Volume 3, Chapter 15:
Weiss: There's more climbing out of the snow and appearing from the blizzard! Keep looking at them! All of them if you can!
Now it made sense why her scans displayed their presence but now on any other scans. How could she forget that these silent assassins are undetectable and now it made more sense why her power was acting up, they sense the time vortex in her and want to drain it from her. And now here she was, alone with Marrow trying to watch every Weeping Angel to prevent them getting closer but the blizzard was making it harder.
Marrow: What exactly is the help when we need to stare at all of them?
Weiss: Quantum locked lifeform. It can only move if it's unobserved! But the blizzard is making it difficult but keep trying!
Marrow: *thinks* Could they tamper with the weather? If that's the case, they're the ones screwing with the blizzard!
Weiss: *thinks and realizes* SHIT! Just keep trying Marrow until we can figure a way...out...
Marrow: Weiss? WEISS?!
Weiss tried all her strength to stare at the Angels and not lose sight of them, but she was beginning to feel weaker as they got closer. They were all around and each of them was draining her of her powers as she grew pale by the minute until she collapsed on the ground. Marrow tried to help her out while trying to stare at the Angels but there were too many of them.
Marrow: Weiss! What do we do? We're outnumbered and they're right by us!
Weiss was becoming unresponsive as her body was very pale with her powers slowly leaving her body at the hands of the Weeping Angels. Marrow surrounded her and prepared himself for the inevitable. Even in her weakest and when the odds were against them, she didn't lose hope. She had one more shot that could work and she truly hoped he will appear to save them.
Weiss: *whispers* Doctor...
A loud thud that sounded like thunder was heard that stopped everything. Weiss could only feel her heart relax when that wheezing, groaning mechanical noise as the image of the snowy setting with the Angels changed to the interior of the TARDIS. He was here and he came to their rescue as the Doctor pulled the lever again to get them out of there and away from the Angels. The Doctor approached both of them as he checked up on Weiss as well.
Marrow: Doctor! There was too many of them and she was being affected in a way. T-They were killing her...
The Doctor: They were...but I got there on time to save you both. Just give her a minute to recover.
The Doctor picked her up as he saw the gold energy return to Weiss's body as she recovered in a minute before standing up gasping for air.
The Doctor: Easy Weiss! The Angels were draining you and almost did it, but I was able to rescue you both on time.
Weiss: *breathes and looks at him* Doctor! *Hugs him tight*
The Doctor: *sighs in relief and hugs her back* Hello sweetie.
Weiss: *pulls away* Doctor! It's the Angels! They're back!
The Doctor: I know. Good thing you took a scan of the area with your Sonic and that photo...that was the moment I knew you were all in big trouble.
Weiss: B-But how are they here if I erased them all from existence! And you destroyed the one that was draining me.
The Doctor: There could be many different answers but only two I strongly believe. Either some of them survived...
Dalek Khan: Or more appeared from the crack of the universe before it was sealed off.
Marrow: Are these much worse than the Daleks or Cybermen?
The Doctor & Weiss: Much worse.
The Doctor: They already attacked and invaded Vale. It got everyone...
Marrow: But...why don't we remember any of it or these things?
Weiss: Because I changed time itself...to restore everything back to normal...and erase the Weeping Angels for good...
The Doctor: And now they're back...
Weiss: Winter...and the others... *gasps for air* WE HAVE TO GET THEM!
The Doctor: Hold on! *Pulls the lever again*
Back in the cave, the entire squad went their own separate ways throughout the cave with Winter and her group exploring one part of the cave as they uncovered lots of dust which looked enough to prepare themselves for any big Grimm attack. Their scanners began to glitch out and communications were starting to go haywire as well, confusing everyone.
Winter: What's going on?
Atlas Officer: Could be the signal as we are diving deeper in the cave. However, I did detect something up front before it started to glitch.
Winter: More dust?
Atlas Officer: Unknown, we should go take a look while the rest here are retrieving dust supplies.
Winter nodded and moved forward with the Atlas Officer as they both carefully. Once they got there, they were stunned and a bit spooked by the sight in front of them. There was more dust alright, but there was much more all around them as well...
Disfigured statues...
By the entrance of the cave, the TARDIS makes a full landing as The Doctor, Weiss, and Marrow all run out and noticed there was no one in sight which worried the three.
Weiss: No no no no no!
Marrow: They split up! What do we do now?
The Doctor: For starters, we can't separate. We need to stick together and find Winter Schnee since she's the biggest priority. As for the others, we need you, Marrow, to contact them and tell them to return to the entrance. There is danger looming that none of you are capable of dealing with.
Marrow: Problem is the communications and scanners are all glitching out.
Weiss: *eyes widened and looks at them* They were messing with the scanners...so they could move forward...
The Doctor: A deadly trap...We need to go now!
Weiss: W-What about the TARDIS?!
The Doctor: Khan is on high alert, should the Angels try to approach he'll try to move it around until we are cleared.
The trio run deeper into the cave as they come across a few soldiers of the group in which the Doctor warns them of the situation, causing a massive worry among the soldiers as they follow the trio.
Weiss: ALL OF YOU! GET AWAY!
The Doctor: WE NEED TO GO! CMON!
Marrow: THERE'S A HUGE THREAT THAT'S TRAPPED US!
As they ran more and alerted more soldiers, more of them followed until they all reached where Winter was to her surprise and anger seeing the Doctor out here which meant he broke out of his cell.
Winter: Weiss?! *Looks at the Doctor* YOU! ARREST HIM!
Weiss: NO WINTER! YOU NEED TO LISTEN!
The Doctor: This is a trap! A trap planned by them to take you apart one by one!
Winter: You are talking nonsense! Officers, arrest the fugitive!
Weiss: *eyes glow in anger* I SAID NO!
Weiss released a bit of her power onto her Myrtenaster which caused a minor shockwave which led the officers to not get closer. She heard a sword come out and turned around to look at her own sister pointing her sword right at her. Weiss felt many emotions of betrayal, anger, sadness, and bitterness.
Winter: You have gone too far Weiss. To go against MY orders, to run away on your own, AND to break out a fugitive to Atlas! It hurts me truly to say this but Weiss-
A loud noise startled everyone as something dropped to the ground which happened to be the Atlas's Officer weapon but he was nowhere to be seen. The Doctor and Weiss watched in horror knowing what just happened while Winter and the other soldiers looked for him but there was no sight. That's when the Doctor saw what was around this specific part of the cave.
The Doctor: Nobody move. Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are.
Winter: Excuse ME! You have no-
The Doctor: I SAID DON'T MOVE!
Winter was left silenced by the Doctor as she finally felt that side Weiss told her about the Doctor and it left the older Schnee spooked. The Doctor picked up the officer's weapon and flashlight without looking away from the disfigured statues.
The Doctor: Weiss...the ones outside were here recently than the ones in here...
Weiss: Meaning?
The Doctor: These Angels appeared after what happened in Beacon but were trapped in here for a very long time...
Winter: I'm sorry, Angels?
Weiss: Weeping Angels...
The Doctor: A Weeping Angel is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced. It's a statue when you see it...but leave it unguarded and it moves in matter of seconds to kill.
Weiss: When we look at them, they're in a quantum lock. In the sight of any living creature the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defense mechanism...
The Doctor: Listen up everyone. I need you all to stand back, don't look away from the statues, and turn off your flashlights.
Marrow: Doctor, are these-
The Doctor: I'm about to find out right now.
Winter: This is ridiculous and waste of time. They are just statues and right now, what's more important is finding a missing officer!
The Doctor: In a couple of seconds, you're going to change your mind. Be ready everyone...Okay? I'm going to turn off this flashlight too, just for a moment.
Weiss: Are you sure about this?
The Doctor: No.
The Doctor takes a deep breath as he countdown in his head then turns off the remaining flashlight. 2 seconds later, he turns it back on and to the horror of everyone in the cave, the statues moved from their normal poses to now looking at all of them. Panic stirred from everyone including Winter who couldn't believe what she witnessed.
Winter: T-They...They've moved!
The Doctor: They're Angels! All of them! Marrow, check the other side and see if there are no Angels. If it's clear, I need everyone to move fast without losing contact of the Angels!
Marrow ran back to where the trio were running and saw no sign of Weeping Angels as he gave the go ahead and everyone slowly walked out without looking away from the Angels. The Doctor noticed something about these deformed Angels and made a shocking discovery as he made a full scan of the mountain before reuniting with the others as the soldiers blasted parts of the cave to block the deformed Angels from following them.
The Doctor: Those Angels are much different from the ones we've encountered.
Weiss: Their deformed look?
The Doctor: Yes. And for two different reasons: They're dying, losing their form. They must have been down here for centuries, trapped and starving.
Weiss: Losing their image?
The Doctor: Yes, but there's another cause for their disfigured appearance. This mountain is actually a volcano that's been in slumber for centuries. The last time it erupted, those Angels were inside already, and their weak state caused the lava to burn and damage their bodies. That's why there's no town or city around here.
Weiss: The ones outside however, look the same. They most likely weren't here as long as those inside-
A loud thud came from the blocked entrance as everyone stood back. The deformed Angels were trying to break their way out but their state also meant they wouldn't be able to get through fast.
The Doctor: Where are the others Winter?
Winter: T-They've split up into smaller groups to find more dust supplies across here.
The Doctor: Weiss has technology that's more advanced than your technology. When she said there were unusual scans around here, YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED! *sighs* Someone give me a walkie talkie.
Marrow handed his over as the Doctor activated it only to be glitching just like the others until he pulls out his Sonic Screwdriver to adjust the walkie talkie for it to finally work.
The Doctor: This is Communcation Base reaching out to the groups, I need confirmation from your side.
No response came at the moment as the others were looking concerned if their walkie talkies weren't working or if these statues had already got to them. After a minute, a response finally came through.
Dave: Group 1 reaching out to Communication Base, who am I talking to?
The Doctor: This is the Doctor reaching out. Who am I speaking to?
Dave: Dave.
Weiss: *gasps* Dave...he was really nervous about the expedition.
The Doctor: Dave, give me the status of your group. Is everyone there?
Dave: We're here. We are returning to Base.
The Doctor: Yes! Yes! Good! Come back Dave, there's a huge threat that's trapped all of us in here and we need everyone back to regroup and escape.
Dave: We're here. We are returning to Base.
A few eyebrows rose from Dave's repeated statement as the Doctor was catching up and was noticing something was horribly off. He took a deep breath and responded back to Dave.
The Doctor: Dave?
Dave: Yes sir?
The Doctor: Did you happen to encounter any statues on your way down to where you were sent by Winter Schnee?
Dave: We did sir.
A shaky breath and dropping his head down, The Doctor feared the worst while everyone continued to listen and were getting more worried about the state of Dave and the others. Weiss felt the aura of the Doctor drop as he returned a sad look to her.
Dave: Is the kind Schnee sister?
Weiss: I'm here. Dave, are you okay?
Dave: I'm fine now. I was scared, I followed your words of being scared can be a power.
Weiss: Yes! It's okay to be scared Dave and we need you guys to come back. It's going to be okay, the Doctor will help us get out of here. Listen to me though, don't take your eyes off those Angels!
The Doctor: Weiss...
Weiss: They won't do anything if you stare at them. They're in a frozen state when they are watched but if you look away or blink, they'll kill you.
Dave: Oh, is that why I blacked out for a moment?
Weiss's heart dropped hearing that last response as everyone else gasped or looked down in sadness. The Doctor grabbed the walkie talkie from Weiss to talk to whoever is voicing as Dave.
The Doctor: Dave...how did you and your crew escape the Angels?
Dave: We didn't escape, sir. The Angels killed us all.
The Doctor wished he noticed it sooner as "Dave" never gave a specific answer on their active status. A mix of sadness and fear creeped up on everyone with a few looking at Winter Schnee in anger while she chose to avoid looking at anyone.
The Doctor: What do you mean the Angel killed you?
Dave: Snapped our necks sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected, but it was pretty quick which explains why I blacked out, so that was something.
The Doctor: If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?
Dave: You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion.
The Doctor: So when you say you're on your way up to us
Dave: It's the Angels that's coming, sir, yes. No way out.
A deep sigh came from the time lord as anger was slowly rising in his body while the others were starting to panic and look around their surroundings that there are no signs of the Angels while the deformed ones try to continue breaking through.
Weiss: Doctor?
The Doctor: Thinking.
Winter: If we can't escape then we'll fight our way to escape!
The Doctor: Your weapons won't work. It'll do little to no harm against the Angels.
Weiss: Doctor, look.
The Doctor turned around and noticed Weiss's hand glowing which meant the Angels were nearby and they picked up on her time energy. He looked around for any alternative plans as Winter checked up on Weiss.
Winter: What's going on with your semblance?
The Doctor: *calls Dalek Khan* Khan, can you hear me?
Dalek Khan: Doctor!
The Doctor: Khan, I need your assistance. There's Weeping Angels all around this mountain and they're looking to trap us. Can you make a full scan with the TARDIS and see if you both can find alternative routes? I'm sending you my coordinates.
While the Doctor awaited for a response, the flashlights began to flicker from every soldier while Weiss was beginning to feel weak again meaning the Angels were getting closer to them.
Dalek Khan: There's a boulder on your right and behind it is a small exit that takes the route to another part of the mountain but near the exit.
Atlas Soldier: ANGELS 3 O' CLOCK!
A few turn around instantly and watched the Angels were now approaching the area. The Doctor pulled Weiss over while the others stared at the Angels while a few others began to fire.
The Doctor: Weiss, I need you to use your glyph to blow this boulder up. There's a passage behind it that we can sneak through.
Weiss nodded weakly as she pulled out her Myrtenaster and created a glyph on the boulder causing it to blow to pieces. But at the same time, everything went pitch black for a moment and everything went silent until the Doctor used his screwdriver to release one bright flash as he saw a few soldiers dead on the ground with both Weeping Angels and their deformed versions surrounding them.
The Doctor: GO! GO! GO! CMON!
The few remaining soldiers alongside Winter and Marrow all made a run for it while the Doctor maintained contact with the Angels despite his anger and frustration at seeing the dead soldiers beneath the Angels. The bright light died down as the Doctor made a run for it through the small passage before the remaining survivors blew more rocks and boulders to close the passage.
The Doctor: Are you guys alright?
Weiss: Recovering...Slowly...
The Doctor: *approaches her* We need to get you inside the TARDIS Weiss. It's too dangerous for you to be out here and you're the biggest thing they want. And I know what you're going to say, you want to help. Even with your powers at risk, it doesn't matter because you want to rid of the Angels as much as I do.
Weiss: *blinks* Y-Yeah...that's pretty much it...Wow...But Doctor-
The Doctor: I almost lost you once Weiss, *looks down* I can't...I'm not willing to risk that again...
Weiss noticed the Doctor's eyes full of fear, pain, guilt, and regret as to this day, what happened in Vale with the Weeping Angels still haunted him because unlike everyone else, only her and him know what they've gone through. She's seen him much stronger, smarter, prepared, and confident but she knows he still has his flaws and his feelings. With a defeated sigh, Weiss hugged her Doctor to comfort that pain in him.
Weiss: Okay...I'll stay inside the TARDIS...
None of the survivors will ever know what happened on that day but they could understand that the Time Lord and Schnee huntress have been through something very difficult with the Angels before. As they others recover momentarily, Winter kept staring into nothing but her eyes and expression says otherwise. She didn't know how long she could hold it.
Winter: ANGEL!
Everyone got up alerted by Winter spotting a Weeping Angel as they looked around but saw none of them. Weiss ran to her sister and saw nothing in front of her which worried her.
Weiss: Winter, there's no Angel here.
Winter: *blinks* H-Huh? *Looks around* I'm sorry...I got startled that's all...
The Doctor: Now you fully understand that you are not entirely capable of handling non-Remnant threats. And unfortunately, you are the one responsible for the deaths of half of your group, including Dave. If you just listened to your sister for once... *sighs in frustration and walks away*
Marrow: What do we do now Doctor?
The Doctor: *looks around and huffs* Anyone else feeling warm in here?
Marrow: That's why we were resting. After all that happened and now this heat, we needed to rest.
The Doctor: Wait a second... *scans the area with my Sonic* Oh Dalek Khan, you genius Dalek.
Weiss: What is it?
The Doctor: Don't be alarmed everyone, we are perfectly safe...for now at least hehe. The passage we went through not only is another route closer to the exit but beneath it...is the magma of this sleepy volcano. Many of you consider it to be a mountain because this volcano hasn't erupted in nearly 100 years... *mumbles* and it won't for another 150 years. SO, when we encountered those deformed Angels, they were in a very weakened state and when the last volcanic eruption happened, it damaged them completely making them very vulnerable.
Weiss: So what's your chaotic plan then?
The Doctor: I'm glad you asked Ms. Schnee. We need to find a proper and quick way to lure ALL of the Weeping Angels here. Once that's settled, we'll use the dust supplies you have gathered to create an explosive that will destroy this ground and send the Angels into the lava. Trapped, Starving, and Burning...until they were weakened, deformed, and eventually destroyed.
Winter: NO! We are not allowing that to happen, we didn't come this far to collect the dust supplies we need then lose it for one of your messy plans.
Atlas Soldier: With all due respect ma'am...your focus on this expedition and ignoring the warnings we did not detect BUT your sister did...has cost us lives already. If the Doctor has a plan that HE knows can work and trap these creatures in here forever, I'm putting my trust with him.
Other soldiers began to stand up and voice their decisions to trust the Doctor with this plan as Winter watched in defeat and disappointment to where she had fallen in this situation. They were right, if she listened to Weiss and acted differently, those lives including Dave would not be taken. She looked up to see a Weeping Angel behind the Doctor.
Winter: WATCH OUT!
Everyone turned around in alarm but saw nothing behind them while the Doctor was growing suspicious of Winter's paranoia. Winter blinked again and saw nothing besides the Doctor.
Weiss: Winter, what's going on? Are you okay?
Winter: I'm fine... *holds my head* My head is just hurting that's all.
Weiss: It's probably the stress and heat.
The Doctor: It's not. *Walks towards them* Winter, what exactly happened when we were escaping the Angels?
Winter: Everything went dark for a second and I didn't know if we were going to get a light at the moment... *pulls out my scroll* I used a flash to take a picture-
The Doctor: You didn't... *gets up frustrated*
Weiss: What's going on with my sister?...Doctor?!
Winter: WEISS! MOVE! *Pulls out my sword* YOU WON'T TAKE MY SISTER YOU DEMON!
Winter held her sword with a tight grip despite shaking in fear but there was nothing in front of her which concerned everyone else, especially Weiss about this sudden change in her sister.
The Doctor: Winter...what did you do...
Weiss: Doctor, tell me what's happening.
The Doctor: Nobody grab Winter's scroll. Leave it there on the ground and don't even look at it!
Winter: I-It's gone again...I...I don't want to close my eyes...
The Doctor: Out of sheer panic, your sister decided to use the camera flash on her scroll to give light in the darkness just as I sent out that bright light from my Sonic Screwdriver...
Winter: It's right there again! Don't lose sight of it!
The Doctor: But because she used the camera, it also took a picture of the Weeping Angel that was approaching her.
Marrow: The image of an Angel is an Angel.
Winter: Doctor...Weiss... *looks at my hand* H-Help Me...
Weiss's eyes shrunk in horror finally understanding what the Doctor was saying about her sister's condition. They watched in horror as Winter's hand was now stone like the statues as her scroll still displayed the image of the Weeping Angel.
The Doctor: A living mental image in a living human mind. But we stare at them to stop them getting closer. We don't even blink, and that is exactly what they want. Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind...