Remnant Who
By ReaderWarrior
I do not own Doctor Who or RWBY.
The End of the World (B)
Beta'd by: -
As always, please comment! It honestly makes my day to read your thoughts and opinions.
Tell your friends!
Dead (named) characters:
Clive, Raffalo
Fantastics:
1
Reviews:
Shane Ee1 - Thank you again. I hope you didn't mind the wait.
Rose Rich 2002 - Yes, I am alive. Don't worry, I'll let you all know if I end up kicking the bucket. Also, nice theory, but the Librarian was watching the newest season of RWBY. It's how he can keep himself updated.
Fmourajr - Hmmm, possibly. I think Blake might keep the 9th as her favorite. I hope I'll be able to write this story long enough to meet all of them too!
Sammykordy10 - Thank you very much! I hope it's a good 'interesting' and not a bad 'interesting'. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Guest - I am probably going to write this one chapter at a time. I have other Fics that I want to continue. However, I do not plan to leave you all in the middle of an episode for a long period of time.
A large hallway is shown full of pipes. Wires dangle from the rooftop and many mechanical pieces are scattered across the walls and flooring. Amongst the necessary inner workings of the satellite are dozens of spider drones.
"Oh, gods," Blake shudders, "that's a lot."
Yang nods, "How is the Doctor going to get rid of them all?"
"Maybe an EMP?" Ruby wonders.
The spiders hear a loud noise and quickly scurry away as the Doctor pokes his head inside. As he steps into the maintenance shaft, Jabe follows him closely.
"Who's in charge of Platform One?" The Doctor asks as he leads the way. "Has it got a captain or what?"
"There's just the steward and the staff," Jabe answers. "All the rest is controlled by the metal mind."
The Doctor looks back at her as he steps deeper into the ship. "You mean the computer? Well, who controls that?"
"The Corporation. They move Platform One from one artistic event to another."
"Smart," Weiss adds. "They probably sell out their services as well to help create the event. Father would do the same for his parties, finding the cheapest, yet most respectable, estates to host us."
Yang rolls her eyes. "Man, you rich people really don't know how to have fun. Just throw the party at your own house."
"Well, there's no one from the Corporation on board," he explains.
"They're not needed," Jabe explained, "This facility is purely automatic. It's the height of the Alpha class. Nothing can go wrong."
"Unsinkable?" the Doctor asks.
"If you like. The nautical metaphor is appropriate," she answers.
The Doctor sighs. "You're telling me! I was on board another ship once. They said that was unsinkable. I ended up clinging to an iceberg. It wasn't half cold."
"Wait," Weiss cuts in, "didn't the Librarian and Clive talk about this? The ship that was 'unsinkable'?"
Blake's eyes go wide, "you're right! What was it called?"
"The Titan?" Yang offers.
"The RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner operated by the White Star Line that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912, after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City." ELI explains.
"Yeah, that," Yang snaps her fingers. "Thanks Ella!"
"It's ELI you blonde bimbo," came the snark reply from the AI.
Pausing, the Doctor turns to Jabe and clarifies, "so, what you're saying is, if we get in trouble, there's no one to help us out?"
Jabe pauses for a moment then shakes her head. "I'm afraid not."
"Fantastic!" The Doctor grins before continuing his descent into the satellite's belly.
"I don't understand," the tree-like alien says, confused. She quickly chases after the Doctor. "In what way is that fantastic?"
"Because he can do whatever he needs to do without worrying about anyone stopping him," Ruby realizes.
Blake nods in agreement. "But still, he could at least try to sound less excited."
Behind them, another of one of the spider-drones crawls along a pipe and disappears into the wires.
"Not again," Yang groans.
"Can they not hear them!?" Weiss yells, almost exploding.
Blake places a hand on the heiress' arm, "it's likely that the machinery is hiding it. I'm sure the Doctor-"
"And Jabe," Ruby adds.
"-will be fine."
Back in the observation gallery, Rose and the so-called 'last human' stand (hang) in front of the large windows displaying the ever-approaching sun.
"Soon, the sun will blossom into a red giant, and my home will die. That's where I used to live, when I was a little boy, down there. Mummy and Daddy had a little house built into the side of the Los Angeles Crevice." Cassandra pauses before sighing, "I'd have such fun."
"Aww," Ruby sighs. "That's so sad."
"It's all going to burn, every trace," Weiss adds, her voice shaking.
"What happened to everyone else?" Rose asks, turning to her elder, er, junior. "The human race, where did it go?"
"They say mankind has touched every star in the sky," she answers cryptically.
Rose furrows her brow, "so… you're not the last human?"
"I am the last pure human," she scoffs. "The others… mingled." Her voice was laced with poison as she revealed what happened to the previous inhabitants of the planet below.
Blake bristles and she hisses, "what's wrong with that?"
Yang grabs her partner's hand and grips it tight. "Absolutely nothing."
"Oh, they call themselves 'New-humans' and 'Proto-humans' and 'Digi-humans', even 'Human-ish'." Cassandra snarls, "but do know what I call them?"
She doesn't even wait for Rose's answer before saying, "mongrels."
If Blake still had her sword on her, she would have sliced the screen. Actually, if it wasn't for Yang holding her hand, she might have just torn it to shreds with her claws.
Rose rolls her eyes. "Right. And you stayed behind."
"I kept myself pure!"
Nodding sarcastically, the true human asks, "how many operations have you had?"
"Seven hundred and eight. Next week, it's seven hundred and nine. I'm having my blood bleached." Cassandra squints her eyes at Rose, "is that why you wanted a word?"
Weiss scrunches her nose, "like she should be taking advice from a sheet!"
"Nice," Ruby giggles, then stopping suddenly. This earns a few eyebrow raises from her friends.
"You could be flatter, Rose," the sheet critiques. "You've got a bit of a chin poking out."
Rose tries to look down at her chin, but is physically unable to. "I'd rather die," she responds.
"Honestly, it doesn't hurt," Cassandra responds, trying to comfort the blonde.
"I mean it," Rose frowns, "I'd rather die. It's better to die than live like you, a bitchy trampoline!"
Yang cheers, "get 'em girl!"
Blake also applauds and Ruby would have joined in on the celebration, if Weiss wasn't holding her hands to the red-hooded girl's ears.
"Stop doing that!" She whined.
"No need for you to pick up any of that language," Weiss scolded.
"Oh," the sheet grumbled. "Well, what do you know?"
Rose points down at the large rock below. "I was born on that planet. And so was my mum, and so was my dad. And that makes me, officially, the last human being in this room. 'Cause you're not human. You've had it all nipped and tucked and flattened till there's nothing left. Anything human got chucked in the bin! You're just skin, Cassandra. Lipstick and skin!" Rose turns away and walks off. "Nice talking."
And as she does, the Adherents of the Repeated Meme watch her leave the room.
"Uh oh," Ruby mumbles.
Blake nods, "this can't be good."
Back in the maintenance duct, the Doctor and Jabe still continue their way towards the engine room.
"So, tell me, Jabe," the Doctor asks, "what's a tree like you doing in a place like this?"
Blake blushes, recognizing the cheesy line.
So does Yang, who gives a whistle. "Ooh, you go Doc!"
"T-t-this is not the time for that," Blake stutters.
Jabe answers quickly. "Respect for the earth."
"Oh, come on," he scolds. "Everyone on this platform is worth zillions!"
"Well, perhaps it's a case of having to be seen at the right occasions."
Weiss nods in agreement. "Father would often get invited to many parties, but would only go to those that either put him in the best light or the ones he had to go to."
"I said it before, and I'll say it again," Yang critiques. "You rich people really don't know how to have fun."
The Doctor laughs. "In case your share prices drop? I know you lot. You've got massive forests everywhere, roots everywhere! And there's always money in land."
Pausing, Jabe answers once more. "All the same, we respect the Earth as family. So many species evolved from that planet. Mankind is only one. I am another. My ancestors were transplanted from the planet down below, and I'm a direct descendant of the tropical rainforest once known as the Amazon."
"The Amazon?" Ruby asks. "Isn't that a warrior?"
"Correct," ELI responds. "But, the Amazon was also a gigantic rainforest over 2 million square miles in length, or almost 7 million square kilometers."
"Wow."
"Excuse me," the Doctor interrupts as they walk up to a panel. He pulls out his sonic screwdriver and points it at the screen.
"And what about your ancestry, Doctor?" Jabe asks. "Perhaps you could tell a story or two. Perhaps a man only enjoys trouble when there's nothing else left. I scanned you earlier. The metal machine had trouble identifying your species. It refused to admit your existence. And even when it named you, I wouldn't believe it."
"Why?!" Weiss exclaimed. "What is he!?"
And why is it so terrible?" Blake adds.
The Doctor's hand stops slightly as the femallen continues talking, his face no longer displaying any of the jovial nature he so often displays.
"But it was right. I know where you're from. Forgive me for intruding, but it's remarkable that you even exist. I just wanted to say how sorry I am." Jabe places a wooden hand on the Doctor's wrist.
He turns to the woman. The Doctor places his own hand on her and drops a single tear.
Ruby pulls her cloak tighter around her body. "I don't like this anymore."
Yang leans over and hugs her sister. "It'll be alright. It can't be that bad if the Doctor is still here."
The red-hooded huntress sinks into Yang's arms.
The Doctor shakes his head and snaps back to the panel. With a few more waves of the sonic, the door opens and he, along with Jabe, exit the maintenance duct.
Back with Rose, she continues walking through the halls to nowhere in particular. As she turns a corner, she finds the Adherents steadily walking towards her.
"Run!" Blake cries. Ruby, leaping out from her sister's grasp, also tells the blonde to run.
"I can't watch!" Weiss moans, holding her hands in front of her eyes but keeping her fingers spread far enough apart to still see the screen.
The head Adherant raises his gloved hand, pistol whipping her with it. The blonde lets out a grunt, then falls to the floor.
"NO!" RWBY yells.
Yang's hair begins to glow as she grips the seat cushions. "You… BASTARDS!"
Blake hisses at the dark-robbed aliens loudly, but, shockingly, Ruby growls as well.
"I want them to pay," Ruby whispers. "They need to pay."
Rose's body is slowly dragged away as the screen returns to the Doctor and Jabe.
The duo of aliens quickly enter the engine room. A slow chuffing is heard as loud rotor blades spin past the main walkway. Jabe studies the strange surroundings as the Doctor turns to her.
"Is it me or is it a bit nippy?" He asks before moving to the side. "Fair do's, though. That's a great bit of air conditioning. Sort of nice and old fashioned. Bet they call it retro." He leans down and scans another panel with his sonic screwdriver.
"Gotch'ya," the Doctor declares before pulling off the panel. When he does, one of the spider-droids jumps out onto the walkway. It quickly runs away and up the wall.
"Kill it!" Ruby yells, earning an agreeing yell from her teammates.
"What the hell is that?" The Doctor wonders aloud, watching the robot.
"Is it a part of the 'retro'?" Jabe offers.
The Doctor trunks back to the tree, "I don't think so." He quickly pulls out his sonic again and points it at the droid. "Hold on."
The droid freezes and turns back to the two, the sonic whirring interfering with either its programming or hardware. With the robot unmoving, Jabe pushes out her hand and a long earthly tendril lashes out. The droid is easily wrapped up and pulled down from the wall, landing in the Doctor's open palm.
"Hey, nice liana," he praises.
Weiss furrows her brow, "what's a liana?"
"A liana is a long-stemmed, woody vine," ELI explains. "They climb trees and other vertical surfaces to get more sunlight."
"So… another tree thing?" Yang summarizes.
ELI sighs electronically, "yes."
"Thank you," Jabe blushes. "Not supposed to show them out in public."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," the Doctor assures her. He turns back to the robot in his hand and inspects it. "Now then," he asks, "who's been bringing their pets onboard?"
"The Adherents!" Ruby answers.
Blake pauses and thinks for a moment, "wait… isn't this a little too obvious?"
"What do you mean," Weiss asks.
"Well, it's like they are being set up to be caught. It just doesn't feel right," the cat-Faunus answers.
"What does it do?" Jabe asks.
"Sabotage," came the Doctor's quick reply as he studys the droid.
"Earth death in 10 minutes," the automated recording declares, causing the Doctor and Jabe to look up.
"And the temperature's about to rocket," the Doctor realizes. "Come on."
"The planet's end!" Cassandra declares, surrounded by the dozen human-like aliens. "Come gather, come gather! Bid farewell to the cradle of civilization. Let us mourn her with a traditional ballad."
As the aliens all step to the sides and prepare to watch the earth burn, the jukebox plays a new song. Instead of the techno-music from before, now it plays a sharp tune.
'Baby, can't you see? I'm calling.'
Blake frantically covers her cat-ears. "What is that!?"
"Britney Spears' Toxic," ELI answers. "That is the sound of a synthesized surf guitar."
"I like it," Weiss comments.
'A guy like you should wear a warning. It's dangerous. I'm fallin'.'
The Doctor and Jabe turn a corner, bumping right into a large number of the blue alien assistants coughing in front of a smoking door.
"Hold on, get back!" The Doctor orders, pushing his way to the front. He pulls out his sonic screwdriver and begins working on the control panel.
"Sun filter, rising," the automated voice declares. "Sun filter, rising."
"Is the steward in there?" Jabe asks as the light in the room begins to fade.
"You can smell him."
Ruby's face turns a bit pale, "oh gods."
Yang clutches her stomach and groans, "ew."
"I think I'm going to be sick," Weiss mumbles, reaching for Ruby's bucket.
The Doctor frowns as he waves his tool against the monitor. "Hold on," he realizes, "there's another sun filter programmed to descend." He quickly leaps into action, running off towards the room that is programmed.
"You don't think…" Yang mumbles.
Blake nods fearfully, "oh no… Rose."
Wincing, the blonde companion slowly stirs. She places a hand against her head.
"Sun filter, descending," the voice once again declares. "Sun filter, descending."
As light fills the room, Rose leaps to her feet. The unfiltered rays of the sun steadily begin to fall as the filter descends. Rose panics and runs to the door.
"Sun filter, descending."
"Let me out!" She yells, banging on the door. "Let me out!"
Weiss gasps as she comes to a realization. "They locked the doors!"
"But, why?!" Blake asks, "they have no reason to kill Rose, she doesn't know anything."
"Because they are evil," Ruby hisses.
"Sun filter, descending."
Rose continues to bang on the door as the Doctor runs around the corner, stopping on the other side. As he comes to it, the door is already smoking as the harsh light burns its way through the room.
"Anyone in there?" The Doctor yells as he pulls back out the sonic screwdriver and begins waving it in front of the panel.
"Let me out!" Rose screams as she does her best to avoid the light.
The Doctor rolls his eyes. "Oh well, it would be you."
"Stop joking and let her out!" Blake yells.
Banging on the door, Rose orders the Doctor to "open the door!"
"Hold on!" He answers. "Give us two ticks!"
"Sun filter, descending. Sun filter, descending."
As the Doctor continues to wave his sonic back and forth over the control panel, Rose looks behind her in fear and terror.
Ruby begins to cry, "save her, Doctor!"
"Hurry up!" Weiss screams.
The control panel flickers for a moment, its alien script changing.
"Sun filter, rising" it echoes. "Sun filter, rising."
The Doctor smiles and RWBY cheers.
"Woo hoo!" Yang exclaims.
"That was too close," Weiss sighs.
"I can't believe he did it!" Ruby says excitedly. "Maybe-"
"Sun filter, descending."
RWBY's cheers suddenly fall short as they hear the haunting voice echo.
"No," Blake whimpers. "No, no!"
"Sonuva-" Yang begins to swear.
"Just what I need," the Doctor grumbles as he quickly flashes his tool across the panel. "The computer's getting clever."
Rose, having relaxed for a moment, now crouches against the door. "Stop mucking about!" She cries, scratching at the door.
"I'm not mucking about! It's fighting back!"
"Sun filter, descending."
Rose glances behind her and crouches lower. "Open the door!"
"I know!" He yells back, ripping the cover of the panel off.
With no more room, Rose quickly runs down the steps and ducks down next to one of the large stones.
"The lock's melted!" The Doctor yells, shoving the sonic screwdriver into the wired mesh that was the control panel.
"Sun filter, descending. Sun filter, descending."
"This can't be the end, can it?" Ruby whimpers, holding Weiss' arm.
For once, Weiss had no reply for her leader.
With one last twist, the Doctor shoves his tool deep inside the wall. The sonic buzzes loudly as it works in overdrive.
"Sun filter… Rising," the automated voice declares. "Sun filter, rising."
"Oh thank gods," Blake whispers.
"That," Yang gups, "was too close."
However, Ruby doesn't let go of Weiss, her eyes still glued to the screen. "It's not over."
Rose stands up as the light filters away and rushes back to the door. Now charred and black, the door still continues to steam.
The Doctor turns to the door as well, placing his hand against it and trying to move it apart. "The door is jammed," he realizes. "I can't open the door. Stay there and don't move!"
Weiss scoffs, "should be easy enough."
"I don't know," Blake replies, "what if the filter starts to fall again?"
"Well Doc better move quick!" Yang yells.
"Where am I going to go? Ipswich?!" Rose grumbles.
"Earth death in five minutes."
Back in the observation gallery, Jabe stands around a circle of the guests holding her device and the deactivated spider-droids.
"The metal machine confirms," she begins, "the spider devices have infiltrated the whole of Platform One."
The other guests gasp as the Doctor enters, who quickly takes the deactivated robot from Jabe and steps to the side.
"How's that possible?" Cassandra asks as her attendants stand at her sides. "Our private rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturise me, moisturise me."
Moxx nods his head, "summon the steward."
"I'm afraid… the steward is dead," Jabe responds.
Once again, the guest utter a loud gasp at this revelation.
"Who killed him?" Moxx asks.
"The Memes!" Ruby yells. "Kill the memes!"
Her teammates look at Ruby in shock, never before have they heard their leader wanting someone dead.
"This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe," Cassandra hisses, "He invited us. Talk to the face, talk to the face!" Across from her, the Face of Boe wiggles in his container, shaking his giant head in denial.
The Doctor holds up the spider droid, "easy way to find out. Someone brought their little pet onboard." He sets down the droid on the floor and it begins to twitch. "Let's send him back to master."
With the circle of aliens surrounding it, the droid crawls forward to the center of the room. It spins for a moment, looking for its creator. Then, slowly, it crawls towards the group of dark-robed aliens and chirps.
"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme," Cassandra glares. "J'accuse!"
"J'accuse?" Blake asks.
"It's french," ELI answers, "for 'I accuse'."
"Who cares?" Ruby snarls, "it's time they pay for what they have done."
Yang frowns and grabs Ruby's arm, "sis, calm down."
"Calm down?!" Ruby frowns. "They've killed Raffalo and the Steward. They need to be avenged. And-"
"That's all very well and kind of obvious," the Doctor interrupts. "But if you stop and think about it…" He steps forward towards the Adherents, where the lead one raises it's metallic claw and swipes it downward. The Doctor easily grabs its arm and stops the attack, then rips the arm clean off the robed figures' body.
"Oh dear," Weiss gasps, covering her mouth.
Blake frowns, "they're robots? Like the Atlas soldiers?"
"A repeated meme is just an idea," the Doctor explains to everyone around him as he reaches inside the robotic hand. "That's all they are, an idea." With a sharp tug on a wire, all of the Adherents fall to the ground with a small buzz. "Remote control droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker."
Ruby's eyes go wide, "it wasn't the Adherents?"
"I guess not," Yang answers, eyes glued to the screen.
He tosses the hand onto the pile of robes and turns back to the small spider droid. "Go on, jimbo. Go home." With a small nudge from the Doctor's foot, the spider droid steps back into the center of the room.
And walks straight to Cassandra.
Team RWBY gasps loudly.
"I knew it," Blake hisses, "that's why they tried to kill Rose. Because that trampoline felt threatened."
"It… it wasn't them?" Ruby asks, her voice sounding dazed and far away.
Yang's eyes flare red for a moment. "Did she do all of this just to kill the 'impures'?!"
"No," Weiss answers, "I don't think she would be that naïve. I'd wager she did this to gain a profit, she probably has stock in their companies and will get a boost if they all die."
"Earth death in four minutes. Earth death in four minutes."
Cassandra glares at the Doctor, "I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed."
Before anyone could ask, Weiss explains, "a swot is sort of like a nerd or a geek."
"Why can't you rich people just use normal words?" Yang grumbles.
"At arms!" She yells, commanding her attendants. They quickly step forward, raise their hoses, and point them at the Doctor.
He scoffs and mockingly places his hands on his chest with a pained look, "what are you going to do? Moisturize me?"
The four huntresses laugh at the Doctor's reaction.
"With acid."
The sounds of laughter in the theatre stops quickly.
Cassandra rolls her eyes. "Oh, you're too late anyway. My spiders have control of the main frame. You all carried the mas gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face."
"You are definitely not pretty," Yang comments.
"But you are just a face!" Ruby adds.
The Doctor tilts his head, "sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it? How stupid is that?"
"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation," she explains. "With myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous.
Rolling his eyes, the Doctor slides his hands into his jacket pockets. "Five billion years and it still comes down to money."
Weiss sighs and facepalms. Father would love this woman, she thinks to herself.
"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this?!" Cassandra exclaims with a snarl. "Flatness costs a fortune! I am the last human, Doctor. Me, not that freaky little kid of yours."
"She's more human than you!" Blake yells with a cat-like hiss.
Moxx waves his hands interjectionally, "arrest her! The infidel!"
Cassandra glares at the blue alien. "Oh, shut up, pixie. I've still got my final option."
"Earth death in three minutes. Earth death in three minutes," the echoing voice declares.
"And here it comes!"
Ruby gasps, "she's going to leave everyone to die!"
"But how is she going to escape?" Weiss argues. "It's not like the Doctor is just going to let her leave."
Cassandra's eyes wash over all the different participants, "you're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? 'Burn, baby, burn'."
"Then you'll burn with us!" Jabe exclaims.
"Oh," Cassandra chuckles, "I'm sorry. I know the use of teleporters is strictly forbidden, but… I'm such a naughty thing." Then, with a loud voice, she yells, "spiders, ACTIVATE!"
All around them, loud booming and whooshes sound off as the station shakes. Inside the many nooks, crannies, and vents of Platform One, the spider droids all self-destruct in hundreds of synchronized explosions.
"Forcefields gone with the planet about to explode," Cassandra explains to the time traveler. "At least it'll be quick… Just like my fifth husband." She laughs at her own joke while everyone else looks out the window, realizing how close the orangish-light is approaching. "Oh, shame on me. By-bye, darlings."
Then, before anyone could stop her, a bright light shone around the last human and her nurses. Within a few seconds, they had vanished completely.
"But," Weiss sputters, "I thought teleporters weren't allowed on board!"
"Doesn't mean she couldn't sneak one onboard," Blake responds.
"But how?" Weiss questions, "it's not like they would have let a teleporter inside."
"Heat levels rising," the computer warns as Cassandra and her posse vanish completely.
Moxx, once again, waves his hands frantically. "Reset the computer!" He yells.
"Only the steward would know how," Jabe responds.
"No," the Doctor interrupts, "we can do it by hand." He starts making his way back towards the main door, stopping only to wave at femallen tree. "There must be a system restore switch. Jabe, come on."
As the duo exits the main door, the Doctor gives one last word of advice before dashing off back to the engine room. "You lot, just chill!"
"Nice one," Yang chuckles, earning a smack to the back of the head. "Ow!"
Blake frowns at the blonde, "not the time for puns."
"Sowwy."
"Heat levels rising."
Alarms blare loudly throughout the satellite as the exploding sun's light waves ever closer.
"Earth death in two minutes," the computer continues to repeat as the ship heads towards oblivion. "Earth death in two minutes."
As the Doctor and Jabe rush back through the maintenance duct, the computer continues to warn about the heat levels. The two quickly run back into the engine room, stop right in front of the large fan blades.
"Oh," the Doctor sighs, "and guess where the switch is." Across from them, behind the three different blades, rests a large lever on the foremost wall.
"Aw, c'mon!" Yang groans.
Weiss slaps her hand against her head, "what kind of engineer came up with this?!"
"Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising."
Looking around him, the Doctor notices a panel besides them. He quickly rips it off, revealing another lever, which he quickly pulls. The blades slow down as he does. The Doctor lets go and steps back towards the fans, only for the lever to snap back up and the blades to return to their top speed.
"C'MON!" Yang yells.
"Someone has to hold that lever down," Blake realizes.
"But the only one there is Jabe," Weiss adds.
Ruby's eyes go wide and her fists clench, "but… she's a tree."
"External temperature 5,000 degrees."
Jabe turns to the side and pulls the lever, holding it down. The Doctor turns around as he notices the blades slow.
"You can't," he pleads, "the heat's gonna to vent through this place."
"I know."
"Jabe, you're made out of wood."
"Then stop wasting time… Time Lord," she pleads.
"Time-" Yang starts.
"-Lord?" Ruby finishes.
Weiss looks upward, "is that the Doctor's race?"
"Yes," ELI responds. "The Doctor is a Time Lord, a Gallifreyan to be exact."
"Woah," Blake blurts out.
The Doctor smiles at Jabe, then turns back around to the fans.
Back on the observation deck, the aliens all watch the large window as alarms blare loudly.
"Heat levels hazardous!" The computer warns as the glass begins to crack, earning screams from the different species.
Moxx's gaze jumps from all the different signs of breakage. "We're going to die!" He screams in terror as more cracks begin to form.
"Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising."
Pausing briefly to time the speed of the rotors, the Doctor leaps through the first fan. He quickly runs up to the second, stopping and watching the gap of the blades.
"That's one!" Yang cheers.
Rose curls up into a fetal position inside of her room. Having barely gotten over the terror of the falling filter, her eyes go wide in true fear as cracks begin to form on the glass in front of her.
Unfiltered beams of light shout outward along the cracks, their touch on the already-burned walls around her begin to smoke once again.
Gasping, Rose shuffles left and right in a desperate attempt to avoid the glares.
"Shields malfunctioning," the computer warns with a small delay. "Shields malfunctioning."
"Oh no!" Ruby yells in panic, grabbing Weiss' shoulder in terror.
Having stopped at the second fan, the Doctor pauses to look back at Jabe. She nods assuringly to the now-named Time Lord.
"Heat levels critical! Heat levels critical!"
With a pained expression, he turns back to the fan. Counting off three rotations, he lunges forward and through the second fan.
"One more!" Weiss exclaims while grabbing Ruby's arm as well.
The 'good and the great' all scream as the glares begin to shine through. Moxx, being constricted to his chair, could do nothing as he was engulfed in light. Within moments, his body was vaporized to the point of unrecognizability.
Rose whimpers as the glares spread, striking more areas around her.
The Doctor steps up to the last fan, preparing himself to leap through the last game.
"Heat levels rising! Heat levels rising!"
Before he could, Jabe begins to scream. Looking back, the Doctor watches in fear and regret as the tree fremallen bursts into flames. Whether it was her clothes, or her wood, the fire greedily eats away at her.
Distracted by the flames, her grip on the safety lever is released and the fans begin to spin. Not only do they return to normal speed, but with the added heat, they work in overdrive and spin at a greater pace than before.
"Oh, gods," Blake whispers, clutching her stomach.
"They blades!" Weiss worries, "how will he get through now?"
"Maybe he can jump it?" Yang asks.
Ruby shakes her head. "That's too fast. Even for me!"
The Doctor turns back to the blades, which are now moving fast enough to push against him with their wind pressure. With his leather jacket billowing like a cape, he stumbles backward as he tries to get his footing.
"Doctor!" Rose screams as the glare lances pierce the room around her.
The Doctor stands back up. With solid stature and focused vision, he glares at the fan blades.
"Planet explodes in: Ten… Nine… Eight…"
Breathing slowly, he closes his eyes. The world seems to grow still and hushed around him.
"Seven… Six… Five…"
"I can't watch!" Ruby yells, turning away but still keeping an eye on the screen.
Then, he takes a single step into the fan.
And steps out behind it.
Team RWBY all collapse in various states of panic.
"Oh my gods," Blake breathes, releasing a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"That… Was too much for me," Weiss agrees as she wipes a few beads of sweat from her brow with a handkerchief.
Ruby collapses to the floor and shivers, "he just… stepped through… how?!"
"Hurry!" Yang yells at the screen, "flip the switch!"
"Four…"
Opening his eyes, the Doctor looks behind him in slight amazement.
"Three…"
The Doctor turns back around and dashes to the panel.
"Two…"
Pulling on the lever, he looks upwards and yells, "raise shields!"
"One."
Outside, a bright blue light shines around the satellite, the shields reactivating. Just in time as the Earth's surface begins to burn. Orange ripples wrap around the planet as the sun's burning gaze touches upon it. Within seconds, the entire planet is engulfed in the light and explodes into a fiery ball of rock and flame, leaving only the satellite standing.
Rose opens her eyes slowly as the light begins to dissipate from around her.
"She's alive!" Ruby cheers, earning a 'whoop!' from Yang.
"That was too close!" Weiss critiques.
"Exo-glass repair," the computer's voice hums. "Exo-glass repair." As the light fades, so do the cracks in the glass, which fixes itself.
The Doctor steps slowly through the blades once more, with them now having returned to a slow-relaxed speed. He stops at a smoking pile of ash, his eyes filled with sorrow.
"Jabe…" Blake murmurs with tears in her eyes.
Yang nods her head slowly, "a true hero. Making the ultimate sacrifice."
Stepping back into the observation deck, Rose gets her first glimpse of the room for the first time in what felt like hours. The blue servants moved slowly about as they cleaned what they could. The base of Moxx's chair was all that remained of him, the top of it black and burnt. The other aliens hovered around the room in a daze.
The doors open once more as the Doctor enters. Pausing only to give a glance at Rose, he walks up to Lute and Coffa, the other trees from the Forest of Cheem. A few words are spoken, unheard by Rose or RWBY.
As he turns away, the two mallen trees begin to sob, holding each other in comfort.
"Are you okay?" Rose asks as he walks up to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he responds quickly. "In fact, I'm full of ideas. I'm bristling with 'em! Idea number one, teleportation through 5,000 degrees needs some kind of feed." The Doctor looks around the room for a moment before walking over to the opposite wall.
"Idea number two, this feed must be hidden nearby." He walks over to the last ostrich egg gift and smashes it against the pedal it sat upon. Instead of yolk, a small mechanical device spills out.
Weiss gasps, "that's how she snuck it onboard!"
"Smart idea," Blake nods. "No one is really going to check the inside of an egg."
"Idea number three," he continues as he steps back to the center of the room, device in hand, "if you're as clever as me, then a teleportation-feed can be reversed." The Doctor grips the device tightly and twists a small nozzle on its side.
"Yeah!" Ruby cheers.
"Get that sheet-bitch!" Yang yells in agreement.
A light begins to flash in the center of the room.
"You should have seen their little alien faces, they-." Cassandra pauses, realizing she is back in the observation deck. "Oh."
"The last human," the Doctor snarls.
"So you passed my little test," Cassandra frantically lies. "Bravo! This makes you eligible to join the-the-the Human Club."
Blake bristles, "the human club?!"
"People have died, Cassandra," he scolds. "You murdered them."
Cassandra scoffs. "It depends on your definition of people and that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries.
Yang had to hold down Blake as she leaped from her chair, reaching for her gun.
"Easy girl," she says, pulling Blake back to her seat, "the Doctor will handle this."
"Take me to court, then, Doctor, and watch me smile and cry and flutter and-"
"And creak?" The Doctor asks.
The 'last human' frowns. "And what?"
"Creak. You're creaking." Sure enough, a soft creaking noise could be heard coming from the sheet. As the edges of her 'skin' dry up and hard, they begin to shrivel and rip.
"What? Ah! I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens. Moisturize me, moisturize me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!" Cassandra frantically calls out for help as the dryness spreads.
"You raised the temperature," he reminds Cassandra.
"Comeuppance," Weiss smirks.
"Wait," Ruby mutters, "is he actually going to let her die?"
"Have pity! Moisturize me! Oh, Doctor!"
Rose walks up and grabs the Doctor's arm. "Help her," she pleads.
"Everything has its time," he reminds her, repeating the words he used earlier, "and everything dies." With a steely-eyed gaze, the Doctor watches as Cassandra dries up more and more."
Eyes bulging (quite literally), Cassandra groans in pain. "I'm… too… YOUNG!" With a small pop, the skin that was her face explodes outwards, leaving only the tattered edges on the frame.
RWBY's jaws drop to the floor.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Weiss groans.
Blake snarls, "she deserved it."
Ruby stared slack-jawed at the screen at the horrific site of a human exploding.
"Take that," Yang comments with a growl.
"Shuttles four and six now departing," the electronic voice declares. "This unit is now closing down for maintenance."
Rose stands in front of the large observation window at the now red and burning ball that was once the home of the human race. "The end of the Earth," she comments as the Doctor walks up behind her. "It's gone. We were too busy saving ourselves. No one saw it go."
"I forgot about that," Yang groans. "The whole reason they came here was to watch this, and they never even got the chance."
"To be honest… they were kind of busy," Blake defends.
"All those years, all that history, and no one was even looking! It's just…" Rose sighs.
Holding out his hand to her, the Doctor says, "come with me."
The screen jumps to Rose stepping out of the T.A.R.D.I.S into a brightly lit area. The Doctor follows behind her, closing the doors to his blue box. Around them, the sounds of people bustling can be clearly heard. A child cries, phones ring, and other noises typically associated with large gatherings echo loudly.
Rose and the Doctor stand in the center of a large cloud as the world moves around them. Newspaper salesmen call out about their newest issue, children laugh, and people talk without a single care for the duo.
"You think it'll last forever," the Doctor begins. "People and cars and concrete. But it won't. One day… it's all gone. Even the sky," he explains, looking upward.
"It's just so hard to think about," Weiss comments. "One day, all of this will be nothing."
Blake nods, "but it's important to live each day like it is the last."
"Journey before destination," Ruby remembers.
"Then," Yang smiles, "let's just keep having fun!"
With a sorrowful look, the Doctor's head drops back down. "My planet's gone… It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust before its time."
"That's horrible!" Ruby cries.
Weiss gasps and jerks upwards. "He was trying to empathize with Rose! That's why he took her to the end, it was to try and show her how he must feel."
"What happened?" Rose asks.
"There was a war… and we lost."
"Oh no." Blake gasps.
Yang glares at the screen. "He lost his planet because of a war?! I'ma go and beat them up. Who did they fight?"
"That answer requires the Librarian's permission," ELI answers.
Weiss frowns. "So he's hiding stuff from us now? Not very considerate of him."
"He says… it's important you find out for yourselves about this enemy."
"... Fine."
"A war with who?" Rose questions. "What about your people?"
"I'm a Time Lord," he answers. "I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling on my own 'cos there's no one else."
"He's… the only one?" Blake repeats.
"The last of his kind." Ruby adds. "That's... "
"Sad." Weiss whispers. "Just sad."
Rose smiles. "There's me."
"You've seen how dangerous it is," he adds. "Do you want to go home?"
Pausing for a moment, Rose shakes her head. "I don't know. I want…" She sniffs the air. "Can you smell chips?"
The Doctor chuckles. "Yeah."
"I want chips."
"Me too," he responds with a large grin.
"Right then, before you get me back in that box, chips it is, and you can pay."
"No money," he comments, lifting his jacket.
"What sort of date are you? Come on then, tightwad, chips are on me. We've only got five billion years till the shops close."
With that, the lights turn back on and the screen dims. Unlike last time, team RWBY remains seated, thinking upon the events of this 'episode'.
"That was… Woah," Yang starts.
"I can't believe that's what traveling with him is like," Ruby whispers. "It's kinda scary."
Blake nods. "And the fact that the human was the evil one was such a great twist. It's almost as if you were made to think that those who don't look like you are evil." She turns to her teammates, "is that what happened with us?"
"Maybe," Weiss answers. "But Cassandra was wrong. Her bigotry and racism tried to kill almost a dozen people. If anything, she was the real monster."
"Aye!" Yang adds. "Our kitty cat may have claws, but she's no monster."
Blake smiles. "Thanks."
"..."
"... So what now?" Yang asks.
"I don't know!" Weiss exclaims. "Are we waiting on the Librarian?"
"I'll go get him," Ruby says, quickly making her way over to the slip-slope controls.
"Ruby, wait-" Blake yells, but it's too late, the ground already disappeared from the red-hooded girl's feet and she vanished in the blink of an eye.
Within seconds, she found herself inside a different room. In front of her, sat the Librarian on a wooden chair.
"Are you sure that's it?" He asks.
"Yes, sir," a male robotic voice said.
"Fine. Let me know the second we get an update. I want to know what Salem is planning."
Salem? Ruby wonders, keeping herself as quiet as possible.
"Understood, sir."
He stands up and stretches for a moment. "Oh. And ask Katana if I can drop off one of the DUM-E bots some time. I think her R might enjoy it, considering it's the MCU."
The computer beeps for a moment. "Message sent."
"I hope her plan goes well, she-" the Librarian turns around and notices Ruby. "How long have you been there?" He asks with a cold tone.
"Um, since you mentioned a katana?"
The Librarian stares into Ruby's eyes, almost feeling like he is staring into her soul. "Fine. Did you finish the episode?" He steps towards her and begins fiddling with the control panel.
Ruby nods. "Yeah. It was kinda scary. And I didn't think that Cassandra was behind it."
"I see," he responds as he presses another button, causing the slip slope to reactivate, this time plopping them in her designated room. "But," the Librarian adds as he moves to stand in front of the door, "we need to talk."
Okie dokie! Part 2 is done! Whoo! Yeah! Sorry guys, There has been a lot on my plate recently. Family, Christmas, ETC. Sorry. Also, this will probably be my last chapter for a bit (or I might do the setup for the next episode first). I want to focus on My Mistborn Academia for a bit, which is one of my stories that I haven't uploaded in a while.
To be frank, I didn't enjoy this chapter. Granted, I had fun, but it was kinda difficult getting into RWBY's headspace this time for some reason. Also, I forgot to do a few things in the last chapter that I forgot I wanted to do. For that, I'm sorry.
I did get some of my ideas going for this chapter. The Librarian is all caught up with Vol 8 of RWBY (at least, up to how much has come out). Ruby was acting a bit weird this episode, as well. That'll be looked upon in the next chapter.
Also, before any crazy theories happen, the Katana-moment was meant to be a fun easter egg. Katana of the Blade is writing one of my favorite reaction fics of RWBY watches the MCU. I thought this would be a fun way to promote her in case there was anyone here who was not aware of her yet.
And before I forget, QUESTIONNAIRE TIME! Where would you like to see the Librarian take RWBY? Star Wars? Sodor? Plain old USA 2020 (now that would be horrifying). The Librarian's T.A.R.D.I.S allows them to travel into any reality at any time. I plan to even have them visit other fan fictions at some point as well! (With writer's permission of course). I would love to hear what you would like to see. Perhaps fighting Vilgax with Ben 10, or joining the L'Manburg Revolution with Tommy and Tubbo, or maybe even running into the caped crusader on a dark Gotham night? Let me know what you think or what story-ideas you might have.
And, do you think Moxx should count in the 'honorable death' list? I'm only keeping track of named characters (sorry Steward). He wasn't a really big character, but WAS named and WAS on screen. So, let me know if I should add him to the list.
I probably forgot something, but I think that covers most of it.
Please, feel free to follow and comment on predictions, thoughts, etc. I am always looking for new ways to improve my craft. Tell your friends!
Also, if you have the money, please think about supporting me.
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