

Tisiphone launched him threw the wall of the moment. It had built itself up again.

The Doctor felt out of breath for more reasons than one. He was here again. 

There was no crack in the wall.

The Doctor sighed, and looked for the box.

The box was still here.

There was a teen girl sitting on the box, her black skin stretched almost too thin over shining amber and sky blue bones. Her  dark amber hair was slightly shorter on one side, it was all curly.

The girl gasped. "What...? Where=?" She said before she saw the Doctor's ear pressed to the floor. From her clothing, the Doctor was guessing she died long long long before most people treated everyone with decency... She was frightened,  probably due to a combination of teleportation and a man flying through the wall.

The Doctor breathed. He spoke at a steady pace, it was best not to scare her more. "Hello! I'm the Doctor, may I have your name?"

The girl's hands clenched around the box's lid and she leaned back. "I- my name- I'm Hazel." She said, scanning her surroundings.

The Doctor grinned. "Cool." He said, and his face met floor.

Hazel shook hers. "Cool???" She said, confused.

Chapter Text

What could the Doctor do for Hazel, he thought while he tasted the dirt of hell. The dirt tasted just like the dirt on Galifrey. Well, was he actually touching and tasting this dirt, or was he hurting himself on the outside like Gabe?

He couldn't help it, “Hazel, what do you see?” He asked. 

“I don't-” Hazel unclenched her fingers, the motion cracked and stilted. ”You... uh,” Hazel cringed. “There's a barn... You're trying to break in.” She said her face scrunched.

“How?” The Doctor asked Hazel. “My senses say I'm tasting dirt, and that you're someone important sitting on an important box.”

“You're- uh- um- how do I- say- trying to unlock the door with your tongue???” Hazel said, her bones stopped shining, fading to dull pulses of blue and orange. Her hands knitted themselves together.

“Oh, that's ridiculous for the Fields of Punishment isn't it?” The Doctor asked, the dirt wasn't worth tasting.

Hazel's bones shone so brightly that it was difficult to see. The Doctor heard several cracks. “The- oh. So you'rre aaaa cr- did you- do something awful?” She stuttered, the shine of her blue bones dimming each time. She ran her fingers through her hair in anxious strokes.

“I offended the gods, yes, said straight to Zeus's face something along the lines of 'Stop being such a neglectful bully.'” The Doctor said. “I wouldn't be surprised if there were others like me down here.” The Doctor stood up.

“Then where did the barn come from? Why am I even here? I'm supposed to be in Asphodel with Mom!” Hazel asked, her bones dimmed as she pulled herself to her feet, her eyes looked ready to run. The Doctor thought she had forced herself to relax to control the situation.

“I assume those have the same answer.” The Doctor said.

“What?”

“The barn is from a... painful moment in my life where I needed to make a difficult decision. It had an all powerful weapon that could open portals in time-” The Doctor said. He tried not to look at the loft, where he slept as a runaway child.

“You did do something bad!” Hazel said as she shuffled backwards through the sandy floor.

“Only because the alternative was so much worse. Think Hazel, if you had to chose between erasing 2,740,091,256 children on your home planet or let every life in the universe die at once, wouldn't you regret needing to make that decision too?”

Hazel stopped. “Woah.” She said. She shuffled toward the Doctor. “Are you ok?” She asked.

“You're- hurting yourself. You're crying, you're...” She rubbed one of her arms with the other. “Not okay, are you?”

“What's the point?” The Doctor asked. “There are so many more people out there that need me, I shouted at Zeus because- because- I promised, that I wouldn't let Percy cry.”

Hazel breathed in. “Okay. Well, first, I think we should get away from here.”  She smiled like a star. She held out her hand.

The Doctor took it. The barn collapsed around them, sliding into the box beside Hazel. 

“Now, lets escape from hell, shall we?” The Doctor said.

A voice wailed. The sound was clear like a key trying to unlock his eardrums.

“MR. FIBULI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  They wailed like a child, dramatic, but deep unlike a child.

Hazel winced.

The Doctor's eyes tingled, ”Hold on I know that voice... I watched him die to his nurse.”  The Doctor said.

Hazel glanced at the Doctor, “What?” she asked, she examined his face as if it would give her answers. 

There was no time to reassure her, better to head straight for that voice.

Sure enough, there was the captain of the Pirate Planet, Zanak. Covered in cybernetic implements. Whether it had been a long time or not, the Doctor could not remember his name. 

He was clutching several models of planets scaled 1/1,000,000,000. 

“Do you need help?” The Doctor asked the Captain. 

“Why are you helping him?” Hazel shouted. “He must be here for a reason.”

The Doctor ran his hands down his face.

“I know. But he-” The Doctor bit his lip and popped it out. “He's hurting. He's hurting and I need to offer him a choice to stop. See those spheres in his arms, those are places he surrounded with his pirate sphere and mined, it killed everyone living on those places... but here he is, crying out for his friend. The nurse was manipulating him, keeping him stuck. He wanted to be free. ”

“Why then, if he's...?” Hazel said.

I can't bear to watch. He wanted to say. The Doctor swallowed.

The Doctor walked towards the Captain. “Hullo.” He said. 

“By the bearded nebula, is that you?” The Captain shouted as he was wont to. 

“Why yes it is me! How did you know? Nevermind all that, rubbish though.” The Doctor said. He looked back towards Hazel. Hazel had asked him why. He'd just need to make things clear. “You're trapped in hell, I'm here to offer you a choice.” He said bluntly.

The Captain stared at the Doctor. “Wasn't I already in the depths of blood Doctor? I'm finished already!”

The Doctor nodded. He opened his mouth- Then the Captain grabbed his jacket with one hand and shook him.

“I tried to get away from her, she was a madwoman! By the storm of fate she killed us! I killed us!” The Captain shoved his handful of planets towards the Doctor. “I can neither sail nor plunder, she has taken it all, my health, my life, and my first mate. By my own tears, I never wanted to be without him.”

The Captain let go of the Doctor, and clenched the planets to his chest.

"You're dead, she's dead, your friend is dead.” Hazel said. She eyed the pearl-ish planets in the Captain's arms. "You know don't you, that you aren't holding him." 

The Doctor stared at Hazel in return.

“Do you want to find Mr. Fibuli or not?” The Doctor asked the Captain.

“I don't deserve him. I did the worst and he's not standing by me now in hell. Proof, Doctor, is simple.” The Captain said. He sat again, and wept on his plundered treasure and lives.

Hazel gasped. Hazel gasped again. She kept gasping. 

“What's wrong, Hazel?” The Doctor asked.

“I wanted to see my friend again.” She said. “My mom moved us to Alaska ... I wanted to see my friend.”

The Doctor walked a step closer to Hazel. “I... Hazel. This is the afterlife, plenty of people to meet, plenty of friends.”

Hazel wrapped her arms around her torso. “They don't notice me, they'll never remember, I don't think Sammy remembers me! It's my fault I never saw him again! I told him it was cursed!” She shouted.

“Do you want to go find him?” The Doctor said. 

“He isn't here!” Hazel whispered. The Doctor spun around.

“You don't know that, you don't know whether your friend has abandoned you at all!” He pointed to both the Captain and Hazel. "This is the afterlife, it must be so big! He must be here somewhere!" The Doctor waved his hands at the sky.

“So just run. Find him. Your guilt can't stop you.” The Doctor offered his hand to Hazel.

Hazel reached for it, then closed her hand. “I... can't.” She said.

“I can help. C'mon, let's escape from this rotting old hell!” The Doctor flicked his hand again. 

Hazel grasped his hand and was pulled along by the Doctor.

The Captain stared after them, he pushed himself to his feet again, and walked.