Battle of Demons Run

The Battle of Demon's Run was the name River Song gave to an attack on the station of Demon's Run by the Doctor, in his effort to rescue Amy Pond and her baby daughter, Melody, where it was revealed that she was actually River in her infancy. River described the confrontation as the Doctor's darkest hour, saying that he would rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further.

Prelude
Madame Kovarian made an alliance with the Church's Anglican Regiment and the Order of the Headless. Amy Pond's unborn daughter, Melody, was a vital part in their plan, Kovarian wished for her to become a weapon, regarding her as hope in a long and bitter war with the Doctor. Amy and Rory concieved Melody, while on the Doctor's TARDIS in the Time vortex, causing her to become part Time Lord. At some point, Amy was taken to Demon's Run and replaced with a ganger controlled by hero, so as far as she knew, nothing had happened and she was still with the Doctor and Rory. Rory didn't know what happened either, but the Doctor always knew she was a ganger. After travelling to the 22nd century to see the early stages of The Flesh the ganger was created from, he cancelled the link, destroying the ganger. Amy awoke on Demon's Run where she gave birth to Melody. (DW: The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People)

The Doctor and Rory were determined to rescue her and Melody, they had the Twelfth Cyber Legion destroyed to make a point to Amy's captors, also discovering where she was being held. The Doctor proceeded to recruit people from across time who owed him a debt. Such as Silurian, Madame Vastra and her maid, Jenny, the Sontaran Nurse, Commander Strax and Dorium Maldovar. Rory came to the Stormcage Containment Facility where he asked River to help, but she refused, saying that she couldn't come until the 'very end', as it is the day when the Doctor will rise so high, and then fall further than ever before. She said it was the day he found out her true identity.

At Demon's Run, Colonel Manton gave a speech about the Doctor, saying that he was only a man. Amy watched from above, but was interrupted by a Cleric, Lorna Bucket. Lorna offered her a prayer leaf with Melody's name on it in the language of her people. Amy ignored the offer of kindness, but turns when she realised that Lorna met the Doctor. She accepted the prayer leaf, and warned Lorna to be 'on the right side' for her own sake. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War)

The battle
Lorna hurried to the speech, where Colonel Manton revealed the true nature of the monks. He removed the hoods of the monks, revealingl knots of skin where the bases of their necks should have been. The third monk removed his own hood; revealing himself to be the Doctor. The Monks raised their swords and the marines (except Lorna) raised their guns. At the same time, Madame Vastra and Jenny captured the control room. The Doctor put up his hood as the lights went out. The lights came back on and the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. He revealed that he was disguised as one of the Monks; as his voice echoed his location couldn't be pinpointed. A marine shot a hooded figure who turned out to be a real Monk.

The Monks began to kill the marines in retaliation until Colonel Manton told everyone not to fire. Lorna noticed a Monk using a sonic screwdriver on the door and followed him out of the room, as the rest of the marines disarmed themselves. An army of Silurians and Judoon led by Commander Strax suddenly appeared with their guns pointed at the marines. Strax held the Colonel at gunpoint, claiming the base.

Manton warned he had a fleet which would come to the asteroid if it was taken. However, The Doctor summoned a group of Dalek Upgraded-Spitfires attack the base to disable their communications.

Making her escape, Kovarian orderd that Melody be brought to her ship, saying that the Doctor must think he is winning until the trap closes. Unknown to her, Lorna was listening, and ran off.

Rory suddenly appeared and held Kovarian at sword point; Henry and Toby Avery arrived, with Henry announcing that her ship was captured. She and Colonel Manton were both brought to the control room where the Doctor told the Colonel to tell the marines to "run away." He said that he wanted Manton to be known for the rest of his life as "Colonel Run Away" - a warning to those who would try to use the Doctor's friends to get to him. Madame Kovarian told the Colonel to give the order, and the Clerics were escorted off the station by the Judoon.

The Doctor and Rory united with Amy, presenting her with the baby. Madame Vastra entered and said that the marines were leaving, saying not a drop of blood had been spilt, and that the Doctor had never risen so high. Rory remembered River's words and became concerned.

Dorium was going through the computers and discovered scans of Melody. They revealed that her DNA contained traces of Time Lord. Vastra asked when Melody was conceived, as she knew that the Time Lords became what they were through exposure to the time vortex. The Doctor realised that the first time Amy and Rory were together on the TARDIS (in this version of reality) was their wedding night. Vastra deduced that Amy's kidnappers might have wanted Melody - a part-Time Lord - for a weapon. When the Doctor asked how a Time Lord could be used as a weapon, Vastra pointed out what he himself was capable of doing. Vastra and Dorium left as the Doctor remembered the little girl from 1969 America. Kovarian suddenly appeared on a view screen and said that the girl was hope in the war against the Doctor.

Strax found Lorna listening in and brought her to Rory and Amy. She insisted that they were in a trap, and that she only joined the clerics to meet the Doctor as he was known as a great warrior where she was from. The lights went out, but Strax detected no life forms in the base excluding them and the Silurians, but Lorna said that the Headless Monks did not register as life forms as they were not alive.

Elsewhere in the base, the Monks began to massacre the Silurians. Vastra joined the others; the TARDIS was suddenly surrounded by a force field and the doors were locked. Dorium identified the Monks' chant as the attack prayer. Amy went to hide with Melody. Dorium went to Monks despite the fact that he sold them out to the Doctor, but he was sure they would understand. He was beheaded; his body joined the Monks who were advancing on the group. Rory, Vastra, Jenny, Strax and Lorna formed up to protect Amy and Melody, and the a fight began.

Back in the control room, the Doctor angrily told Kovarian that a child is not a weapon. Kovarian smugly told him that she will become one. When the Doctor vowed not to let her recapture the child, Kovarian said that fooling the Doctor once was a joy, but fooling him again the same way was a privilege. He realised what Kovarian had done and ran off to find Amy.

Rory, Vestra, Jenny, Strax and Lorna battled against the Headless Monks, using both guns and swords, while Amy watched, holding Melody protectively, Melody collapsed into flesh. A horrified Amy screamed for Rory. The Doctor ran onto the scene where the battle took place moments before, yelling that Melody was flesh; he was greeted by a sullen Rory who told him that they know. The Headless Monks were all dead, but Strax and Lorna were both mortally wounded and died shortly afterwards. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War)

Aftermath
River Song suddenly appeared before everyone. The Doctor angrily confronted her, saying that he had always been there for her but she didn't come when he needed her. She told him that she couldn't have prevented what happened, but he retorted that she could have tried. River then told him he could have as well, and said that Amy will be all right. The battle, she said, was exactly what the Doctor is. Though the word 'doctor' often means healer or wise man, in the Gamma Forests it meant "mighty warrior" (explaining Lorna's decision to join the army to meet him). The Doctor, fed up with her riddles, finally asks River who she is; she only ran towards the cot before he grabbed her. She directed his attention to the cot and asked him if he can read what was there. He had a realisation that dramatically changed his emotional state from anger to joy. After trading a few words with River, the Doctor returned to the TARDIS with a newfound confidence; he told Amy and Rory not to worry because he knew where Melody was. He told River to return everyone home. Despite Amy's protests, the TARDIS dematerialised.

After the Doctor departed, Amy held River at gunpoint demanding to know what she told the Doctor. River told her that she needed to focus on the written word as the TARDIS has more difficulty translating it; Amy tried and failed to read the writing on the cot, but River stated that the Gallifreyan cannot be translated. River hands Amy the prayer leaf and told her to read it. Amy says that she knows her daughter's name, but River told her that Gamma Forest doesn't have a word for 'Pond', because 'the only water in the forest is the river.' As Amy and Rory read the leaf, the writing changed to read the words 'River Song.' River confirmed that she was Amy's child. (DW: A Good Man Goes to War)

Melody Pond was taken to Earth where after a regeneration, she became known as Mels and was friends with a younger Amy and Rory. She later met the Doctor and after regeneraing again into her 'River Song' incarnation, attempted to kill the Doctor in Germany, 1938. (DW: Let's Kill Hitler)