Chapter 11- Future

"Doctor!…. Doctor!"

The Doctor snapped back up. Shu was holding him by the shoulders.

"Huh… Shu?" He put his hand on his forehead.

"Um… the TARDIS just materialized in front of us and opened the doors."

"What?" The Doctor looked behind Shu. Hare, Kanon, Yahiro, and Arisa were taking in the 'bigger on the inside' spectacle while Souta was videotaping the interior.

"Inori! Where's Inori!" The Doctor stood up.

Shu looked down. "Tsugumi said they're at the airport. Most of their forces have been wiped out…"

"Also… what are they doing in here?!" The Doctor grabbed Souta's camera.

"Hey!" Souta screamed.

"No videos."

"They can keep a secret." Shu said. "I told them about my powers as well."

"So you're some sort of alien then?" Souta asked.

"Yeah." The Doctor handed the camera back after deleting footage using the sonic. "Now we need to get to Inori before…"

The TARDIS phone rang. The Doctor picked it up.

"Doctor!" It was Andromeda. "The rip in the universe is opening!"

"What?"

"We've detected the signature on Earth. Around your area. The crack, it's opening! The Shadow Proclamation are still deciding whether to send in reinforcements or not."

"Ah! It's always paperwork first with you!"

The Doctor put the phone down then went outside to examine the sky.

"It's starting…"

"What is?" Shu asked.

"… The Second Lost Christmas."

The air had a metallic taste to it. Void energy hit the people wave after wave. The ones caught in it slowly started crystallizing. The Doctor went back to his box and pulled a lever. The TARDIS groaned and did nothing.

"I'm sorry. Pushed you too hard?"

"Doctor, what happened?" Shu stood behind the Doctor.

"The old girl's angry at me. I kinda went back to Lost Christmas."

"What?!"

"That doesn't matter now! We need to get to that airport and we can't use the TARDIS…"

"Um… Mr. Doctor?" Hare spoke up.

"Just the Doctor please. I'm allergic to titles."

"We could use the underground system."

*THE AIRPORT*

The Doctor knocked out a guard and took his keys. He then unlocked a military jeep.

"Everyone in."

The Doctor started driving once everyone was inside the vehicle. Shu stood on the roof of the jeep and heard a familiar voice.

"Mou anata kara aisareru koto mo."

"Hitsuyou to sareru koto mo nai."

Shu realized it was Inori.

"Doctor! It's Inori!" Shu looked around. The Void Crystals around the infected were slowly disappearing.

The Doctor looked up at the main building of the airport. A bright light shined and metallic whips were helping heal people.

"This… this is brilliant!" The Doctor shouted in the front seat. "Inori's connected directly to the virus. She's reversing the effects!"

"Doctor!" Hare shouted. A GHQ barricade stood in front of them.

"Halt! We'll eliminate all intruders by force!" The GHQ announced.

"Shu! Shield please!" The Doctor said.

"Kuhouin!" Shu grabbed Arisa's void and put the shield in front of the jeep.

"Fire!"

The bullets did nothing to the shield. The Doctor rammed through the barricade with ease.

"Hanasanai de"

"Gyutto anata ga suki"

A helicopter flew above them and fired missiles. Shu deflected the missile but it instead hit the bridge in front of them collapsing it.

"Oh dear…" the Doctor kept driving. "Shu, you better think of something!"

"Hare!" Shu pulled out a bandage looking void out from Hare. The Doctor watched as Shu wrapped it around the bridge repairing it instantaneously. The Doctor pulled out his notebook and handed it to Yahiro who was in the seat behind him.

"Write that down please." The Doctor stepped on the pedal. "Hold on!"

They managed to make it across the bridge and into a tunnel. A squad of endlaves pursued them. A huge locked gate stood at the end.

"Souta!" Shu used Souta's void to unlock the gate allowing the Doctor to drive them through. The gate closed in time to make the endlaves pile up and explode.

"Shu! She's up there!" The Doctor pointed to the top of the control tower. Inori was standing there singing her heart out. "Buckle up! We're taking a short cut!"

The Doctor drove the jeep straight off the road and into the railing. It fell onto the runway and headed straight for Inori.

"Inori!" Shu shouted.

Inori spotted him and smiled.

"Hanasanai de"

"Gyutto anata ga suki "

"Ahhhhh!" An endlave came from behind and knocked the jeep against a building.

Shu sat up in pain.

"Everyone OK?!" The Doctor got out of the driver seat. Everyone nodded.

The endlave approached the crashed vehicle.

"Come out you little rats…" Daryl was piloting the robot. As he approached the car, a barrage of lasers came flying down. "What the hell?!"

A spacecraft hovered over the endlave.

"Well it's about time!" The Doctor yelled.

"Sorry, Doctor." Andromeda's voice came out of the ship. "Had to take things in my own hands."

"Who the hell are you?!" Daryl shouted and fired missiles.

"Oh hush dear." Andromeda dodged the missiles and fired the lasers at the endlave making it explode. "I'll give you guys a lift."

She lowered the fighter to allow the Doctor and Shu onto the wing.

"Yahiro?" The Doctor turned around.

"Yeah. I'll make sure they're safe." Yahiro got up and helped the others.

"Hold on boys…" Andromeda flew the ship up. "I'll try to stabilize the dimensional rift!"

Inori turned around. Shu and the Doctor stood on the roof as Andromeda flew away.

"Inori…" Shu walked forward.

"Shu!" Inori smiled.

The Doctor got his screwdriver out and scanned the portal behind Inori.

"Shu! Something's coming through!" The Doctor ran up to Shu.

A boy came out of the fissure and pulled Inori's void out.

"Inori!" Shu and the Doctor ran forward only to be knocked back by an energy blast. The boy turned to the two.

"I'm very disappointed in the both of you." He held Inori's sword in the air. "Ouma, you gain what could be your throne, and then just leave it empty forever. Time lord, you let humanity suffer when you had the chance to stop it. This is where we part. Goodbye."

Without Inori's song, the second Lost Christmas continued. The boy swung his sword at Shu and the Doctor only to be blocked by Gai. Crystals had formed all over his body. He stood in front of them with a giant bloody slash across his front body. He fell back onto the Doctor's arms.

"Gai!" The Doctor shouted.

"I can't ever leave you idiots alone, can I?" Gai said.

"Hold on…" the Doctor started treating the wound. Shu stared at Gai's cross and suddenly remembered something.

"Wait… you're…"

"So you finally remember? You're as dense as ever…" Gai smiled.

The Doctor looked up. The boy was still there.

"So… you're one of the Da'ath... What do you plan on doing with Inori?" The Doctor said.

"Eve will reawaken time lord... and there's nothing you can do for this planet." The boy descended into the rift.

"Doctor! I'll be fine but you have to follow him… the both of you." Gai said. "They're going to sacrifice Inori and awaken Mana!"

The Doctor put Gai down and stood up. "Shu! We need to stop them!"

The two of them ran towards the portal. Shu entered it first followed by the Doctor. The Doctor looked around to see where they were floating through.

"Oh no… we're in the time vortex." The Doctor watched as the walls of the vortex spun around them. The Da'ath boy was in front of them.

"My, my, Shu. If you're that determined to come with us, please do so after you've remembered everything." The Da'ath snapped his fingers and Shu screamed.

"Shu!" The Doctor shouted as Shu was swept away in the time vortex.

"As for you, Doctor… you're coming with me…"

….

The Doctor opened his eyes. He tried moving his arms but void crystals surrounded him. He spotted Shu in front of him.

"Shu!" Crystals formed around the Doctor's mouth keeping him quiet.

"Awake now?" A voice came from above a large staircase. On top, Inori was wearing a bridal gown while being surrounded by crystals. A man came out and stood beside Inori.

"Inori!" Shu shouted. "What is this?! Please give back Inori!"

"This girl has never been more than an 'instance body' we created to use as an interface for Mana. The words 'give back' aren't really appropriate." The man said.

The Doctor struggled but couldn't break free. He then had an idea.

"Mana was the first one infected with the Apocalypse virus." The man pointed at a glowing sphere behind Inori where Mana's soul was contained. "Eve. Her soul is currently being poured into a new body."

The Doctor started concentrating. His hands glowed yellow.

"Soon, the new human race will emerge… as Da'ath." The man smiled. "You're just a kid. So stand back and watch."

"Inori!" Shu tried moving forward but the crystals pointed at his neck.

"You mustn't interfere." The Da'ath boy said beside Shu. "He is about to propose to Mana through Inori. The two of them will be the parents of the new race."

The man placed a stone on a pedestal in front of Inori. He took a knife and cut his thumb. The blood oozed out. He placed his thumb on Inori's lips.

"Stop it!" Shu shouted. He then heard a blast from behind him. The Doctor had used his regeneration energy to escape from the crystals.

"For god's sake! Do you know how much regeneration energy I used on these crystals?! And on a new cycle too…" the Doctor stood beside Shu.

"Doctor?"

"Shu…"an eye came out from one of the crystals. "You've always shunned me from the start. You wrecked me back then, didn't you? Shu."

"Mana, it's over. The Da'ath have nothing good to offer you." The Doctor said.

"Wrong! I will be the mother of a new race of humanity!"

Crystals held the two up. A blast formed at the side of the wall. Gaia sat on an endlave being controlled by Ayase.

"Shuichiro! It all ends here!" Gai shouted.

The crystals let Shu and the Doctor go.

"Gai?!"

"The crystals must've stopped the bleeding." The Doctor said.

The endlave jumped and Gai started firing. Mana attacked with her crystal tentacles.

"Shu!" The Doctor led Shu up the staircase. One of the crystals spotted them and lashed out. The Doctor turned on the AT shield on his arm and blocked the attacks. The tentacles then hit the endlave destroying it completely.

Gai, the Doctor, and Shu were surrounded by the crystal eyes.

"Shu you have to remember!" Gai shouted.

"Shu look at me." The Doctor grabbed Shu's head with his hands. "I'm going to show you something. So you have to remember."

The Doctor started the psychic link. He showed Shu what he had seen. Mana in the church, his father, Scrooge and Carol. Shu took all this in. This in turn, unlocked some of his memories which the Doctor saw.

"Doctor…" Shu stepped back.

"You know what we have to do right?" Gai said.

"Get Mana's heart back." Shu replied.

"We need to stop her from awakening." The Doctor joined in.

"Shu, give me your hand." The Doctor placed Shu's hand on the amplifier. He then activated his sonic. A large energy blast hit the crystals shattering them.

"I've use the void energy from the crystals to upgrade your powers." The Doctor let go of his hand.

"Shu, draw my void out!" Gai stepped forward and grabbed Shu's hand. Shu nodded and reached into Gai's glowing chest. He pulled out a gun and handed it to Gai. The Doctor had given Shu the ability to draw voids from a person while keeping them conscious.

"Doctor, Shu, cover me while I head to Mana."

"Got it." They both said.

Crystal tentacles surrounded them.

"I don't really have a catchphrase anymore." The Doctor said before running in the center while Gai and Shu ran at the sides.

"Inori!"

"Shu, who are you calling?" Mana's tentacles attacked him.

"Doctor!" Shu shouted.

The Doctor shattered the crystals with the shield and yelled. "Gai!"

Gai shot his gun at Inori. The blast went through her chest. Her void sprouted from her.

"A void that forces other voids to manifest…" the Doctor said in amazement.

Shu grabbed the sword and shattered the pedestal sending Inori and Shuichiro flying off. Shu grabbed Inori and pointed the sword at Shuichiro.

"Gai! Go!" Shu yelled.

The Doctor ran up the stairs. "You…"

"No… that's impossible."

"Why'd you kill him?"

Shuichiro tried to run but was stopped by the Da'ath boy.

"Stand down, Shuichiro. You failed." He touched Shuichiro's forehead and the two teleported away. Gai managed to reach Mana only to be impaled on spikes in front of her. Shu and The Doctor ran up while the Doctor was fending off multiple tentacles.

"Gai!" Shu shouted.

"Stab Mana right through me, Shu!" Gai shouted. "I'm a dead man either way."

"But…"

"Shu!" The Doctor called. "I can't hold them off for long!"

"Gai! Please!" Tears formed in Shu's eyes.

"You can become me anytime you want, Shu. Just like I became you." Gai smiled. "Do the rest on your own. Doctor!"

The Doctor turned around.

"Back then... you were the one who told me to fight?"

"Yes." The Doctor replied.

Gai smiled. "Thank you."

"Argh!" A crystal knocked the Doctor down on the floor.

"Shu! Hurry up!" Gai shouted.

Shu looked down before running the sword through Gai and into Mana. The entire complex shook as the crystals shattered.

"The entire building is made of Void Crystal." The Doctor got back up. "Shu!"

The Doctor grabbed Shu. "We need to go. Grab Inori and let's go."

….

"Yuu…" a voice came out from a crack the Da'ath boy was facing. "The time lord still lives…"

"I understand the nature of the problem but don't worry. We'll make sure things go according to plan."

"If the time lord interferes once more…"

Yuu narrowed his eyebrows. "I said don't worry. We have a plan for the Doctor." He smiled. "First step is to take his box."