Chapter 4, here we go!
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or Scott Pilgrim
March 22, 1980
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Adam and Nick were walking through the streets, trying to track down the mysterious signal.
"Do you think the Doctor's involved in this?", Nick asked.
"Don't know, might be"
"I hope so, never got around to asking him where he got those delicious jelly babies"
"You'll get the chance, I'm sure of it", they continued onward until they arrived at what appeared to be a warehouse. Noticing a nearby dockworker, they asked him what was in it. "None of your business, leave!", the man said in a very angry tone. Realizing that something was not right here, Adam and Nick pretended to comply.
The two came back shortly afterwards, making sure they weren't seen. After breaking the lock, using a crowbar that they had 'borrowed', they entered the warehouse.
"Impossible!", Adam said, clearly shocked by what he was seeing.
"What is it?", Nick asked. They were looking at a darkly lit room with some sort of console in the middle. Adam seemed to recognize the symbols.
"How is this possible?", Adam wondered.
"How is what possible?"
"These symbols are the language of the Nervonians"
"Who?"
"That's a long, sad story I'm afraid. Basically, they're all supposed to be dead!"
"Could you just explain to me who the-", before Nick could finish his sentence, he and Adam were simultaneously hit by energy beams that were fired from behind them, the two quickly lost consciousness.
Unknown location
Waking up, Adam had a headache and tried to remember what had happened and focus on where he was. The room he was in was very brightly coloured, with every wall having a different colour, the floor was bright orange, whilst the ceiling was green with blue dots. Suffice it to say, it looked quite ugly.
getting off of his bed, Adam noticed a door and attempted to walk through, only to be held back by a force field. Adam saw the guards on the other side of the force field and then managed to confirm that he was taken hostage by the Nervonains. The guards were humanoids roughly the same average size as humans. They had green-yellow skin and cross-shaped eyes. Once the guards noticed him, they talked to each other in their own language and lifted the force field, pointing their laser pistols at him.
"Hi, I'd like to speak to the manager of this place, there's no room service, the bed's uncomfortable and the room's an eyesore", he said with a slight grin. The guards did not appear to understand him and simply gestured for him to come with them. Walking through the halls, Adam noticed the same bizarre choice of colours as he had seen in his cell. Every wall across the hallway had its own colour, ranging from pink, magenta, purple, blue, green, red and so forth. Adam suspected that the colours all led to a different location on the ship and were meant to guide people through the many different hall ways, or at least, it was the only logical explanation that he could think of. Or perhaps they just had a terrible sense of decoration.
"Have you guys seen Nick by the way? You know, the human, brown hair, greying at the temples, probably mad at being abducted by you lot", he asked them, the guards didn't respond and continued walking. Adam considered knocking them out and trying to find Nick on his own, but knew that it was probably for the best that he complied, at least for now.
Arriving in a large, multicoloured chamber, Adam was instructed to sit at the large, empty table in the centre of room. After taking his seat, Adam started looking around the room, noticing that the guards were guarding the only exit.
To the wall on his left, he saw a map of what he recognized as Nervona. Unlike Earth, Nervona's landmass made up 53% of the planet. There were 13 continents, Jihova, Nezim, North Mirrah, South Mirrah, Deuromo, Kirzhava, Swotope, Coldora, Gannaha, Rhechihi, Faldoma, Welroma and Zim. The largest of them, Coldora, had 87 countries.
Adam then heard someone talking in the hallway, "Can't you guys at least tell me where the hell you're bringing me? I know you guys can talk", a man said with irritation in his voice. It was Nick, Adam was relieved to know that he was alright. Nick was instructed to take a seat beside Adam, which he did. "Where the hell are we?", he asked. "I don't know, all I can say for sure is that they are Nervonians", before Nick could ask him who they were, a Nervonian man walked into the room.
"You must be Adam", he said in English.
"Who wants to know?", Adam asked.
"I guess I should introduce myself first. I am captain Narra of the Nervona spaceship Dimonazza"
"Fancy name for a ship", Nick remarked.
"Best in the Nervonian fleet", captain Narra said with immense pride in his voice.
"This may sound like a stupid question, but how come you can speak English?", Nick asked.
"We've been studying this planet for quite some time, learning some of its most spoken languages was deemed necessary"
"But why are you here?", Adam asked with suspicion in his voice. A malicious grin appeared on Narra's face, he had clearly been looking forward towards answering that question.
"You", he answered pointing towards Adam. "To make you pay for what you've done", he said with anger in his voice.
"For what I've done?!", Adam asked in disbelief. Narra had suddenly become very angry, "Don't you dare to pretend like you don't know, our homeworld was destroyed because of you", he said accusingly.
"There was nothing I could have done, I tried, I really did but they couldn't be stopped"
"You allowed it to happen, you knew that our technology made us a threat"
"That's a lie, if that was true, why the hell did I come to warn your people, why did I tell them to evacuate immediately, well are you gonna answer me or what?!"
Captain Narra was completely unfazed by Adam's outburst, "Lying is pointless, we've got your treachery on record", he said whilst pressing a button which caused a projector to appear from the ceiling.
Narra then pressed another button, causing the projector to project a holographic recording. Within the recording, Adam saw himself, wearing various pieces of alien armour that he had worn during the Time War.
"War Journal #386: The Time Lords have sent me on a mission of utmost importance. I am on my way to Nervona. Once there, I will sabotage as many of their ships as possible in order to prevent anyone from escaping the oncoming destruction. The technology that they possess could drastically alter the tide of the war should the Daleks come to obtain it", the recording was then turned off by Captain Narra.
Adam was shocked by what he had just seen, "That... never happened. It's a fake recording!", Narra still seemed unconvinced.
"It doesn't matter whether you confess or not, for soon you will know the pain our ancestors went through", he said coldly.
"What do you mean by that?", Nick asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"I mean that you two will soon witness the destruction of this world"
"You can't be serious!", Adam said in disbelief.
"Oh, but I am. This is what you get for bringing our people to the brink of extinction from which we barely escaped. You two will soon know what it's like to lose everything!"
"No, we won't", Adam then suddenly jumped out of his chair and onto Narra, punching him in the jaw. The guards at the door shot their laser pistols at him, however, Adam quickly used Narra as a shield. Nick quickly ran to the guards and managed to disarm and shoot one of them, the other guard was distracted by Adam, who had thrown the unconscious Narra at him, and was then shot by Nick.
As the two were about to leave, they were hit by beams that were fired at them by the automated security system, knocking them unconscious once more.
Waking up with a start, Adam saw that he was lying in a bunk bed, with Nick, still unconscious, lying in the bed above him. Getting out of bed, Adam felt nauseous, not helped by the fact that the cell he and Nick were in looked like its colour scheme was inspired by the Sixth Doctor's outfit.
"My head", Nick said, having woken up.
"Take it easy", Adam remarked, having fully regained his senses.
"I'm really getting tired of being knocked out"
"Same here", Adam replied, walking towards their cell door in order to look for a way out.
"So... Adam. About that recording..."
"It's not real, I swear"
"I believe you. But tell me, what did happen between you and their people?"
"Well, it's like this. They possessed technology that allowed them to travel through subspace, basically creating shortcuts through the universe. Realizing the threat that they posed to them, the Daleks decided to wipe them all out. I tried to warn the Nervonians, but not everyone was willing to believe the words of a stranger"
"Some obviously did"
"Obviously, the few who did believe me said that they would take precautions, though they weren't willing to tell me what those precautions were. When the Daleks attacked, I tried to hold them off, it was of no use. After Nervona's destruction, I looked for survivors, didn't find any and concluded that whatever 'precautions' they took weren't enough"
"I guess some of them managed to slip away undetected", Nick said whilst walking towards the cell door that Adam was examining.
"I guess so", Adam replied. As the two were trying to figure out how to open the door, they suddenly heard someone on the other side of it typing the buttons on the keypad, which then unlocked the door.
A young woman stood before them, Signalling for them to come with her.
"Who are you", Nick asked.
"I am Arlena", she answered.
"I suppose sure you already know who we are"
"Obviously"
"Why exactly are you helping us?", Adam asked.
"I don't know whether or not you speak the truth regarding your innocence, but what I do know is that this world shouldn't have to pay the price"
"Thank god! Someone who actually speaks sense!", Nick exclaimed.
"So where are we going anyway?", Adam asked her whilst looking over her shoulder for any kind of sign that would provide him with the answer.
"To the science lab, most of them are on the bridge at the moment, either making sure that everything goes according to plan or being verbally abused by the captain for taking so long to accomplish something"
"What's in the lab"
"We've recovered some kind of artefact. Our scans showed many of them in different parts of the world so we decided to take one for study. We still don't know what this orb is, but any exposure to it so far has caused all test subjects physical pain and in some cases insanity"
"An orb you say", Adam said, having a pretty good idea about what this artefact was.
Once they had arrived at the lab, encountering minimal security because Arlena had used her wrist-mounted communication device to send a false message which stated that Adam and Nick were on the other side of the ship, Adam was surprised by the monotone colour pattern of the place in comparison to the other rooms that he had so far seen on the ship.
"Nobody move or Dr. Ferro here gets it", Arlena said, holding who Adam assumed to be the head scientist hostage at gunpoint.
"You shouldn't try to take it, you'll just end up as insane as all the others who have tried to use it", the doctor said with a smirk on his face.
The artefact appeared to be held in a special containment unit. Fortunately, Dr. Ferro was willing to give them the access code after some 'persuasion'. Once the unit had opened, Adam instantly recognized the golden glowing orb, which he had encountered many times over the millennia.
"Perfect! This will definitely make things easier", Nick said. Adam then took the orb and lifted it into the air, releasing a shockwave that rendered all of the scientists except for Dr. Ferro unconscious. Adam then slowly advanced towards Ferro, who was shocked by what he had just seen.
"But... but how? How are you making it work?", he asked.
"What can I say, it's a gift", Adam said before rendering Ferro unconscious as well. Adam then fell to his knees, exhausted due to his use of the orb.
"Are you alright?", Arlena asked.
"I'll live. Just give a moment", he said whilst slowly getting back to his feet.
"How does this orb' work?", she asked him.
"They're ancient artefacts that used to belong to members of my kind. They were specifically designed to control human minds. As such, I can't actually take control of the minds of any of your crew members. It can still hurt them though, so let's just hope that it will be enough", after Adam finished talking, Nick turned to Arlena.
"So where do we go from here?", he asked.
"There's an elevator at the end of the hallway. It could take us directly towards the engine room. Once there, we can sabotage the subspace engine and de-"
"Hold right there!", Adam interrupted her. "You want to sabotage the subspace engine. The engine that basically punches holes in reality! Kinda risky don't cha think?!"
"Adam! They're going to destroy Earth! What other options are there?", Arlena said.
Adam let out a sigh, "Fine, I agree. Now let's get out of here, I'm pretty sure security has figured out by now that we're not actually on the east side of the ship"
The trio then made their way across the hallway to the elevator, getting into a brief struggle with several security guards during which Nick got hit in his left arm after he jumped in front of a blast meant for Arlena, knocking him unconscious once again. Arlena quickly took out a syringe of some kind and injected it into Nick, waking him up.
Eventually, they came across a console of sorts, where Arlena, who was the only one who could understand the symbols, pressed the button that sent them to the engine room.
Once the elevator doors opened, they were greeted by captain Narra and several guards, who were holding them at gunpoint. "Hello Arlena, did you really think that we wouldn't notice how you tampered with the ship's internal scanners? How stupid do you think we are?!", he said whilst pointing his laser gun at her.
"Now, before I execute you for several acts of treason, I demand to know why you would do such things"
"The planet does not deserve to die, regardless of whether or not Adam is guilty"
"You stupid girl", he said in a cold voice, "Planet Earth is guilty of harboring the man responsible for our planet's destruction and the near extinction of our people! We are well within our right to punish those who would aid the likes of him!"
"They did not harbor him knowingl-"
"Enough! Clearly he has used that... thing", he pointed at the orb, "to control your mind. I'm afraid nothing I say or do can bring you back to us. Goodbye Arlena, you were a good lieutenant", however, just as Narra was about to shoot her, Adam used the orb to create a shockwave that knocked the soldiers and Narra back several feet. Nick used the opportunity to grab a laser gun off of one of the unconscious soldiers while Arlena was supporting Adam, who had little strength left in due to his use of the orb.
"Good thing I heal fast", he said with a strained voice.
"I thought the orb was made to be used by your kind", she said while still supporting him as they were walking towards the subspace engine.
"It is. But it requires a lot of practice, something I don't have. Unfortunately. Anyway, I think I can walk on my own, thanks"
"You're welcome"
After a short walk through what appeared to be several different engine rooms, the trio arrived in the room that housed the subspace engine. The room was spherical in design, with several walkways that connected at the centre, where the subspace engine was located.
The walls, like the ones in many other rooms on the ship, had several different colors. However, the colors were constantly changing. Adam felt that it was like being in a disco.
Once they entered the room, Adam quickly took care of the science officers present. He appeared to be slowly getting used to using the orb, as he was still standing after using it several times in the other rooms, although he was still fatigued by it.
"Okay, so we're finally there. Anyone know what to do?", Nick asked as he shot the last of the science officers unconscious.
"My plan is to use the engine to send the ship as far away from Earth as possible and then damage it beyond repair", Arlena said as she walked to a panel console adjacent to the engine.
"With us still in it?", Adam asked.
"No, I will activate the panel as soon as you two teleport back to Earth"
"What! You... you mean...", Nick said in disbelief.
"Indeed, I'm not going with you"
"They'll probably kill you if you stay here. You know that", Adam said.
"Yes, but I belong here, my friends and family are here, and that's why I must stay. No matter what happens"
"We understand", Adam said.
"You must go down that hallway, turn left, right and left again and you will come see an elevator. After you step inside press the third symbol from the top, it will take you to the teleportation chamber.
The teleporter controls are simple enough. Once you activate it, it will take you to the last location it had previously teleported people to or from, which is the site where we found that orb"
"And the site being..."
"According to a map I've read the site is on Sabine Island, Nunavut in the country you call Canada"
"Good, maybe we'll be home for dinner after all", Nick said as he and Adam each gave Arlena a goodbye hug.
"Thank you, for everything. I hope I'll see you again one day", Adam said with a smile.
"I hope to see you two again someday as well, now go", she said pointing them in the direction they needed to go.
Following Arlena's instructions, Adam and Nick made their way into the teleportation chamber and, after knocking out the officers there, tried to turn it on. The control panel had many glowing buttons on it, and, after interrogating one of the science officers who was still conscious, managed to find the button to turn on the device.
As they were standing on the teleporter platform and a bright blue light was engulfing them, both Adam and Nick were concerned for Arlena's safety.
Meanwhile...
Arlena had only a basic understanding of how the subspace engine worked. As such, she was unsure of how to make it do what she intended. Her plan was to turn it up to maximum capacity and then activate it, ensuring that it would run out of power and become useless.
However, the control panel she was operating then registered a malfunction within the engine, probably caused by the earlier scuffle she, Adam and Nick had with the science officers when they entered the room.
Realizing the dire situation she was in, Arlena removed the engine's outer plating, exposing it's inner workings, and discovered that one of the engine's power cells had dislocated itself, probably due to a large impact caused by one of the officers who collided against the engine earlier.
Reaching inside the machine, she had trouble reaching it. "Come on, Come on... gotcha!", she said as she managed to grab the power cell. She then slowly and carefully put it back into place. However, immediately after she pressed the activation button and the engine started powering up, she was almost hit by a laser blast. Looking in the direction the blast came from, Arlena was shocked to see captain Narra, heavily wounded and disoriented from his earlier encounter with her, Adam and Nick, shooting into her general direction.
"Your friends won't escape traitor, we will have our revenge!", he shouted as he was randomly shooting at her.
"You Idiot! Stop firing or you'll kill us all!", she yelled at him whilst taking cover behind a nearby console. Unfortunately, one of Narra's stray laser blasts hit the exposed interior of the subspace engine.
Momentarily distracted by the energy bolts that were shooting out of the engine, Arlena was hit from behind in her hip by another one of Narra's laser blasts, which went straight through her. Having collapsed on the ground, Arlena had a gaping wound and was quickly losing blood. Noticing a laser gun that one of the unconscious crewmembers was holstering, Arlena, under severe pain, managed to crawl to the officer and grab it from him.
She then took aim at captain Narra, who, due to his own injuries and the chaos that resulted from the energy bolts that continued to shoot out of the subspace engine, had trouble aiming at her. Forcing herself to ignore her injuries and steadying her aim, Arlena managed to fire a fatal shot through Narra's chest.
As Narra's body hit the ground, Arlena's wounds had finally gotten to her. As she lay dying on the floor, the last thing Arlena saw was the subspace engine exploding in a blinding flash of light.