"I saw people here," Ripley asserted to the skeptical group as they stared at her. She told them about the fake Matt that's really a sentient ink monster and they believed her, but telling them about the two strangers that passed her in her dazed, that's a different story with them.
Since she didn't get a good look at them, it further caused the team to disbelieve her. She tried telling them she couldn't on the account the fake Matt tried to strangle her and she was trying to breath. Of course, they didn't believe her, again.
Matt, on the account Ripley believed him when he saw someone in the office, believed her wholeheartedly. Jodie, of course, believed Ripley. She's the boss, after all.
Mallory, remaining objective, tried to tell Ripley that they would've seen them on their scanners. Of course, Ripley fired back with a comment that their scanners didn't pick up on the inherent danger in the fake library, and she shared a scowl with Ripley.
Meditating the tension, Matt told them that they now know what's going on. They know the motive for why the library's suddenly discoverable and that the ink monster wants to leave it.
"By the way of your gut," Clarkson pointed out to Matt.
Matt shirked in his spot and Ripley spoke up, telling Clarkson, "He'll kill us all to get out of here and he's not going to stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. Unless you have a better idea, we stick together. Remember, he'll turn into one of you to get close. So, if you want to get out of here, alive, I suggest working together and pay attention."
The ink monster made it abundantly clear that it doesn't want to stay in the fake library any longer and won't stop at nothing to get a body to house it and a ship to take. While Ripley would've helped the ink monster, it proved dangerous and she isn't about to let it get Matt. There's no telling what else it would've done after finding the real Alexandria's library and rather risk it, termination is the only solution.
"Since the library's fake, we can just burn it up with it, right?" Rebecca suggested.
High heat from the books and wood, should be enough to burn up the ink monster with no trouble. It's not the real library to begin with so they don't have to worry about the semantics.
While it would've been a better plan, Mallory shook her head, as she told Rebecca, "There's a book here and I need it."
Hearing it from Ripley, it confirmed that the book she's searching is here, and she's not risking the library without finding it first.
"Forget the book, we don't even know where it is!" Rebecca shouted at Mallory, stressed about their situation.
Trillions of books, there's no telling where it is, and there's no time in finding it. It's too dangerous to splint off into teams to look and no one's risking their lives over the book except Mallory.
"Even then, we don't know where that thing is!" Clarkson brought up another point.
The library's large and ominous, plenty of ways for the ink monster to attack them, and it's waited patiently for people like them to show up, it'll keep waiting until it's the right time to strike.
Returning to the ship's improbable, the ink monster would've attacked them there, easily, and kill them all.
Mallory won't leave without the book.
Jodie returning to her natural form and escaping with everyone's a risk, too, because the ink monster won't let them leave easily. It'll do whatever it take to get into the TARDIS and Ripley did not want that to happen.
"Okay, so what do we do?" Clarkson asks.
Ripley recalled seeing the ink monster steaming after something hit it and fled, but didn't know what it was, and asked Samuels what it could've been. He pondered, going through his internal logs. He came up with the usual suspects, acetone, alcohol, and detergents. As for the steaming, it's likely that what hit the monster has water in it too, the steam coming from the internal temperature.
"So, what, we sit on our arses holding water guns filled with rubbing alcohol?" Clarkson asked.
Matt spoke up, saying it's a good start.
"We have those, plenty enough to make our stand," Matt said.
He turned to Jodie who had a big grin on her face.
Ripley always kept the TARDIS stocked with the necessities.
That included rubbing alcohol, water, and detergents in case of emergencies where their clothes became soaked with anything.
Matt asked Samuels if it's possible for him to come up with a way for them to use them to bring down the ink monster.
Samuels stated he could, he just needed time and the items in question.
"Good thinking," Ripley mused as Matt smiled.
"Well, I had help," he smiled.
He told her to wait with the others as he and Jodie went around the corner.
Moments later, they came back with crates worth of detergents, rubbing alcohol, and bottles of water.
The team's baffled on where it came from, except for Samuels and Mallory, and Ripley helped stack the crates near the table as Samuels prepared to work.
"Remember, we need to destroy him completely or else he'll come back," Matt stated as Samuels grabbed from the crates, studying the labels, before his eyes started moving in a straight line, back and forth.
"87% chance it won't," Samuels stated the chance that the ink monster won't survive the ensuring plan.
Mallory asked him how possible it'll be to make it a full 100% and Samuels responded that's possible he can do it, but he'll need time.
"So, what now?" Rebecca asked them as she sat on one of the empty tables with her legs pressed against her chest.
Samuels stated heat's a good way to deter it from attacking. Their guns,' with slight modifications, more than capable of deterring the ink monster, since they're plasma grade, not ammunition grade.
While Samuels and Jodie (she decided to pitch in) worked out the details, Mallory and her team took out their guns and kept a watch on all surrounding areas.
Matt worked with Ripley on the computer, it's still on, so the ink monster didn't cut the power to it, and Ripley helped him. With added help from his Sonic Screwdriver, Matt got into the main directory of the library, and got the details from Mallory on the book she's looking for. Typing it all down, Matt watched the computer scan all categorized books in the system until one item showed on the screen.
Magistempus.
The name made no lick of sense to the two, but it's apparently the name that the book's under, and Mallory's delighted to know it's in the library. The duo worked to find where it's located, and found it's located in Section 4, Row 74.
Making mental notes of the location, the computer helpful in giving them a map of where exactly it is in the library, the two have the means to find the book Mallory sought.
With a problem, of course.
"He knows about the book," Ripley frowned as she stood near Matt.
The ink monster told her as much and if it's smart enough, it'll go after the book, and use it as leverage against them. Even if it didn't get the book first, it's not going to let them get very far without catching up. That's assuming it lets them live that long.
On edge, the team kept watch for any movement. Mallory's eyes slowly moved between the aisles, she didn't see anything move, and with Matt and Ripley finding where the book's hidden, when the time comes, she fully intended on taking it.
The journal, it's contents secret, contained powerful information that Mallory intended to learn from. Not for gain, not for power, but something else, and she knew that she's risking a lot for it.
It wasn't simple as her contact finding it for her, more, it was an elaborate plan, a heist, that involved him stealing it from the owner. It wouldn't surprise Mallory if she heard her contact dying soon after, since the owner of the journal would've wanted it back, and presumably tracked down the thief, her contact.
As for her, she knew that there'll be a time when the owner comes back for his journal, since it contained his darkest secrets, too dark for even the sun to shine through, and he'll kill her, too.
He'll find her, she knows he will, and there's nothing she can do to stop him. He's going to kill her. Even if she never went out of her way to find that journal, that man still would've killed her.
The only thing she can do, now, learn as much as she can from his journal, and pass along the information to the right people, and for her husband, her sweetie, it may very well kill him, too.
Mallory wasn't a wallflower by any means, she'll go down fighting, but she'll make it difficult for that man, that cruel man, and if she can't kill him, she'll make him wish he was dead.
She never told the others the truth, too afraid of the fact herself, that she's well-aware of what's in store for her. That she'll never tell her sweetie her everything and he'd be helpless to stop what's to come.
In fact, Mallory didn't want her husband to intervene, out of fear that the man would've killed him, too. She knew he wouldn't hesitate and he'll make sure her husband's dead and that's the last thing she wanted on her mind.
It hurt her, always did, since she found out, but she marched on. It's in her nature.
"Yay!" Jodie clapped excitedly as she looked at the work that she and Samuels completed.
Samuels and Jodie created grenades out of the items collected. Slightly heavy, but easily carried with ridges to keep the grip, and easy to set.
Holding up one of them, Samuels stated that they're self-contained explosives. A good toss and they'll set off. The ten second delay's enough time for them to get away to safety.
"That's your plan, grenades?" Clarkson gestured with his free hand.
Samuels added, "We rig the sprinkler system with the liquid and set it off. Disable the timer and restraint, flood the library."
Another way to stop the ink monster, flood the entire library with the substance. Soak everything and everywhere, anywhere that it can hide, and get it that way if not the grenades.
Effectively, it can't hide with everything coated in the liquid, caught, it's good as dissolved.
"I have it rigged where all you need to do is connect it," Samuels showed the canister that'll replicate the liquid. It's heavy, but not enough that none of them couldn't carry it.
"Who's going to rig it?" Rebecca inquired.
Looking at Mallory, Ripley suggested she helped rigging the canister to the sprinkler system, noting, "You want this book, don't you, well, you'd want to get to it first before then."
If Mallory wanted that book, she needed to help Ripley and Matt.
"Jodie, you keep an eye on them, if if you have to, you know what to do," Ripley told her as she collected the canister.
Jodie cupped a hand over her forehead as she exclaimed, "On it, boss!"
Samuels told Matt where to find the sprinkler system and how to hook the canister up to it.
Nodding, Matt affirmed what Samuels told him.
Looking over, Mallory grabbed some grenades, and Samuels took the time to modify her gun, so she's able to defend herself from the ink monster.
Barking orders to her team, Mallory instructed them to hold the line as she and the others worked towards the sprinkler system. She warned that there's a possible chance the ink monster tries to hurt them.
With the plan, they went to work.
Rushing, Matt led the women through the winding library, searching for the sprinkler system.
Samuels told him all he needed to do was disconnect the pipes and connect them to the canister, like one would a keg in a pub, and make sure the washboards tightened on them so nothing leaked.
When that's done, all Matt needed to do, override the controller so the sprinklers don't stop, and go from there.
Since Mallory held the key to the ship and the ink creature wanted Matt, it's better if they gotten away from the team, allowing them time, and for the ink creature to focus on them.
"Section 4," Mallory coughed as she looked at the signs on the bookcases. Numerous, she's passed by dozens, and the highest she seen's nearly Section 10,000,000,000!
Struggling, Mallory switched from looking at the signs and running with the duo.
They ran until they found a door on the ground floor, hidden away, and Matt override it, with a wave from his Sonic Screwdriver.
Prying the door open, the three peered inside the intricate system that allowed the sprinklers to work.
Following Samuels' instructions, Matt located the flexible pipes that coiled, and went towards them. He twisted them off the valves and twisted them onto the canister as Ripley held it.
Once they did, Ripley laid the canister down, and Matt went towards the controls. He used his Sonic Screwdriver and prepared for the sprinkler system to go off at any time.
Mallory told him not to let it go off just yet, she wanted to find the journal.
Ripley's baffled, but Mallory told her that all they could've easily started the sprinklers by setting off the grenades.
"This journal better be worth it," Ripley muttered under her breath as she went with Mallory and Matt to look for Section 4.
With the ink removed from the numerals, it's difficult for them to spot the numbers without going up to the signs, and feeling the grooves.
"What's the plan when we find it?" Ripley asks her.
Row 74 didn't seem that intimidating until the rows on the bookcases goes as high as the books present in the library.
Mallory assured her that she has a plan to get the book.
Running, the trio skid across the waxed floor, coming to a stop, Mallory ran up to the bookcase and felt the sign.
Section 4.
She looked up to the top of the bookcase and narrowed her eyes.
"Row 74's up there," Mallory told them.
Ripley asked how she planned to get up there and she replied, "I'm always prepared."
Mallory's always prepared and she hid some jets in her suit's feet in case she needed them.
"Um, Ripley," Ripley heard her name and turned her head.
Standing behind them, two Matts.
Matt wasn't paying attention and only turned his head.
When he turned back, there was another him, standing nearby.
"You're joking!" Ripley sucked air through her teeth as she glimpsed between them.
Ripley and Mallory looked between the two Matts. They looked at each other briefly before looking back. Two Matt, both acted and looked the same. Trying to talk's difficult as the two overlapped until Ripley silenced them.
Holding her modified gun, Mallory's eyes moved between the two Matt, trying to spot the real one, it's difficult when they're both practically the same person.
Without the liquid, they couldn't just spray the men and see who's the real one and who's the fake. Using a knife to cut them and see what comes out, even more, as the monster easily would've used his ink tendrils to kill whoever used the knife.
Knowing that if she chose wrong, she risked killing the real Matt, Mallory looked towards Ripley, asking her help.
"One of you is the real Matt," Ripley slowly said. "One of you is… not the real Matt."
The two Matt both held the same expression, fear and confusion.
Recalling when the fake Matt grabbed her, feeling his clammy hand around her neck, Ripley opted to try to see who's the fake by looking at his hands. She knew all the injuries that Matt received on his hands and how rough they've become from the callouses formed. He's tried lotion to smooth his palms and just yesterday he gotten another bottle.
He didn't put any on today because of the electronics they're fixing. Lotion residue and electronics weren't friends.
"Show me your palms!" Ripley ordered the men.
The real Matt still had a scar on his left hand from cutting it sometime ago, hardly noticeable, but still there.
The women watched as the two Matt slowly raised his hands before them and slowly opened their palms for the women to see.
Flashing light on both set of palms, the women studied the palms, and the answer's clear on who's the real Matt.
Mallory handed the gun to Ripley, fully trusting her to make the decision, and Ripley held the gun with her right hand. She held it outright as she looked between the men.
"You don't have to do this," Ripley tried to call out the fake Matt. "You're bitter about guarding a fake library. You're immortal and bored out of your damn mind. You just want a change in scenery. That's fair. You don't have to kill us!"
She tried to compel the ink monster, understanding it's plight and bitterness, it's desires, in hopes of forcing it to reconsider it's plans.
None of the men answered, wisely the fake Matt wasn't going to oust himself to Ripley.
Frowning, Ripley looked at the men, she wanted to pull the trigger, but not yet, she needed to be sure that she made the right choice.
"Fine, don't answer, but don't say I didn't try to help," Ripley shook her head, her auburn hair flowing to the side of her shoulder. "But, you have to answer my question."
The men looked at her.
"What's my name?" Ripley asked them.
It's an odd question, but an important one.
She knew who the real Matt is, simply but what he tells her.
Watching the men shift in their spots, their hands still up, she watched their faces, their eyes, seeing the little things that people miss when looking at people.
"You better answer me or I'll just have to kill you both," Ripley coolly told them.
She leaned heavily on the last bit of the sentence, but she made it clear that failure to answer her would've resulted in both their deaths, and that wouldn't be good for either them to stay silent.
"It's…" the first Matt tried to say.
"It's…" the second Matt tried to say.
They're tongue tied and Ripley saw this.
"Ripely?" the first Matt blinked.
He turned his head towards the second Matt as he struggled. He ended up telling Ripley, "I don't know."
There's a smile on the first Matt's lips, but it went away when he flew backwards from the force of the gun as it fired into his chest and he disappeared into the darkness.
The second Matt's eyes wide as he held his heart.
Ripley gave the gun back to Mallory and hurried towards Matt, wrapping her arms around him.
"Oh god," Matt exhaled sharply as he wrapped his arms around Ripley.
"Sorry," Ripley frowned as she didn't mean to put Matt in a tough spot.
Matt forgave her as he pointed out, he's still alive.
He asked why she didn't ask them to show her their Sonic Screwdriver and she replied that she didn't want to risk the fake Matt creating it out of filament and ink.
Nodding, Matt understood.
He brought up that it worked out, nevertheless.
Not knowing her name proper gave him an advantage over the fake Matt, so for once, not knowing anything about Ripley saved his life.
Mallory stood next to them an ushered them away. Call it a hunch, but she doubted the shot would've kept the ink monster down for long, it's not going to stop at nothing until they're all dead. The shot would've kept it from assuming new forms, though, since the hole in it's chest cauterized permanently. It'll be difficult for it to hide since it's big enough to cover the chest.