Current poll leader is Red vs Blue with 2 votes! We're about 6 chapters until the next break, so please choose what you'd like to see next!
Happy Birthday Remnant Who! This is the first of two chapters that have been expedited for the celebration of the second anniversary of this Fic's publishment! It's been a long journey so far and I cannot wait to keep it going. Hopefully by next year we'll be on the 10th Doctor's run (which I am sure a lot of you are excited about).
Special shoutout to Adriskratos and arthurholandacostadearaujo (my first and most recent Followers), TheDistur6edGuy and arthurholandacostadearaujo (my first and most recent Favorites), and ZBlader and a guest asking about Ozpin's views on regeneration (my first and most recent Review). And everyone in between! You all mean the world to me!
A quick note: I am moving again. Yay. This time to Great Britain! Just in time for the 60th anniversary. But that may also mean my schedule might get pushed back again, which I am very sorry for. To be honest, this year has been really rough for me. But I am not giving up!
So please, kick back. Relax. Grab a drink. And enjoy 'Father's Day'! And don't forget to Comment, Follow, and Fav.
Remnant Who
By ReaderWarrior
I do not own Doctor Who or RWBY.
Father's Day (A)
Beta'd by: Accepting Offers
As always, please comment! It honestly makes my day to read your thoughts and opinions.
Tell your friends!
Adam Luck: Well here it is! I hope it's building up to be just as heart-wrenching as you want it to be! Thanks for the compliment and I hope to see you again :)
Honorary (dead) companions:
Clive, Raffalo, Moxx, Jabe, Sneed, Gwyneth, Ganesh, De Maggio, Suki
'Bigger on the inside!'s:
2 (Rose, Jackie)
Fantastics:
8
Harriet Jones' greetings:
6
Exterminates!:
8
Blake felt like a child as the Librarian pulled her aside and up to the control room. Was she really going to be scolded for her attitude? Or was he planning on punishing her in some way? For some reason that last episode really upset her. Maybe it was just how despicable Adam was, or just that his name was Adam.
That's ridiculous, she thought. I wouldn't treat them the same just upon a single similarity.
Except it wasn't just one similarity.
Sighing, the Librarian sat in his chair and looked up at her. "Do you know what is the worst aspect of time travel?"
She frowned. "No?"
"It's the fact that it makes you feel like you can do anything." He waves at the console where its lights blink and the dials whirl randomly. "It's empowering. 'I can fix it. I can make the world better!' That's how most travelers start."
"Isn't that what the Doctor does?"
"He helps where he goes. But you heard him say it himself. He travels to see history. Not to make it. Though, he does end up helping it along whenever he goes."
Blake crossed her arms. "What does this have to do with me?"
"When you first came into my T.A.R.D.I.S, I implied that we could try to make it so Adam never lost his way." He sighed, and, suddenly, it seemed like all that stood before her was bones and clothing. The Librarian looked stretched. "And I don't know whether or not I can keep that promise."
"But you said-"
He shook his hand. "It's even worse for me. Time can be affected by the simplest of changes. But there are just too many variables to predict one simple change. Luckily for me, I can traverse the multiverse. I can find any reality I wish for, with time. There are worlds I've desired to see, ones where everyone is happy and safe, but I rarely see them."
Blake notices now that all of the monitors seemed to be searching for something. They were scanning planet upon planet after planet at a frighteningly quick pace. She sighed and knelt down in front of the traveler. "I didn't come along for that. Saving Adam was something I had thought about the first time you said 'time machine' but I've come to see that forcing my will is the worst thing to do. My own desires cannot betray my friends
"I won't be like Adam. Either one. What upset me so much was how similar I saw myself to him. If I was even just a year younger, I might have used the power of the T.A.R.D.I.S to create a world I wanted. And I know that for how much I might want that, and how hard I have to keep myself from trying to do that, it must be a million times more difficult for you."
She smiled. "So thank you. I don't think you get this enough, but thank you."
A small group of tears began to slide down the Librarian's cheeks. He shook his head and rubbed them away, pushing his glasses to the top of his head. "God, it feels so long…"
The console began to beep. Slowly, the Librarian rose to his feet and pulled Blake to one of the flashing screens.
"What's wrong?"
He gave her a small smile. "If I cannot keep my promises, I try to at least make up for them." He grabbed the screen and pressed on the world selected.
To Blake's surprise, she was shown a large wooden house in the middle of a clearing. Smoke flew up the cabin's chimney and, from unknown speakers, she could hear a child crying.
Behind the cabin, a lone man was cutting wood. The ax seemed well-worn but as sharp as ever - evidenced by the quick chops that cut wood with ease. The user, she could only see his back, wiped his forehead and cracked his back.
A child, no older than five, ran out of the cabin and jumped onto their back. "Daddy! Mommy said that you used to be a huntsman! And that you defeated all the Grimm in her name like a prince!"
The man chuckled. He turned and Blake froze.
"Is that so?" Adam asked. His smile was wide, bigger than she had ever seen it. His scar was completely visible and he made no move to cover it, though it was faded and tanned. And he was older, a man more than the boy she had known. "Well, Mommy said she'd only date me if I could prove I was a true knight. So I set on a quest and slew every beast I could!"
The girl giggled. "She said you were more like a jester that kept chasing her like a puppy."
"Well, if I am a jester, then you can be my princess. Let's go see if the queen has any lemonade left. She likes to hide some in the back of the fridge." Adam lifted his daughter up and blew a raspberry into her stomach before carrying her inside.
The screen went black and all Blake could see were the tears streaming down her face. She clutched her chest and gasped. "What… was that?"
"One of the few worlds where he followed the path of light," the Librarian whispered. "In this world, Adam was taken pity upon by a Mantelian couple and adopted after his family died. They raised him like their own child, even though they weren't Faunus. He went to Atlas, joined the military, and fixed things from the inside.
"And he was happy." The Librarian smiled longingly at the screen. "He found peace. Love. Raised a beautiful set of girls."
"That's… I'm… Gods." Blake whimpered and fell to her knees. It hurts? Why does it hurt? I'm happy but Gods, so sad. "Can you show me more?"
He shook his head. "There's often a shroud on worlds that prevents me from seeing them fully. Some have none, and others are so thick in it that I dare not travel."
Blake had long ago realized that her relationship with Adam was unhealthy. He was controlling. Toxic. Hateful. But seeing him happy felt like a slap to the face. Some part of her was upset that in one world her abuser was living with no regrets. But she knew that they weren't the same men in spirit.
It gave her closure, somehow. "Thank you," she whispered.
The Librarian nodded. "I'm sorry I can't do more."
"This is enough. For this moment, that was more than enough."
When the Librarian and Blake returned, Yang could tell something was different. Her partner, as she returned to her seat, smiled and leaned back in her seat. And was she taller?
No, that wasn't it. She just wasn't hunched over. Whatever weight that always seemed to hold Blake down was gone. She stood up straighter and had more of a smile on her face.
But no psychic paper.
"What happened up there?" Yang whispered.
Blake gave her a smile. "I'll tell you later."
"Did he give you psychic paper?" Ruby leaned over to the girls.
"No. We just… talked."
Yeah right.
Weiss seemed equally filled with disbelief but stayed quiet.
"So who's ready for the next episode?" The Librarian asked, clapping his hands together. "I hear this one is a real tearjerker. But it's got some fun new monsters as well."
"Yay!" Ruby cheered.
Qrow scowled in his own seat. "As long as Adam is gone, I'm sure everything will be alright."
A loud cry filled the room. "Hobey-ho!"
"And so we go," the Librarian whispered.
Smiling, a man with thin hair gives a large, goofy grin through a photograph.
"Peter Alan Tyler," Rose narrates. "My dad. The most wonderful man in the world. Born 15th September, 1954."
A little girl peaks around a corner and watches as her mother flips through a photo album.
"Come here, Rose. Come here."
Ruby gasped. "That's Rose!"
"Of course it is," Weiss sighed. "She's the one narrating. Who else would it be?"
"I don't know! But she's adorable!"
Rose walks down the hall and jumps onto the bed. Turning the page, her mother, Jackie, points at another photo. This one was normal, with a simple picture of their father and husband smiling at the camera.
"Who's that?" Jackie asks. "It's your daddy. You weren't old enough to remember when he died. Nineteen-eighty-seven, seventh November."
"Wouldn't that have made Rose… One, right?" Yang counted on her fingers ant tuned to the Librarian.
He nodded. "Yup."
Qrow, however, was shocked. "How did you figure that out?"
Yang smirked. "Well, we know that in twenty-twelve, she'd be twenty-six. Subtract her age from the year and you get nineteen-eighty-six." She crossed her arms. "Boom."
"Do you remember what I told you? The day that Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clarke got married." Rose didn't answer and looked down at another picture. This one had both her mother and father, cheeks pressed against each other. "He was always having adventures. Oh, he would have loved to have seen you now."
"What happened?" Blake frowned. "How did he die?"
"I guess that's what we're going to find out," Weiss sighed.
"That's what Mum always says," Rose explains. She was back in the T.A.R.D.I.S, facing the Doctor as he sits in a chair, legs kicked up, and fiddles with an orb. "So I was thinking, could we, could we go and see my dad when he was still alive?"
Ruby sniffled. "She can do that?"
"Why didn't she ask sooner?" Yang whispered. "All this time she had a time machine and she didn't ask to see her father sooner?"
"Maybe Adam made her realize she could?" her sister offered. "As long as she didn't affect the timeline."
Blake rolled her eyes. "I doubt it is a good idea to take inspiration from him."
"Where's this come from, all of a sudden?"
"All right then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of time or something, then never mind, just leave it." Rose crosses her arms and turns around.
"No, I can do anything," he says. "I'm just more worried about you."
"Why is he worried?" Qrow frowned.
"Because sometimes it's better to let the dead lay," the Librarian whispered. "Especially with the butterfly effect in play."
"The what?"
"I want to see him."
He smiles. "Your wish is my command. But be careful what you wish for." Jumping to his feet, the Doctor pulls on one of the console levers and the time rotor begins to pump.
The T.A.R.D.I.S whistles and they begin their voyage.
"At least he's doing it," Ruby said. "He could have said no."
"I don't think he would have, though," Blake frowned. "He obviously cares for her. So even if something was wrong, he might still do it to earn her attraction if he think he can control what happens."
In a brightly lit room, Jackie and Rose's father stand before a man in a suit with their hands together.
"That's sweet," Weiss smiled. "Where else would you go to see your parents the happiest?" At least in a normal family's case.
"I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you, Jacqueline Angela Suzette Prentice," the registrar says, motioning to Peter. In the back of the room, the Doctor and Rose watch the marriage.
"I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you, Jacqueline… Suzanne-Suzette-Anita?" Rose's father stutters, forgetting the correct words, and turns back to the registrar.
Jackie rolls her eyes. "Oh, just carry on. It's good enough for Lady Di."
"What kind of man forgets his own fiancé's name?" Yang frowned.
Qrow chuckled. "A lot. You should have seen Tai. I swear, he would have rather chased down a Nevermore with no aura then be up in front of everyone again."
The blonde gave a dark smirk. "I'll have to ask him about that."
Rose leans over to the Doctor. "I thought he'd be taller."
"To be my lawful wedded wife," the man continues. He smiles at Jackie and Peter. "To love and behold till death do us part."
"He died so close to home."
Back in the bedroom, Jackie was still talking to the young Rose. "I wasn't there. Nobody was. It was a hit-and-run driver. Never found out who. He was dead when the ambulance got there. I only wish there'd been someone there for him."
"That's… so sad," Ruby whimpered. "He seemed really nice too."
"You have seen him for a literal minute." Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"And it was a good minute!"
Rose whispered, "I want to be that someone. So he doesn't die alone."
The Doctor leans across the T.A.R.D.I.S controls. "November the seventh?"
"Nineteen-eighty-seven," she nods.
Once again, the Time Lord activates the T.A.R.D.I.S and its rotor lives again.
Blake frowned. "I'm not so sure sure about this."
"Why not?" Yang asked. She turned to her partner with a similar frown. "Someone should be there. And out of everyone, it should be her."
"But what if she… never mind."
The centerpiece of the console room slides up and down as the Doctor and Rose stare at each other through its glass. Then, softly, it stops and both turn to the door.
Parked between a telephone junction box and a road sign, the blue box's two occupants slowly step out into the sunlight.
Rose walks over to the street and looks around. "It's so weird. The day my father died. I thought it'd be all sort of grim and stormy. It's just an ordinary day."
"Well that's how everyone usually remembers bad days," the Librarian said. "Cloudy and dreary."
"Well, those are the days where you have to stay inside or get soaking wet," Weiss said.
He shook his head. "Not for me. Rainy days mean family fun. The fireplace is on, blankets and hot chocolate warming you, and a home movie for everyone to enjoy. It's the sunny ones that you have to look out for. Like honey for a trap."
"The past is another country," the Doctor explains. "Nineteen-eighty-seven's just the Isle of Wight." He turns to his companion, his smile flickering slightly. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah." Rose nods quickly.
The duo soon found themselves standing in front of another street. They stood on the sidewalk, staring at a very empty line of pavement.
"This is it," she explains. "Jordan Road. He was late. He'd been to get a wedding present, a vase. Mum always said, 'that stupid vase.'"
Rose turns to the right and watches as a small, green car turns the corner. "He got out of his car…" The vehicle, with Pete at the wheel, slows down. "And crossed the road." Pete pulls over and parks at the curb.
"Oh, God. This is it."
Ruby pulled up her cloak to cover her eyes. "Tell me when it's over!"
Strangely, Qrow was feeling just as sick. "What kind of snuff film are you having us watch?"
Pete fumbles about in the car. Grabbing 'that stupid vase' from the passenger seat and putting it on his lap. In a moment of comfort, the Doctor grabs Rose's hand. He smiles warmly at her as they watch her father open the door and step out.
All of a sudden, a beige car raced around the corner. Pete looks up just in time to see it barreling towards him. The tires scream as the driver tries to spin away, covering their eyes in fear. A loud 'thump' permeates the road followed by the sound of the vase smashing down. Then the car disappears down the road, without a trace.
"Oh, my Gods," Weiss gasped, her hands going up to her mouth. All around her, the members of her team displayed similar shocked emotions. "He was just getting out of his car…"
A tear rolled down the normally happy blonde bombshell. "She watched her dad get married and die," Yang whispered.
Rose had looked away, flinching and hiding behind the Doctor's shoulder. But now she peaks out just in time to see her father twitch on the ground before lying still.
"Go to him," the Doctor whispers. "Quick."
But she doesn't. Rose couldn't move. Be it fear or shock, she stays frozen behind the Doctor as her eyes are glued to her father's lying frame.
"Go to him!" Ruby yelled.
"She's scared," Blake explained. "Even if that wasn't her father, that's a horrible thing to see."
Tears stung the girl's eyes. "But she came all this way! She needs to find closure."
The Doctor and Rose breathe heavily with their backs to a wall. In the distance, they can hear a siren growing louder.
"It's too late now," she realizes. The Doctor turns to his companion. "By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead."
She sniffles and turns to him, her eyes red. "He can't die on his own. Can I try again?"
The Doctor gives no response but looks into her eyes. Then, after a moment, he offers a simple nod.
"Yes!" Yang cheered.
Qrow frowned. "I don't know, kiddo. He obviously seems worried about something. What if this is dangerous?"
She whirled around to her uncle. "What do you mean? She's just making sure her dad's last moments are happy!"
Hidden around a corner, the Doctor and Rose watch as the Doctor and Rose find themselves standing in front of the same street. They stood behind the wall, staring at their previous selves.
"Right," the Doctor explains, "that's the first you and me. It's a very bad idea, two sets of us being here at the same time."
"Why is it dangerous?" Weiss asked.
The Librarian held out his right arm horizontally. "Imagine this is your time stream. Not your world's, just yours. If you go back, that's fine. You'll bend backward but can still run around your own stream." He brings his left arm up and places the elbows to his hands, making a square-circle. "But if you shove yourself into your own stream, two things can happen. One, you were always meant to be there, like a bootstrap paradox. Or two, you force the original time stream into something new that could either cause you to disappear or them to disappear."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
He sighed. "Imagine being on a racetrack and hitting yourself."
"Oooooh."
"Just be careful they don't see us. Wait till she runs off and he follows, then go to your dad."
Rose doesn't respond as she watches their previous selves. The vehicle, with Pete at the wheel, slows down. Pete pulls over and parks at the curb.
"Oh, God. This is it," they hear the original Rose say.
Pete fumbles about in the car.
Ruby shakes her head. "This is so trippy."
"I can't do this," Rose hissed.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," the Doctor whispers. "But this is the last time we can be here."
Her father opens the door to step out. Just as a beige car raced around the corner, Rose suddenly bolted out from behind the corner.
"Rose, no!"
"Run!" Yang cheered. "Save him."
"Don't!" the Librarian countered.
She turned to him and glared. "Wasn't it you who told us to save those we can?"
The Doctor moves to grab her but he was too slow. She was already passing their previous selves by the time he spoke. The original Doctor frowns and his companion watches with confusion as a second Rose moves towards her - their - father.
Pete looks up just in time to see the car barreling towards him. The tires scream as the driver tries to spin away, covering their eyes in fear. But, this time, Rose grabs Pete around the waist and pulls him safely out of the way. The vase, unbroken, rolls on the ground. Then the car disappears down the road, without a trace.
As do the original Doctor and Rose. Their bodies shimmer with yellow energy for a moment, then vanish.
The Librarian sighed. "There are those you can't save. And there are those you shouldn't save."
"What happened?" Weiss asked.
He shrugged. "No way of knowing. Dead? Kicked to an alert native dimension? Atomized? Nobody knows."
"But… she saved her dad," Ruby whispered. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Emotionally? Yes. In terms of time travel? No."
"I did it," Rose gasps. "I saved your life."
Pete doesn't seem to hear her words. He instead turns around sporadically and tries to find the car. "Blimey," he gasps. "Did you see the speed of it? Did you get his number?"
Both of them rise to their feet. "I really did it. Oh, my God, look at you, you're alive! That car was gonna kill you."
"Give me some credit," he frowns. "I did see it coming. I wasn't going to walk under it, was I?
"But you were," Blake frowned.
Qrow shrugged. "He doesn't know that. Ask a guy what their response to danger is and it'll either be fight or flight. But it usually ends up being 'freeze'."
Unable to keep on her giddy, the blonde exclaims, "I'm Rose."
"That's a coincidence," Pete comments, completely unaware by the true meaning of those words. "That's my daughter's name."
Rose flinches slightly but keeps a smile on her face. "That's a great name. Good choice. Well done."
A few chuckles permeated the theatre. "It's a shame he doesn't realize," Ruby smiled.
"I don't know," Weiss frowned. "While it is funny, I'm worried what might happen if he learned she was his daughter."
"Then they can be happy!" she answered. "She can finally talk to her dad!"
The two stare at each other, Rose smiling and Pete glancing around as if ready for another car to run around the corner. "Right," he smiles, "I'd better shift. I've got a wedding to go to."
"Is that Sarah Clarke's wedding?"
"Yeah, are you going?"
"Yeah." Rose nods eagerly at her father.
Pete nods and points over her shoulder. "You and your boyfriend need a lift?" Rose turns around to see the Doctor, his fence unreadable but still frozen where she lifts him.
He wasn't even looking at her. But was instead staring where their previous selves stood.
"He's pissed," Qrow gulped.
Yang glared at her uncle. "Well, he can be angry. But she did the right thing and it's not going to change the entire world like with what Adam was going to do." Why are you on their side?" she thought.
Meanwhile, high above the London skylight, something dangerous was gazing down. Its vision saw only red and a loud screeching erupted from its presence.
It turned towards a section of the city and dived towards it.
Blake covered her ears. "What the heck was that?"
"Effect," the Librarian scowled. "The reaction to Rose influencing her will on time."
Pete brought his two new 'friends' back to his apartment. Luckily enough, it was the same apartment Rose and her mother were still using to this day.
"Right, there we go," he says, opening the door and pushing past a corridor filled with boxes. Clothes were tossed about everywhere and controlled disorganization seemed to be the most popular form of order. "Sorry about the mess. If you want a cup of tea, the kitchen's just down there, milk's in the fridge." He points to the kitchen and then shakes his head. "Well, it would be, wouldn't it. Where else would you put the milk? Mind you, there's always the window sill outside."
"He seems a little…" Ruby began.
"Crazy?" Weiss offered. "Speratic?"
She shook her head. "I was thinking more like excited."
Pete turns to look at his guests and rambles, saying, "I always thought if someone invented a window sill with special compartments, you know, one for milk, one for yogurt. Make a lot of money out of that. Sell it to students and things." He freezes and stares off into the distance before muttering, "I should write that down. Anyway, never mind that. Excuse me for a minute. Got to go and change."
Briefly, the Doctor brings back his smile and nods at the man as he squeezes by. Then, just as soon as it disappears, it vanishes as he follows Rose who has begun stepping into the kitchen.
Her fingers dance along the counter before pointing at a shelf covered in trophies. "All the stuff Mum kept. His stuff. She kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard. She used to show me when she'd had a bit to drink."
The Doctor doesn't give any response as she glances back at him. He simply leans back and crosses his arms.
"She's deflecting," Blake sighed.
Yang frowned. "Why does she have to deflect? She did what she thought was right and saved a life!"
"She interacted with her own timeline," Blake said. "What if Rose is no longer Rose if her father helped raise her?"
"Then at least she had her dad!"
"Here it is, on display. Where it should be." She smiles at the Doctor. But when he continues to give her a glare, she starts picking up the trophies and holding them out. "Third prize at the bowling. First two got to go to Didcot." Rose turns around and points at a small collection of jugs filled with liquids. "Health drinks. Tonics, Mum used to call them. He made his money selling this Vitex stuff. He had all sorts of jobs. He was so clever."
Rose jumps to her feet and grabs a set of blueprints off the table. "Solar power. Mum said he was going to do this. Now he can." The Doctor continues to glare. "Okay," she sighs, "I'll tell him you're not my boyfriend."
"When we met, I said, 'Travel with me in space'," the Doctor remembers. "You said 'No.' Then I said 'Time machine'."
"It wasn't some big plan. I just saw it happening and I thought, 'I can stop it.'"
Weiss frowned. "Then that makes you just the same as Adam."
"No, it doesn't!" Yang snapped. "He wanted to benefit himself! And he wasn't even guilty about it! He just kept saying how everything worked out in the end."
"And how exactly is that different from what Rose is doing now?"
"Because she saved her dad," Ruby added.
Blake crossed her arms. "But, arguably, so could have Adam's technology. And that didn't result in the Doctor and Rose getting deleted from the timeline."
The half-sisters groaned and looked up at their uncle.
He looked back and forth. "I, um…" he panicked and grabbed a drink, throwing its contents down his throat. "I think I'm way too sober for this."
The Doctor shakes his head and scoffs. "I did it again," he sighs. "I picked another stupid ape. I should've known. It's not about showing you the universe. It never is. It's about the universe doing something for you."
"So it's okay when you go to other times, and you save people's lives, but not when it's me saving my dad?"
"I know what I'm doing, you don't. Two sets of us being there made that a vulnerable point."
Rose shook her head. "But he's alive!"
"My entire planet died, my whole family. Do you think it never occurred to me to go back and save them?"
"Well, why didn't he?" Yang asked.
"Because it's wrong!" the Librarian said. "Never break your own timeline. And even if he decided to, he couldn't since the Time War made it impossible to travel to or from through time around the planet."
The blonde grumbled.
"But it's not like I've changed history," she countered. "Not much. I mean, he's never going to be a world leader, he's not gonna to start World War Three or anything."
The Doctor marches up to her and frowns. "Rose, there's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before. An ordinary man. That's the most important thing in creation. The whole world's different because he's alive."
"The Butterfly Effect," the Librarian nodded.
Qrow turned to him. "The what?"
"The Butterfly Effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state."
"… What?"
ELI sighs. "Changing one thing can change hundreds of things over time that may or may not seem connected."
"Would you rather him dead?" she hisses.
"I'm not saying that…"
"No," she growls, "I get it! For once, you're not the most important man in my life." Her voice shook slightly as it grew.
The Doctor freezes.
"Oh, that was not the right thing to say to your only ride home," Blake gasped. "So not the right thing."
"Let's see how you get on without me, then. Give me the key." He holds out his hand, which Rose stares at. Only now did she start to seem unsure of herself. "The T.A.R.D.I.S key. If I'm so insignificant, give me it back."
Ruby slams her arms into the armrests at her side. "You can't do that! She was just doing what she thought was right!"
"While I do think that this is way too much of a punishment, she does need to know that what she did wasn't right," Weiss said.
"She saved her dad! She-"
Weiss held up a hand. "I didn't say she did the wrong thing. Just not the correct one."
"All right then, I will." She quickly reaches into her jacket pocket and throws it into his palm.
He takes it. "You've got what you wanted, so that's goodbye, then." He turns around and starts walking out the door.
"You don't scare me," Rose says, following him. "I know how sad you are. You'll be back in a minute." She puts herself between him and the door. "Or you'll hang around outside the T.A.R.D.I.S waiting for me."
Pushing around her, the Doctor grabs the door and rips it open. Then, as he leaves, Rose yells out, "And I'll make you wait a long time!" before slamming the door.
Yang growled. "What's he doing?"
"What's he doing?" the Librarian repeated. "What's she doing?"
"She's getting to spend time with her dad! He's leaving her in the past!"
Pete peaks his head out of one of the rooms and watches as Rose slumps against the wall. "Boyfriend trouble?" he asks.
"You have no idea," Ruby sighed.
Following the Doctor from a sky-high view, a creature with red vision watches the Time Lord as he leaves the flat and storms back towards his T.A.R.D.I.S. However, its attention is caught by the sound of a woman hanging up clothes. Then a man in rags groaning as he sits down against a wall and brings a bottle to his lips. And then a man clipping his shrubbery.
The creature screeches and he screams. His clippers fall to the ground.
The woman is next, clothes tossed into the air as she cries out.
And finally, the homeless man lets out a pained cry as his bottle rolls away and he disappears.
"What's it doing?" Weiss gasped.
"Maybe it's kidnapping them? Or… eating them?" Ruby offered. "But what is it? And why is it here?"
"Something tells me it has to do with Rose's actions," the heiress sighed.
Inside the flat, Rose was picking up peanut shells from off the table and placing them on a plate.
"Excuse me," Pete interrupts as he steps out of his room, now wearing a suit for the upcoming wedding event. "Do you mind? What're you tidying up for?"
Rose quickly stood up and dusted her hands clean. "Sorry. Force of habit." She glances back to the front door.
"Listen," he explains, "don't worry about him. Couples have rows all the time."
"We're not a couple," she says, dropping onto the couch. "Why does everyone think we're a couple?"
"Because you are!" Blake yelled. "You just don't know it yet."
She sighs and closes her eyes. "I think he left me."
Pete chuckles. "What, a pretty girl like you? If I was going out with you-"
"Stop right there!"
"I was just saying-"
"I know what you're saying, and we're not going there," she yells.
Yang wrinkled her nose. "That would be really disgusting."
"He doesn't know she's his daughter," Qrow countered.
"Yeah. But if he did know, I seriously hope he would be making that comment," she added.
"At no point are we going anywhere near there. You aren't even aware that there exists. I don't even want to think about there, and believe me, neither do you. There, for you, is like… like the Bermuda Triangle."
Pete shakes his head and grabs the vase he bought. "Blimey, you know how to flatter a bloke."
"You're married," Weiss scoffed.
"So?" the Librarian asked. "There isn't a man alive who doesn't want a compliment."
Rolling her eyes, Rose jumps to her feet and sticks out her arm for her father to take. "Right, are we off?"
"So that wouldn't be a mixed signal at all?" he asks, pointing at it.
"Absolutely not."
Pete takes her arm in his and they head towards the door. "I'll take you back to the loony bin where you belong." But as they exit through the door, he whispers, "except I'm sure I've met you somewhere before."
"How is that?" Qrow asked.
"Maybe she reminds him of him or Jackie?" Ruby offered. "Or possibly even their daughter."
A nervous groom, most likely Stuart Hoskins, looks around the church as the organ plays. The chairs behind him are vastly empty, with only a few scattered attendees in the pews.
"It's weird," Stuart frowns.
The man next to him turns to face him. "What?"
"There's so many people missing. Uncle Steven, Auntie Lynn, all the Baxters. Where are they? You don't think something's gone wrong?"
"It's got to be that monster," Yang growled. "It's taking them all."
Blake rubbed her chin. "Or maybe they are trying to help. What if they are like time police and they are taking people in to try and locate a time anomaly? It wouldn't be the first time we thought something was good or evil and it wasn't."
"Then that means it'll go after Rose and her dad!" Yang realized.
Strange how you aren't worried about the Doctor right now, the Librarian thought.
"Maybe it's a godsend," the man offered. "It gives you time to think. You don't have to go through with it, not these days. Live in sin for a bit."
"Dad."
Stuart's father shakes his head. "In ten years time, you'll turn round and say, 'If only I could turn the clock back'." He sighs and turns back to the front of the church. He shudders. "Is it me or did it just get cold?"
His son had no response to give as he checked his watch and glanced behind him. But the pew hadn't magically refilled.
The Doctor hadn't turned around. He continued his march back to the T.A.R.D.I.S with his hands stuffed into his pockets. But a few meters away from his blog box, he freezes and looks up. Trees shook slightly in the wind but, apart from the blue sky, there was nothing.
"Can he sense it?" Ruby asked. "The monster with red vision?"
"He probably just feels like something is watching him," Qrow offered with a shrug. "No different than how we feel it."
"… Do you think all those times we feel someone watching us, it's one of these things?"
Qrow froze. Then he grabbed another glass and took a quick drink.
Shaking his head, he pulled out a key, Rose's key, and tried to push it in. But as he did, he found the hole was covered by wood. In fact, the doors weren't even locked together. A simple push and they swung open.
And revealed nothing.
The T.A.R.D.I.S interior was gone. There was no bigness to its inside. All it was was a simple, wooden box.
Weiss gasped. "What does that mean?"
"I have no idea," the Librarian whispered. "I've never seen that before."
"Maybe it took the T.A.R.D.I.S interior," Weiss offered. "Like it took the people."
Panicking, the Doctor steps inside and presses his hands against the wooden sides. He spins around, his eyes wild with fear. Then, gazing back out of the door, a single word escapes his lips.
"Rose!"
The Doctor runs out of the police box, sprinting back the way he came.
"And he still goes after her, even after she betrayed him," Blake smiled. "He really does care."
Yang growled at her partner. "She didn't betray him! She did the right thing!"
In Pete's car, Rose listened eagerly as her father told her about his week. "I met this bloke at the horses and he's cutting me in on copyright," he says.
"The horses?" Ruby asked.
"Horse racing," Weiss answered. "Gambling."
She frowned. "That doesn't seem very fatherly."
"Everyone's got their addictions."
Rose frowns. "But I thought you were a proper businessman."
"I wish!" Pete chuckles. "I do a bit of this, a bit of that. I scrape by."
"Right," Rose nods, clearing her throat. "So I must've heard wrong. So, really you're a bit of a Del Boy?"
Everyone seemed confused by that metaphor. "ELI?"
"A Del Boy originates from the sitcom, 'Only Fools and Horses,' where one of the characters sells and buys things but is never very successful. An ineffective scam artist or con-man."
This time Blake wrinkled her nose. "Doesn't seem like a nice profession."
Pete winces visibly. "Oh, shoot me down in flames. You're not related to my wife by any chance, are you?"
Rose gasps. "Oh, my God," she realizes, covering her mouth. "She's going to be at the wedding."
"Jackie?" he asks. "Do you know her?"
"Sort of."
"Almost as much as he does," Yang nodded. "Maybe more."
Qrow smirked. "It's not a competition."
"It's always a competition."
"What's she told you about me, then?" Pete asks.
Smiling, Rose answers, saying, "she said she'd picked the most fantastic man in the world."
Pete scoffs and raises an eyebrow. "Must be a different Jackie, then," he mutters. "She'd never say that."
"Okay, why is it that half the stuff Rose was told about him seems to be different?" Weiss asked.
The Librarian gave a small smile. "Because of time. It warps your view. Bad memories seem worse in hindsight and good ones are better. And it's likely Jackie didn't want her daughter to see Pete for all his faults."
"So when they're gone, you only remember them at either their best or worst?"
"Yup."
Weiss went silent. Is that how I'll view my mother when she is gone? And what about Father?
Suddenly, with no touch of the dial, the radio turns on. Rap music begins to play on 105.4 FM, causing both of them to jump slightly. [1]
"This stuff goes right over my head," Pete comments, moving to turn it off. However, Rose stops his hand as she listens to the words.
"That's not out yet," she realizes.
"Good job and all," he comments before turning the dial off."
Rose reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. "I'm just going to check my messages."
"How do you mean? Messages?"
"And now she's showing him future technology!" Weiss closed her eyes and sighed. "It's like she really is like Adam."
Yang's eyes flicker towards a shade of red. "She is not!"
He glances at his passenger and his eyes go wide as Rose begins to scroll through her cell. "Is that a phone?"
"Yeah." She didn't even bother looking up to respond. Instead, she continues to press at her cell, making it beep, as she pulls up her messages. When she sees nothing new, she presses 'call' and brings it up to her ear. Instead of it ringing, or the Doctor picking up, another man answers.
"Watson, come here. I need you," he says. The message then repeats. "Watson, come here. I need you. Watson, come here. I need you."
The Librarian raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. "Oh, now that's interesting."
"What?" Qrow asked. "Who is that?"
"Nothing. I'm sure the Doctor will explain it."
Rose frowns at her cell as Pete makes a right turn. Behind them, a beige car raced past them. The driver covers their eyes in fear. Then the car disappears down the road, without a trace, in a flicker of yellow energy.
"That… couldn't be, right?" Ruby whispered.
"Probably just a trick of the light," Yang nodded. "Like a mirage."
"Yeah…"
Outside of the chapel, Stuart's father holds up a large brick device to his ear. He nods at the small number of well-dressed attendees entering.
"Wait, is that a phone?" Weiss asked.
The Librarian nods. "Easily to lug around, huh?"
"It's huge! How did you people take it anywhere?"
"Half of the guests haven't turned up," he says. "You're better off not being here, it's a disaster in the making." He pauses as the other person speaks. "No, in this case, 'knocked her up' is a phrase I'd use."
Qrow let out a small growl. "What the heck's with this guy? Why can't he just be happy for his son?"
"It seems like his son is marrying her because they got pregnant," Blake offered. "Maybe that goes against his religion."
"That doesn't mean he needs to be so rude about it. It's his religion, he doesn't need to force his views on everyone else."
The phone makes the sound of static before the "Watson, come here. I need you," message replays.
Stuart's father frowns. "Hello? Who is this?"
"Watson, come here. I-" He ends the call and starts to press the large buttons. However, before he could redial, his son exits the church and grabs him by the shoulder.
"Dad," he hisses, "get inside. We can't see the bride before the wedding. It's bad luck."
A car begins to pull up as they turn around and head back inside. "It was bad luck when you met her. I tell you, this day is cursed."
"He's partly right," Blake frowned. "It does seem cursed."
"But Rose fixed it by saving her dad!" Ruby said. "That'll make everything better."
"And what of the monster?"
"The Doctor will stop it, just like he always does," RWBY's team leader exclaimed before crossing her arms and giving a 'hmph'.
As the doors to the chapel close, the doors to the car open. The bride, wearing a stark-white wedding dress, steps out. Her veil was tossed back, allowing for her smile to beam across the church grounds.
"Now that's what I call a meringue," one of the women waiting out front gasps. Most likely a bridesmaid.
"That is a really beautiful dress," Weiss nodded.
The other bridesmaid steps forward. "Listen," she warns, "Stuart's dad said go round the block 'cause there's people missing."
Sarah struggles with her veil in the wind. "What do you mean, missing?"
"There's no Dave, no Sunita, no Bee-"
"-There's no one from the Lamb and Flag," the second woman adds.
"Did that monster really take all of those people?" Blake asked.
"Hopefully when the Doctor stops it they'll be okay," Yang nodded.
"Or," the Librarian offered, "the dad was sabotaging the wedding and it's empty because of him."
"… if he was, I'm gonna kill him."
Groaning, Sarah looks down at her dress and cries out. "My train's detached again. I knew I should've used Velcro."
The first bridesmaid rushes to help but stops as a second car pulls up.
"I'm here," Jackie says, "stop your bellyaching." Now with no wrinkles on her skin and a head full of thick blonde hair, she runs around the car and opens one of the doors. "Take Rose a sec, will you?"
One of the women runs over and pulls out a baby carrier. Inside is a small baby wearing a purple onesie and sucking a pacifier.
The four huntresses-in-training let out a loud "Awwww!"
"Ain't she pretty?"
"She's a little madam, that's what she is," Jackie says. Oh, I need more hands. Where's her useless article of a dad got to?"
Ruby flinches. "Wow, she really is that mean to him."
"Was," Weiss corrected. "After he died, she always told Rose about how good he was."
"Then… if he lives, won't that mean she's always going to be like that?"
Almost as if he was summoned, Pete's car turned around the corner. He drove past Jackie's vehicle and began to pull over. However, all of a sudden, a beige car raced around the corner and barreled straight toward them. The tires scream as the driver tries to spin away, covering their eyes in fear.
Yang screamed. "Look out!"
"It's the same one as before," Qrow realized. "Is it following them?"
"Or maybe it's the monster!" Yang thought.
"Dad!" Rose screams as he pulls the car harshly to the left, running up on the sidewalk and almost hitting the tree. By the time they turn around, the car disappeared down the road, without a trace, in a flicker of yellow energy.
Pete turns off his car and gasps. "It's that car. Same one as before." He uncoils his seatbelt and gets out, looking down the street. "It was right in front of us. Where's he gone?"
"Like magic," Blake whispered.
"Or," Weiss added, in an equally hushed tone, "maybe it's time itself. Maybe it's trying to fix itself."
"But that would mean-"
She nodded. "Let's hope I'm wrong."
But as Rose got out of the car, there was still no sign on it.
"You called me 'Dad'," he realized, turning to the blonde girl. "What did you say that for?"
"Oh, wonderful," Jackie's voice cries out, providing the escape from having to think up a lie. They both turn towards the entrance, where she stands holding baby Rose. "Here he is, the accident waiting to happen. You'd be late for your own funeral and it nearly was!"
Yang's eye twitched. "Is that seriously your response to almost seeing your husband get hit by a car?!"
"No damage done," Pete snaps.
Jackie turns to Rose. "And who's this? What're you looking at with your mouth open?"
Completely aghast, Rose swallows. "Your hair," she gasps.
"What?"
"I've never seen it like-" She pauses. "I mean… it's lovely, your hair's lovely." Her gaze drops to the carrier in her arms. "And that baby you're holding. That would be your baby."
"That has got to be the weirdest thing," Qrow commented. "Seeing your younger self."
"It almost makes you wonder if a younger you would recognize the current you," the Librarian nods.
"Maybe on some level. But I definitely wouldn't."
Jackie glares at her husband. "Another one of yours, is she?"
"She saved my life!"
"Oh, that's a new one. What was it last time?"
"I didn't even know her," he yells back. Rose looks back and forth, surprised to see her mother and father arguing so loudly and publicly. "She was a cloakroom attendant. I was helping her look for my ticket. There were three duffle coats all the same. Somehow the rack collapsed. We were under all this stuff."
"I can't tell whether or not he's lying," Blake frowned.
"About what?" Ruby asked. "What else would he be doing?"
Sighing, Blake placed an arm on her team leader's shoulder. "Remain innocent Ruby. As long as you can."
"Huh?"
Rose's eyes were wide. "Were you playing around?"
"What's it got to do with you what he gets up to?" Jackie asks.
"What does he get up to?"
Jackie raises her nose. "You'd know,"
"Oh, 'cos I'm that stupid," Pete scoffs, rolling his eyes. "I play around and I bring her to meet the missus. You silly-"
"But you are that stupid," Jackie yells.
Weiss wrinkled her nose. "I don't think anyone is that stupid."
"You'd be surprised," Qrow said. "Why do you think a lot of guys cheat on their wives with the help. Super easy and barely an inconvenience."
"And I thought my family was bad."
"Can we keep this stuff back home for now?" Pete asks.
"What, with the rest of the rubbish?" Jackie snaps. "You bring home cut-price detergents, tonic water, Betamax tapes and none of it works. I'm drowning in your rubbish." She turned to Rose. "What did he tell you? Did he say he's this big businessman, 'cause he's not. He's a failure. Born failure, that one."
"She's just being mean," Ruby cried. "He never said any of that! He even told her that he was barely scraping by."
Yang nodded in agreement. "Jackie's just being a paranoid old lady!"
Jackie glares back at her husband. "Rose needs a proper father, not one who's flanneling about like some big kid."
"Jackie, I'm making a living, it keeps us fed, don't it?"
Their voices began to overlap as their yelling grew louder.
"Stop it!" Rose screams, making both her mother and father pause. "You're not like this. You love each other."
"Pete," Jackie scoffs, "you never used to like them mental. Or I don't know, maybe you did."
"Well, he married you, didn't he?" Blake mumbled.
"Jackie, wait-"
"If you're not careful, there'll be a wedding and a divorce on the same day." Baby Rose begins to cry as Jackie starts to storm inside.
Moving to follow, Pete walks past Rose, telling her to "Wait here. Give us a couple of minutes with the missus." He stops and then turns around. Pulling out his keys, he hands them to her and takes the vase. "Tell you what, straighten the car up. Stick it round the corner or something. Don't cause anymore trouble."
Rose, confused and drained, leans against the car and closes her eyes.
"That was… not what I was expecting," Ruby whispered.
"They're horrible! Absolutely despicable to each other," Weiss added, her frustration peaking. "I can't believe these two birthed such a nice girl."
Blake frowned. "Well, only one of them raised her. I imagine it would have been very different if he never died."
"Well, we're going to see, aren't we?" Yang asked. "She changed the timeline. And when it cements itself, we'll see how everything turned out."
"… Kid, I'm not so sure," Qrow whispered. "First the Doc's got to deal with whatever kidnapping those people. Besides… would it be for the better?"
"Of course it would! She should be allowed to grow up with him! No little girl should have to wake up, and not remember what their mom used to be like!"
The Librarian stared at Yang. "Don't you mean father?"
Behind the church, just a few blocks away, a small group of children was playing at a playground. Two were laughing atop of a see-saw. A third was running up and down a slide.
And the fourth was a small boy with dark skin being pushed on a swing set.
"Oh, my Gods," Weiss gasped. "Is that Mickey?"
"He's so cute," Blake added. "Look at him in his little suit!"
"So he really has known Rose since they were kids."
Once again returning, an unknown creature with red-tinted vision turns its sights towards the playground.
"Hey Jack!" the young Mickey cries out, turning to the two kids on the see-saw. "Jeff!" They don't answer. So, instead, Mickey turns to the girl on the slide.
But she was gone.
Ruby gasped. "Uh, oh. What if it takes Mickey? Then he won't have ever done the things he did in the future?" She grabbed her head. "Time travel is too tricky!"
Confused, Mickey turns back to his other friends. But they were gone as well. The see-saw abandoned.
The woman pushing his swing hadn't seemed to notice. She continues to push Mickey back and force.
Push.
Swing.
Push.
Swing.
Push.
Swing.
Then, she too was gone.
"Holy crap whatever this thing is, it's fast," Yang yelped.
Nodding, Blake added, "and quiet too, if it wants to be. Wherever it takes them, they must be unconscious."
Yang gulped. "Or worse."
Mickey doesn't even stop to look around. He jumps off the ride and runs straight out of the playground without looking back.
After moving the car, Rose was still forced to watch as her parents argued.
"I'm not listening," Jackie says as she and Pete face each other. At their feet, Rose's carriage was set down and rocking softly in the breeze. "It's just the duffel coats all over again."
"Which may or may not have happened!" Qrow interjected.
Weiss nodded. "He is scatterbrained and twitchy. But I don't think he's that kind of guy."
"He did try that comment at Rose… But there's no way of knowing."
"That's what Headcanon is for," the Librarian smiled, giving a thumbs-up.
Pete sighs. "Jackie, sometimes a duffel coat is just a duffel coat. Things will get better soon, I promise."
For a brief moment, there was silence. "I've had enough of all your daft schemes," she whispers. "I never know where the next meal's coming from."
"I'll get it right, love. One day soon, I promise you, I'll get it right." He reaches down to pick up baby Rose. "Come on."
The older Rose smiles as she watches them finally stop arguing. But before she could celebrate, Mickey, drenched in sweat, comes bolting down the street.
"Monsters!" he cries, pushing past the bridesmaids. "Going to eat us!"
"What sort of monsters, sweetheart?" one of them asks. "Is it aliens?"
Yang groaned. "When isn't it?"
The three women laugh as Mickey runs into the church. Rose follows him with her eyes but stays still. That is, until she hears it.
"Rose!"
A smile stretching across her face, Rose turns around to see the Doctor, also at full sprint, heading towards her.
"Aww," Ruby smiled. "Look at how happy she is to know he came back."
"Even when they're fighting, he still cares," Blake smiled.
"Get in the church!" he yells.
Her smile flickers. The Doctor stops as he crosses the street, something catching his attention. Following his eyes, Rose turns as well.
With a shimmer of yellow, the creature could now be seen. It resembles a gargoyle with wings. Red eyes were affixed upon its head and a tail, almost like a scythe, was attached to its back. Most horrifying of all, four mandibles open around its stomach, revealing a mouth full of teeth.
"What the heck are these things?" Weiss gasped. "They look like leeches!"
The Librarian nods. "They kind of are. From what I've learned, they are called Reapers. And they only appear when time has had a huge change."
"But doesn't the Doctor do that all the time? Ruby asked. "And isn't time malleable?"
"Yes and no," he answers. "Most of the time, yes, to an extent. But there are Fixed-Points that cannot be altered, a moment that is so detrimental that changing it can destroy time."
Blake frowned. "Is this one of those times?"
"No. Things would be a lot worse. What is happening is that Rose's history was changed. And since she has affected time in so many ways, and ones we haven't seen yet, she's made a sort of… crucial point. Not extremely necessary, but can change a lot of things."
"Cause she saved the Doctor from the Intelligence and the Dalek."
Qrow grunted and rubbed his head. "And, if we are thinking fourth dimensionally, there are things she will change in her future."
Rose screams as it screeches and lunges toward her. Luckily, she was pulled to the ground by the Doctor. He quickly gets to his feet and waves at the wedding-goers, who had stopped to watch.
"Get in the church!"
Everyone begins to run through the open fence and towards the building. However, they all stop as two more creatures flicker and spawn.
"Oh, my God!" a bridesmaid yells. "What are they? What are they?"
Drawn by the yelling, Stuart pushes his way outside.
The Doctor throws his hand out. "Inside!"
One of the creatures screeches and charges down at the Doctor's group. Sarah screams loudly and her fiancé calls out her name in fear. It's attention drawn, the monster stops mid-dive to turn towards the church. It shakes angrily at them.
Stuart's father tries to make a break for it. He pushes his son down and bolts to the right. But he doesn't get too far. Only about a few meters down, the creature pounces on him. He screams as it does so, its skin glowing gold.
"Well, if anyone here deserved it…"
Blake slapped her partner's arm. "Yang!"
"I'm joking! Kinda."
Seeing her chance, Sarah runs towards the church but stops as a second monster dives down in front of her. Its mandibles open and it screeches, but when she screams, it turns away and attacks one of the altar servers.
"In!" the Doctor orders, putting himself at the back of the group. He ushers everyone inside, watching the remaining monster fly towards him. Luckily, he slams the doors closed in time. Leaving them trapped, but safe.
For now.
"That was way too close," Ruby gasped. "They were almost on him!"
"But why did it get drawn to that other guy? Sarah was the one in front of it, screaming," Weiss said.
Blake frowned. "Maybe it has specific tastes?"
"But why are these Reaper things even here?" Yang asked. "What are they after?"
"I don't think you're going to like that answer," Qrow mumbled.
The Librarian nodded. "But let's find out, shall we?"
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Helpful supporter - Dalek2150
[1] Supposedly the radio is playing Don't Mug Yourself, by The Streets.
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