Fires of Pompeii
(Jared's POV)
Street…
The Tardis has parked herself in a small curtained-off alcove. The Doctor, Donna, Tsubasa, Maria, and I step out into the sunshine. The streets are lined with vendors of various goods.
"Ancient Rome. Well, not for them, obviously. To all intents and purposes, right now, this is brand new Rome." The Doctor said.
"Oh, my God. it's, it's so Roman. This is fantastic." Donna said.
"So, you brought us to Ancient Rome." Tsubasa said.
"Yup." I said, taking out some milk tea to drink. "What else doesn't define this era like milk tea?"
"But didn't that happen in the 2010s?" Maria asked.
"So, what?"
Painted on the side of a barrow is two amphorae for the price of one. I led Tsubasa and Maria to the Doctor and Donna.
"Are you having me on? Are we in Epcot?" Donna asked.
"No, no, no, no. That's the Tardis translation circuits. Just makes it look like English. Speech as well. Like how for Tsubasa and Maria, they're reading and hearing Japanese. You, Jared, and those two Symphogear wielders are talking Latin right now." The Doctor said.
"Seriously?"
"Mmm."
"I just said seriously in Latin."
"Yup, you did." I said, still sipping on the milk tea. "Latin, a bit cool. But not that cool."
"What if I said something in actual Latin, like veni, vidi, vici? My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said veni, vidi, vici to that lot, what would it sound like?"
"I'm not sure. You have to think of difficult questions, don't you?" The Doctor asked.
"I'm going to try it." Donna said, going to a fruit seller.
"You know how there's three popular forms of Chinese." I said, looking between Tsubasa and Maria.
"Yeah. Cantonese, Mandarin, and Shanghainese." Tsubasa said.
"Oh, and there are four languages in Great Britain. English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish." Maria said.
"That seller is gonna hear the equivalent of Welsh." I said, laughing a lot.
Donna walked towards us, "How's he mean, Celtic?"
"Welsh. You sound Welsh. There we are. Learnt something." The Doctor said, walking away with Donna, Tsubasa, Maria, and I.
"You are drinking milk tea in the middle of Ancient Rome." Tsubasa said, looking at what I'm drinking.
I'm sipping on my coconut taro milk tea while eating some bread filled with custard, "It's good. I'm definitely like Rena Minami in some ways."
"Who?" Maria asked. "And our clothes do look out of place here."
"Maria's right." Donna said. "Don't our clothes look a bit odd?"
"Nah. Ancient Rome, anything goes. It's like Soho, but bigger." The Doctor said.
"Well, it looks like you've been here before." Tsubasa said.
"He has a long time ago." I said, eating the bread. "When he wore a stick of celery or was an old man."
"Before you ask, that fire had nothing to do with me. Well, a little bit. But I haven't got the chance to look around properly. Coliseum, Pantheon, Circus Maximus. You'd expect them to be looming by now. Where is everything? Try this way." The Doctor said.
"I'm still hungry." I said, taking out some onigiri while we're walking through the streets. "Rice balls. What? I'm hungry."
"Of course you are." Tsubasa said, while we're coming out into a piazza. "Wait, Rome has seven hills. Why is there only one?"
"Oh, don't tell me." Maria said, looking at the one big, bare-headed mountain. "You brought us here without remembering what's next."
"Hehe, yeah…" I said, while the ground is shaking. "I kinda forgot."
"Here we go again." A man said.
The vendors hang onto their stalls as pottery falls and breaks.
"Wait a minute. One mountain, with smoke. Which makes this…" Donna said.
"Pompeii. We're in Pompeii. And it's volcano day." The Doctor said.
"You brought us to Pompeii." Tsubasa said, running behind me. "Or you convinced us to come."
"I don't know." I said, holding up one of my hands. "It was an instinct of mine."
"To bring us to the city on volcano day?" Maria asked.
The Doctor, Donna, Tsubasa, Maria, and I ran back to the Tardis, but it's not there.
"You're kidding. You're not telling me the Tardis has gone." Donna said.
"Okay." I said, still eating the rice ball.
"Where is it then?" Donna asked, looking at me. "You have foreknowledge, so tell me where it is. So, we can get out of here."
"I'm sorry, super temp. I can't, because you told me not to tell you."
"Oi. Don't get clever in Latin."
"Hold on." The Doctor said, going to the fruit seller. "Excuse me. Excuse me. There was a box. Big blue box. Big blue wooden box, just over there. Where's it gone?"
"Sold it, didn't I?" The stallholder asked.
"But it wasn't yours to sell."
"It was on my patch, weren't it? I got fifteen sesterces for it. Lovely jubbly."
"Who'd you sell it to?"
"Old Caecilius. Look, if you want to argue, why don't you take it out with him? He's on Foss Street. Big villa. Can't miss it."
"Thanks." The Doctor said, running off before coming back. "What'd he buy a big blue wooden box for?"
"Modern art!" I said, laughing a lot.
"You're kidding." Donna said, laughing with me. "The TARDIS, modern art?"
"Yup. For a police telephone box. It's a bit too futuristic to be considered modern art."
"So, this man bought the TARDIS as modern art." Maria said.
"Yeah." I said, taking out my phone and headphones. "I don't know how the time machine can be considered as it."
"What will you be listening to?" Tsubasa asked.
"Some A-RISE."
"You are such a lover of music." Donna said, looking down at the music note keychain I have on my sling backpack.
"What can I say? Music has been a part of my life for like forever." I said, taking out some chocolate chip cookies out of my bag. "Bigger on the inside."
"Oh, that's how you fit in your stuff." Maria said.
"Yup." I said, as I took out my Augma headset and placed it on my head. "You two want to take out some augmented reality Noise?"
"In the middle of Pompeii?" Maria asked. "No one will get hurt."
"Nope."
"Sure." Tsubasa said.
"Donna, I know how much you want to save people." I said, looking back at Donna. "Go on, the Doctor ran off."
"Okay." Donna said, running in the other direction.
"Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron." Maria said, holding her pendant and she transformed along with Tsubasa.
"In 3, 2, 1, go!" I said, going through the menu and starting up with simulation, and I loaded up the augmented reality stuff from my Augma to the Symphogears.
"So, what are you doing?" Yui asked, appearing right in front of me.
"Oh, hey Yui."
"Is Tsubasa and Maria training?"
Yui looked over as to what the two Symphogear wielders are fighting, seeing the Alca-Noise.
"Yeah. They have to stay in shape." I said, eating more chocolate chip cookies. "How's Kirito and Asuna?"
"Daddy and mommy? They're good." Yui said, sitting on my shoulder.
"You know, I haven't beaten a boss in a while."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Things have been rough."
"How so?"
"They just have."
The Doctor runs into Donna, Maria, Tsubasa, and I.
"Ha. I've got it. Foss Street's this way." The Doctor said.
"No. Well, I found this big sort of amphitheatre thing. We can start there. We can gather everyone together. Maybe they've got a great big bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?" Donna asked.
"Wait, why do you need a bell?" Tsubasa asked.
"To warn everyone. Start the evacuation. What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"
"It's August 23rd, 79 AD. Volcano day is tomorrow." I said, looking at Donna.
"Plenty of time. We could get everyone out easy." Donna said.
"Yeah, but we can't." Maria said. "Not this time."
"But that's what you lot do. You're the Doctor, Jared, Maria, and Tsubasa. You save people." Donna said.
"Not this time. Pompeii is a part of our history." Tsubasa said.
"And what happens, happens. There is no stopping it." The Doctor said.
"Says who?" Donna asked.
"Says me." I said, as I finished eating my chocolate chip cookies.
"What, and you're in charge?"
"Foreknowledge, human, yeah."
"Donna, human, no. I don't need your permission. And I don't need the Doctor's or Symphogear's. I'll tell them myself."
"You stand in the market place announcing the end of the world, they'll just think you're a mad old soothsayer. Now, come on. Tardis. We are getting out of here." The Doctor said.
"Well, I might just have something to say about that, Spaceman." Donna said.
"Oh, I bet you will."
After we leave, the Soothsayer steps out and covers her face with her palms, tattooed eyes over her own. "The tall one, he calls us mad."
(Open POV)
Outside the villa...
"Pompeii is the one event I don't want to change." Jared said, looking at Tsubasa and Maria.
"We can change it." Tsubasa said.
"Donna is the only one who wants to." Maria said.
"She is." Jared said. "But Pompeii is bad news."
"Why?"
"A lot of bad things happen."
"Like what?" Tsubasa asked.
"Spoilers."
Villa…
"Positions!" Caecilius said.
The Doctor catches the marble bust first, "Whoa! There you go."
"Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor." Caecilius said.
"But that's me, I'm a visitor. Hello."
"Who are you?"
"I am Spartacus." The Doctor said.
"And so am I." Donna said.
"Mister and Mrs Spartacus." Caecilius said.
"Oh no, no, no. We're not, we're not married." The Doctor said.
"We're not together." Donna said.
"Oh, then brother and sister? Yes, of course. You look very much alike." Caecilius said.
"Really?" The Doctor and Donna asked, at the same time.
"She's Ame no Habakiri." Jared said, looking at Tsubasa.
"Are you just…" Tsubasa said, her eyes widening.
"And she's Airgetlám." Jared said, now looking at Maria.
"And he did." Maria said, sadly.
"I'm Fortissimo."
"Those are interesting names." Caecilius said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade."
"And what is that trade?" Tsubasa asked.
"Marble. Lopus Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man." Caecilius said.
"That's good. That's good, because I'm the marble inspector." The Doctor said, flashing his psychic paper.
"By the gods of commerce, an inspection. I'm sorry, sir. I do apologise for my son." Metella said, pouring away Quintus' goblet of wine.
"Oi." Quintus said, angrily.
"And this is my good wife, Metella. I must confess, we're not prepared for a…" Caecilius said.
"Nothing to worry about. I'm, I'm sure you've nothing to hide. Although, frankly, that object looks rather like wood to me." The Doctor said.
"I told you to get rid of it." Metella said.
"I only bought it today." Caecilius said.
"Ah, well. Caveat emptor." The Doctor said.
"Oh, you're Celtic. There's lovely..."
"There's a bit of a warning for you, don't buy anything too big." Jared said, taking out his AirPods to place into his ears. "That'll make it look so out of place in a room."
"He's right. I'm sure it's fine, but I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection." The Doctor said.
"Although while we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus, Ame no Habakiri, Airgetlám, and Fortissimo?" Donna asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Spartacus." Jared said, listening to Snow halation by μ's.
"Oh, this lovely family. Mother and father and son. Don't you think they should get out of town?"
"Why should we do that?" Caecilius asked.
"Well, the volcano, for starters."
"What?"
"Volcano."
"What ano?"
"That great big volcano right on your doorstep."
"Yeah, I think now would be a good time to shut up." Jared said, pulling Donna aside to explain, with the Doctor, Tsubasa, and Maria behind him. "What were you thinking, super temp? It's two thousand years too early."
"They don't know what it is. Vesuvius is just a mountain to them. The top hasn't blown off yet. The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow." The Doctor said.
"Oh, great, they can learn a new word as they die." Donna said, angrily.
"Donna, stop it." Maria said.
"Listen, I don't know what sort of girls you've been saving the world with, but you're not telling me to shut up. That boy, how old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he burns to death." Donna said, looking at Jared.
"And Donna, and that's my fault, you're kidding me." Jared said. "Me not wanting to save him. You have got to be kidding me, is it really mine?"
"Right now, yes."
"So, we've got the pass on this." Tsubasa said.
"For now, yes."
"Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the City Government." Rombus said.
A middle aged man wearing a cloak over the right half of his body enters.
"Lucius. My pleasure, as always." Caecilius said.
"Quintus, stand up." Metella said.
"A rare and great honour, sir, for you to come to my house." Caecilius said, holding out his hand, but Lucius does not take it.
"The birds are flying north, and the wind is in the west." Lucius said.
"Quite. Absolutely. That's good, is it?"
"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."
"There now, Metella. Have you ever heard such wisdom?"
"Never. It's an honour." Metella said.
"Pardon me, sir. I have guests. This is Spartacus, er, Spartacus. And Ame no Habakiri, Airgetlám, and Fortissimo." Caecilius said, looking at the group of five.
"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind." Lucius said.
"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark." The Doctor said.
"Ah. But what is the dark, other than an omen of the sun?"
"I concede that every sun must set."
"Ha."
"And yet the son of the father must also rise."
"Damn. Very clever, sir. Evidently, a man of learning."
"Oh, yes. But don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo."
"He's Celtic." Caecilius said.
"Come on you guys, let's get going." Jared said, walking towards the TARDIS with Tsubasa and Maria.
"I'm not going." Donna said, looking at Jared who is standing outside the blue box.
"It's ready, sir." Caecilius said.
"You've got to." The Doctor said.
"Well, I'm not." Donna said.
"The moment of revelation. And here it is." Caecilius said, as the Doctor takes Donna to the Tardis, the Time Lord, the fanboy, and the Symphogear users look back to see a stone tile carved as a circuit board has just been unveiled. "Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?"
"As the rain pleases the soil." Lucius said.
"Oh, now that's different. Who designed that, then?" The Doctor asked.
"My Lord Lucius was very specific." Caecilius said.
"Where'd you get the pattern?"
"On the rain and mist and wind." Lucius said.
"But that looks like a circuit, one made for a computer." Tsubasa said, looking at what shouldn't be possible yet.
"Made of stone." Maria said. "A stone motherboard."
"Do you mean you just dreamt that thing up?" Donna asked.
"That is my job, as City Augur." Lucius said.
"What's that, then, like the mayor?"
"Oh, ha. You must excuse my friend, she's from Barcelona." The Doctor said, looking at Donna. "No, but this is an age of superstition. Of official superstition. The Augur is paid by the city to tell the future. The wind will blow from the west? That's the equivalent of ten o'clock news."
"Or basically me." Jared said, taking out some chocolate croquettes to eat them. "I only reveal information when I need to, since I was a fan of this show. Man, these are so good. I could see why girl bands are into them."
Evelina enters the room, swaying and pale, "They're laughing at us. Those five, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."
"No, no, I'm not. I meant no offence." The Doctor said.
"I'm sorry. My daughter's been consuming the vapours." Metella said.
"Oh for gods, Mother. What have you been doing to her?" Quintus asked.
"Not now, Quintus." Caecilius said.
"Yeah, but she's sick. Just look at her."
"I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift." Lucius said, looking at Evelina.
"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood. They say she has remarkable visions." Metella said, happily.
"The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception."
"I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate." Donna said, angrily.
"Crap, super temp." Jared said, feeling the small tremor. "This is bad."
"The Mountain God marks your words. I'd be careful, if I were you." Lucius said.
"Consuming the vapours, you say?" The Doctor asked.
"They give me strength." Evelina said.
"It doesn't look like it to me."
"Is that your opinion as a doctor?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Doctor. That's your name."
"How did you know that?"
"And you. You call yourself Noble." Evelina said, looking at Donna, then at Maria and Tsubasa. "You two call yourselves Symphogear."
"Now then, Evelina. Don't be rude." Metella said.
"It's okay." Jared said, still eating the chocolate croquettes. "She can talk as much as she wants."
"You five come from so far away, but he has come the furthest, another reality, a whole other world." Evelina said.
"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries." Lucius said.
"Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I reckon you've been out-soothsayed." The Doctor said.
"Is that so, man from Gallifrey?"
"What?"
"The strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?" Lucius asked. "And you, you lost your best friend. To some Noise."
"How do you know that?" Tsubasa asked.
"She saved the one who would help you time and time again. The true wielder of the Gungnir, at a stadium for music."
"What?"
"And you, you lost your sister." Evelina said, looking at Maria. "Long ago. You now wield her Relic. What would have made her sing."
"How do you know that?" Maria asked.
"Doctor, what are they doing?" Donna asked.
"And you, daughter of London. And you, son of New York." Lucius said, looking between Donna and Jared.
"How does he know that?"
"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."
"That's impossible." Tsubasa said, finding it hard to believe.
"But it is, I forgot why." Jared said, sadly.
"Doctor, Tsubasa, Maria, they are returning." Lucius said.
"Who's returning? Who are they?" The Doctor asked.
"And you, daughter of London. There is something on your back."
"What's that mean?" Donna asked.
"And you, son of New York. Thanos has succeeded and he is inevitable."
"But he couldn't have won!" Jared said, tossing his box of chocolate croquettes to Tsubasa. "We could have reversed it somehow. I know we would."
"Even the word Doctor is false. Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a Lord, sir. A Lord of Time." Evelina said, fainting.
"Evelina!" Metella said.
Evelina's room…
A cool, shady place.
"She didn't mean to be rude. She's ever such a good girl. But when the gods speak through her." Metella said.
"So, what's wrong with her arm?" Maria asked.
"An irritation of the skin. She never complains, bless her. We bathe it in olive oil every night." Metella said.
"What is it?" Donna asked.
"Evelina said the two of you had come from far away. Please, have you ever seen anything like it?" Metella asked.
Donna strokes the dark rash on Evelina's forearm, "It's stone."
Villa…
The Doctor removes the hypocaust grill, "Different sort of hypocaust?"
"Oh, yes. We're very advanced in Pompeii. In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces, but we've got hot springs, leading from Vesuvius itself." Caecilius said.
"Hot springs?" Jared asked, getting a bit excited. "I love hot springs! As much as hot tubs. Can I get in one later?"
"No." Tsubasa said. "Who thought of that? Incorporating hot springs."
"The soothsayers, after the great earthquake, seventeen years ago. An awful lot of damage. But we rebuilt." Caecilius said.
"Didn't you think of moving away? Oh no, then again, San Francisco." The Doctor said.
"Or anywhere in Japan." Jared said, taking out a box of Pocky. "Tsunamis, earthquakes. And then there's the hurricanes that hit the south of the United States, during the fall."
"That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?" Caecilius asked, looking at the Doctor and Jared.
"What's that noise?" Tsubasa asked.
"Don't know. Happens all the time. They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring." Caecilius said.
"But after the earthquake, let me guess. Is that when the soothsayers started making sense?" The Doctor asked.
"Oh, yes, very much so. I mean, they'd always been, shall we say, imprecise? But then the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex, all of them, they saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."
"So, did they talk about tomorrow?" Jared asked, a Pocky sticking out of his mouth.
"No. Why, should they? Why do you ask?" Caecilius asked.
"I don't know. I just want to know that's all." Jared said, biting off a piece of the Pocky to land onto the floor.
"But the soothsayers, they all consume the vapours, yeah?" The Doctor asked.
"That's how they see." Caecilius said.
"Ipso facto."
"Look you."
"They're all consuming this."
"Dust."
"Tiny particles of rock. They're breathing in Vesuvius." The Doctor said, going to where Quintus is reclining on a couch, drinking. "Quintus, me old son. This Lucius Petrus Dextrus. Where does he live?"
"It's nothing to do with me." Quintus said.
"Let me try again. This Lucius Petrus Dextrus." The Doctor said, producing a coin from behind Quintus' ear. "Where does he live?"
Street…
Night has fallen.
Quintus holds a burning torch as he leads the Doctor, Jared, and Tsubasa through Pompeii, "Don't tell my Dad."
"What are you doing?" Tsubasa asked, as Jared took out his iPhone.
Jared then began playing the Back to the Future soundtrack on his phone, the song specifically being Einstein Disintegrated, "Stranger Things Season 3 came out last month. And it had Back to the Future in it."
"So, you're gonna be using that song in this chapter." Tsubasa said, while she jumped up to a window and opens the shutters. "It'll ruin what'll happen in the end."
"Will it though?" Jared asked, as Tsubasa goes inside then leaned out of the room.
"Back to the Future isn't the answer to everything."
Lucius' villa….
The hypocaust is glowing red with heat. Quintus, the Doctor, and Jared enters, as Tsubasa look around.
"I spent way too much time with Hibiki." Tsubasa said, taking down a curtain to reveal a wall of different design marble tiles. "There we go, a whole motherboard."
"The liar. He told my father it was the only one." Quintus said.
"Well, this is basically the equivalent to Amazon and eBay. There are plenty of merchants around, in this case marble. You tell them all the same thing to get things from point a to point b. Just to gather the parts from different places. And for no one could tell what you're building, if you have a bit of a time gap in between." Jared said, taking out some milk tea to drink on. "Pretty simple, really."
"Which is what?" Quintus asked.
"The future, Doctor, son of New York, and Symphogear. We are building the future, as dictated by the gods." Lucius said.
Evelina's room…
Evelina has recovered, and is laughing as Donna puts on a purple robe and shawl, while Maria is wearing the same color scheme.
"You're not supposed to laugh. Thanks for that. What do you think? The Goddess Venus." Donna said.
"I like it." Maria said, happily.
"Oh, that's sacrilege." Evelina said, laughing a lot.
"Nice to see you laugh, though. What do you do in old Pompeii, then, girls your age? You got mates? Do you go hanging about round the shops? TK Maximus?" Donna asked.
"I am promised to the Sisterhood for the rest of my life."
"Don't you have a choice?" Maria asked. "Can't you say no?"
"It's not my decision. The Sisters chose for me. I have the gift of sight."
"Then what can you see happening tomorrow?" Donna asked.
"Is tomorrow special?" Evelina asked.
"You tell me. What do you see?"
"The sun will rise, the sun will set. Nothing special at all."
"Look, don't tell the Doctor I said anything because he'll kill me, but I've got a prophecy too." Donna said, as Evelina covers her eyes. "Evelina, I'm sorry, but you've got to hear me out."
"Donna, I've got a bad feeling about this." Maria said.
"Evelina, can you hear me? Listen."
"There is only one prophecy." Evelina said.
"But everything I'm about to say to you is true, I swear. Just listen to me. Tomorrow, that mountain is going to explode. Evelina, please listen. The air is going to fill with ash and rocks, tons and tons of it, and this whole town is going to get buried." Donna said.
"That's not true."
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but everyone's going to die."
"Donna, I think you should stop." Maria said, looking at Donna.
"No, I shouldn't." Donna said. "Even if you don't believe me, just tell your family to get out of town. Just for one day. Just for tomorrow. But you've got to get out. You've got to leave Pompeii."
"This is false prophecy." Evelina said.
"Jared is gonna be mad." Maria said.
"Really?" Donna asked.
"Yeah. But I think the person who will be more mad, is the Doctor."
"Of course he would be."
Lucius' villa...
The Doctor is rearranging the circuit boards, "Put this one there. This one there. Er, keep that one upside down, and what you got?"
"Enlighten me." Lucius said.
"Wait, the soothsayer doesn't know early 21st century tech?" Jared asked, leaning against the wall.
"The seed may float on the breeze in any direction."
"It's an energy converter. Not an adapter or a transformer." Tsubasa said.
"An energy converter of what?" Lucius asked.
"I don't know. Isn't that brilliant? I love not knowing. Keeps me on my toes. It must be awful being a prophet, waking up every morning, is it raining? Yes, it is, I said so. Takes all the fun out of life. But who designed this, Lucius, hmm? Who gave you these instructions?" The Doctor asked.
"I think you've babbled enough." Lucius said.
"Lucius, really, tell us. Honestly, we're on your side. We can help."
"You insult the gods. There can be only one sentence. At arms." Lucius said, while the guards draw their short swords.
Tsubasa took out her pendant, "Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron."
She then transformed and took out her sword.
"Oh, morituri te salutant." The Doctor said.
"Celtic prayers won't help you now." Lucius said.
"But it was them, sir. They made me do it. Mister Dextrus, please don't." Quintus said.
"Come on now, Quintus, dignity in death. I respect your victory, Lucius. Shake on it? Come on. Dying man's wish?" The Doctor asked, grabbing at Lucius' right arm beneath the clock and pulls.
"What was that?" Tsubasa asked, hearing a breaking sound.
"Argh." Lucius said.
"Talk about armless." Jared said, when the Doctor is holding a stone hand and forearm.
"Armless?" Tsubasa asked, looking at the stone arm. "Why that pun?"
"But he's…" Quintus said.
"Show me." The Doctor said, as Lucius throws back the cloak.
Lucius' entire right side has calcified, "The work of the gods."
"He's stone." Tsubasa said.
"Armless enough, though. Whoops." The Doctor said, throwing the arm back to Lucius.
"Tsubasa, now!" Jared said, as Tsubasa threw the torch at a guard as the Doctor sonics the circuit boards, then they make their escape through the window. "Let's go, you guys!"
"The carvings." Lucius said.
Street...
"Run!" The Doctor said.
"I guess those things are high." Jared said, holding Tsubasa's hand. "If you know what I mean."
"No sign of them. Nice little bit of allons-y. I think we're all right." The Doctor said.
"But his arm, Doctor, Jared, Tsubasa. Is that what's happening to Evelina?" Quintus asked.
"Yes." Jared said, feeling the ground shake. "She's becoming something made of stone."
"That's not good." Tsubasa said, while a dog is barking. "What was that?"
"I don't know." Jared said, squeezing Tsubasa's hand.
Rumble.
"The mountain?" Quintus asked, and the rumbles are rhythmical.
"No, it's closer." The Doctor said, as things start falling over as the ground shakes. "Footsteps."
"It can't be." Quintus said.
"Footsteps underground."
"What is it? What is it?"
They run again. The grills blow of hypocaust vents as they pass.
(Jared's POV)
Villa…
"What is it? What's that noise?" Metella asked.
"Doesn't sound like Vesuvius." Caecilius said.
"Maria, Tsubasa, I'm sorry, but I can't risk the future with you two in the past." I said, tossing devices on the parts where the Ignite Modules were. "I'm sorry. You both need to be back with SONG."
Tsubasa and Maria teleported away back to the future, while wearing their Symphogear armors. They then swapped places with Mami and Kyoko who appeared in the room.
"What?" Mami asked, looking around.
"Where the hell are we?" Kyoko asked, while the hypocaust grill flies off.
"Long story short, we're in Pompeii." I said, as we're standing still and staring straight ahead. "And it's close to volcano day."
"Wait…" Mami said, while the floor around the hypocaust cracks, and the stone and fire creature appears. "That's a fire alien."
"Yeah." Kyoko said, while the creature stands and it nearly touches the ceiling. "What even is that?"
"The gods are with us." Evelina said.
"Water. We need water. Quintus. All of you, get water. Donna!" The Doctor said.
"Blessed are we to see the gods." Rombus said, and his god breathes on him, burning him to ash instantly.
"Talk to me. That's all I want. Talk to me. Just tell me you are. Don't hurt these people." The Doctor said, while Donna and Mami are returning with buckets of water when the Sisterhood grab her and Kyoko.
"Crap." I said, seeing Donna and Kyoko getting dragged away. "Of course they would go for the fiery red heads."
"Yeah." Mami said, agreeing with me.
Quintus and a slave return with buckets, scoop water from the fish pond, with the three of them throwing the water on the creature.
"Lit." I said, watching the creature's fire go out, and it solidifies then cracks and crumbles to the floor. "That was cool."
"What was it?" Mami asked.
"Carapace of stone, held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop, but I reckon that's just the foot soldier." The Doctor said.
"Doctor, or whatever your name is, you and your friends bring bad luck on this house." Metella said.
"I thought your son was brilliant. Aren't you going to thank him?" The Doctor asked. "Still, if there are aliens at work in Pompeii, it's a good thing we stayed."
"Yup." I said, taking out a thermos filled with Earl Grey tea. "And losing two of Symphogear would have been bad for the timeline. They're indispensable in the future. After all."
"Which is why you wanted me and Kyoko to come." Mami said, agreeing with my logic. "Oh, and Doctor. She's been taken along with Donna."
Temple…
"You have got to be kidding me." Kyoko said, while she is tied to the wall, as Donna is tied to the altar. "Jared brought me and Mami to this time period, so I can be cuffed to the wall?"
Spurrina is standing over Donna with a knife, "The false prophet and her friend will surrender both their blood and their breath."
"We'll surrender you in a minute. Don't you dare." Donna said, angrily.
"The two of you will be silent." Spurrina said.
"Listen, sister, you might have eyes on the back of your hands, but you'll have eyes in the back of your head by the time we're finished with you. Let us go!"
"Seriously, let us go!" Kyoko said. "You're making me lose my patience."
"These prattling voices will cease forever." Spurrina said.
"Like that'll ever happen." I said, entering the room with the Doctor and Mami. "Hey, Kyoko."
"Hi." Kyoko said, and Spurrina raises the blade.
"Oh, that'll be the day." The Doctor said.
"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sibyl." Spurrina said.
"It's okay." Mami said, drinking her cup of tea. "It's only us girls here."
"Do you know, I met the Sibyl once. Yeah, hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance the Tarantella. Nice teeth. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me. I said it would never last. She said, I know. Well, she would. You all right there?" The Doctor asked, walking around, before approaching Donna.
"How has it been?" I asked, walking towards Kyoko.
"Oh, you know." Kyoko said. "Had a hell of a day. After encountering an Uwasa."
"Me too." Mami said. "Even if it was a couple of days ago."
"A what now?" I asked, pressing a button on my Apple Watch and aimed an energy blast at the shackles holding Kyoko Sakura, letting her free. "That's new."
"What magic is this?" Spurrina asked, as I looked over to see that the Doctor has freed Donna.
"Let me tell you about the Sibyl, the founder of this religion. She would be ashamed of you. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, hey? On the blade of a knife?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes, a knife that now welcomes you." Spurrina said.
"Talk about needy." Kyoko said, and I tossed her an apple. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." I said, taking out some mango milk tea to drink it. "It's been a long day."
"Tell me about it. That Uwasa gave me some trouble."
"Oh, very perceptive. Where do these words of wisdom come from?" The Doctor asked.
"The gods whisper to me." The high priestess said.
"They've done far more than that. Might I beg audience? Look upon the High Priestess?" The Doctor asked.
Two Sisters draw the veil aside to reveal that the High Priestess is living stone.
"Oh, my God. What happened to you?" Kyoko asked, shocked.
"The heavens have blessed me." The high priestess said.
"If I might?" The Doctor asked, as the high priestess held out her hand for him to touch. "Does it hurt?"
"It is necessary."
"Who told you that?" Mami asked.
"The voices." The high priestess said.
"Is that what's going to happen to Evelina? Is this what's going to happen to all of you?" Donna asked.
Spurrina shows Donna her stone forearm, "The blessings are manifold."
"They're stone." Donna said.
"Exactly. The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts. But why?" The Doctor asked.
"This word, this image in your mind. This volcano. What is that?" The high priestess asked.
"Mami, Kyoko, you guys are younger." I said, walking towards the two magical girls. "Like much younger. Yet you two still know who I am, why?"
"I don't know." Mami said. "It's like time was bending."
"Hell, we shouldn't know you yet." Kyoko said. "Why do we know you?"
"An Uwasa. What is that?" I asked.
"It's these things. These Rumors." Mami said.
"Rumors? But you two are the youngest I've seen of you."
"Like we said, time is not right."
"It does look like it." Kyoko said.
"Name yourself. Planet of origin. Galactic coordinates. Species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation." The Doctor said.
"We are rising." The high priestess said.
"Tell me your name!"
"Pyrovile."
"Pyrovile. Pyrovile. Pyrovile." The sisters said.
"What's a Pyrovile?" Mami asked.
"Well, that's a Pyrovile, growing inside her. She's a halfway stage." The Doctor said.
"What, and that turns into?" Donna asked.
"That thing in the villa. That was an adult Pyrovile." I said, sipping a bit of my milk tea.
"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor, Jared." The high priestess said.
I then took out a Nerf Super Soaker Soakzooka out of my sling backpack, "I'm warning you, I'm armed. Donna, Mami, Kyoko, get that manhole open."
"Why?" Kyoko asked.
"Just, do it." I said, aiming my water gun at the high priestess.
"What are the Pyrovile doing here?" The Doctor asked.
I watched Donna, Kyoko, and Mami do as they're told.
"We fell from the heavens. We fell so far and so fast, we were rendered into dust." The high priestess said.
I tossed my Nerf gun at the Doctor and I ran towards the three girls, "Here you go, Spaceman."
"Why did you come over here?" Donna asked.
"Because I wanted to."
"You should have stayed over there." Mami said.
"More fun this way." I said, running back and picking up my milk tea from the floor.
"Got it." Donna said, holding the manhole up.
"Now get down." The Doctor said. "All of you."
"Wait, we're supposed to go down there?" Kyoko asked.
"Yes, down there. Why can't this lot predict a volcano? Why is it being hidden?"
"I don't know. But it's weird having a younger Holy Quintet. I bet the ones that were with me were from another timeline." I said, looking between Mami and Kyoko. "These two haven't experienced the Year that Never Was."
"Yeah, but it's got to sting." The Doctor said, squirting the water at the High Priestess. Yes, it does hurt her. "Get down there!"
Hypocaust…
The Doctor, Donna, Mami, Kyoko, and I go down into the Hypocaust while the Sisters help their Priestess.
"You fought her off with a water pistol. Especially a Nerf gun, those things hurt. I bloody love you." Donna said, happily.
"Nerf guns and LEGO, am I right?" I asked, leading the way. "Come on you guys, this way."
"So, where are we going?" Kyoko asked.
"Well, there's no other way. If we want to know more, we have to go into the volcano." Mami said.
"No way." Donna and Kyoko said, at the same time.
"Yes, way. Appian way." The Doctor said, happily.
"What's your timeline like?" I asked, looking back at Mami and Kyoko.
"Oh, you don't know it yet." Mami said.
"Nope. What's it like?"
"Well, there's these things called Doppels."
"Doppels? Like a doppelgänger."
"Kinda." Kyoko said, a Pocky in her mouth. "Not really."
"How do I explain it? Think of it like controlling our despair, when it comes to us magical girls." Mami said.
"But I know you magical girls, you can't do that." I said, still drinking my milk tea.
"Maybe from the timeline you knew us."
"There's also Uwasa, that come from Rumors." Kyoko said. "Those are real, in Kamihama City."
"Isn't that city close to Mitakihara and Kazamino?" I asked.
"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right for you to stop it?" Donna asked.
"Still part of history." The Doctor said.
"But I'm history to you and Jared. The both of you saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"
"Some things are fixed, some things are in flux. Pompeii is fixed."
"While everything I do with SONG, the Holy Quintet, and the other magical girls, that's in flux." I said, placing my drink back inside my bag. "Especially the stuff Homura did, with the rewinding and the end result, all of it was in flux too."
"How do you know which is which?" Donna asked.
"Because that's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not." The Doctor said.
"And I could see it too, but for a different reason." I said, taking out the fortissimo necklace, from under my hoodie. "As long as I have this, my immortality is still here. Like all of it, is stored in that necklace. Ever since Rose brought me back to life, I could see whatever was and could be."
"And that's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And I'm the only one left." The Doctor said. "While Jared has the burden of an immortal with foreknowledge."
"How many people died?��� Donna asked.
"Stop it."
"Doctor, Jared, how many people died?"
"Twenty thousand people died." I said, sadly.
"Is that what you can see, Doctor, Jared? All twenty thousand? And you think that's all right, do you?"
"No, it's not." I said, while something roars nearby. "It's wrong, but like I could stop it."
"They know we're here. Come on." Mami said, taking the lead.
"I still can't believe Rumors and Doppels are real." I said, placing my necklace back under my hoodie. "I never knew that."
Cavern...
The Doctor, Donna, Mami, Kyoko, and I arrive at a large space populated by Pyroviles.
"It's the heart of Vesuvius. We're right inside the mountain." The Doctor said.
"There's tons of them." Donna said.
"What's that thing?" Kyoko asked, squinting her eyes. "It's metallic or a rock."
"I don't know." The Doctor said, using a monocular to look at some distant construct.
"Oh, you better hurry up and think of something. Rocky fall's on its way." Donna said, annoyed.
"Maybe that's how they arrived." Mami said, coming up with a theory.
"Or what's left of it." Kyoko said, her Pocky sticking out of her mouth.
"Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?" The Doctor asked.
"But why do they need a volcano? Maybe it erupts, and they launch themselves back into space or something?" Donna asked.
"Oh, it's worse than that." I said, sadly. "I just can't remember why, though."
"How could it be worse? Doctor, Jared, it's getting closer." Donna said.
Lucius is on a ridge at the other side of the cavern, "Heathens defile us. They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods."
"Come on." I said, smiling.
"We can't go in." Donna said.
"Well, we can't go back." The Doctor said.
"Crush them. Burn them." Lucius said, while a Pyrovile rears up in front of us, so the Doctor extinguishes it with my Super Soaker. We ran to the escape pod. "There is nowhere to run, Doctor, daughter of London, son of New York, and magical girls."
"Now then, Lucius. My lords Pyrovillian, don't get yourselves in a lather. In a lava? No? No. But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish. Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?" The Doctor asked.
"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. An almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilisation." Lucius said.
"But if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" Donna asked.
"The Heaven of Pyrovillia is gone."
"What do you mean, gone? Where did it go?" Mami asked.
"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise."
"Yeah, well, it's seventy percent water out there." Kyoko said, scoffing. "Like you could do much."
"Water can boil. And everything will burn, Doctor, Jared." Lucius said.
"Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you. That's all I needed to know. Donna, Jared, Mami, Kyoko." The Doctor said, entering the escape pod.
"Ooo, computer parts." I said, looking at the circuit boards. "Thank you, something I'm familiar with."
The Doctor closes the doors with his screwdriver, "You and those two magical girls too."
"You have them, my lords." Lucius said.
Escape pod…
"Between a Witch and a Pyrovile." Kyoko said, while the Pyroviles breathe fire at the escape pod. "I would rather have one that gives me Grief Seeds. Not be cramped in an escape pod."
"It's a bit hot in here." Mami said, sadly.
"See? The energy converter takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions." The Doctor said.
"But can't you change it with these controls?" Donna asked. ��And couldn't Jared change it too?"
"Of course we can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're going to use it to take over the world." The Doctor said.
"But either of you can change it back?"
"We can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up, yes. But, that's the choice, Donna, Mami, and Kyoko. It's Pompeii or the world." The Doctor said.
"Oh, my God." Kyoko and Donna said, at the same time.
"This is one of the biggest decisions I've ever made with the Doctor." I said, looking at the Doctor, Donna, Mami, and Kyoko. "And with you two, the two magical girls I rely on the most. If we destroy Pompeii here and now, it's not just history. Our history…"
"And we make it happen." The Doctor said, looking at me.
"Doctor, Jared, the Pyrovile are made of rocks. Maybe they can't be blown up." Donna said.
"Vesuvius explodes with the force of twenty four nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it. Certainly not us."
"And I don't know if magical girls can survive that." I said, frowning. "Mami made her wish with Kyubey just to stay alive. Kyoko, you're the one I'm worried about the most."
"It's okay." Kyoko said. "Don't worry about us, the five of us can survive it."
"Push this lever and it's over. Twenty thousand people." The Doctor said, while his hands are on the stone lever.
I put my hands over the Doctor's, while Donna puts her hands over me, while Kyoko puts her hands on top of Donna's, and Mami puts her hands on top of Donna's.
The five of us looked at each other and we pushed the button.
"Good luck." I said, while everyone connected to the Pyroviles stiffens.
(Open POV)
Cavern...
"No! No!" Lucius said.
Temple...
"No!" The high priestess said.
"A new prophecy." Spurrina said.
Villa…
"The future is changing." Evelina said.
Vesuvius erupts with its pyroclastic flow. The bright red stone escape pod zooms out of the caldera to the sound of Donna's scream.
"The sky is falling." Caecilius said.
"Death. Only death." Evelina said.
Mountainside...
The pod has landed. The Doctor, Donna, Mami, Kyoko, and Jared get out.
"It was an escape pod." Mami said, looking around. "That was a bit convenient."
They run as the avalanche of ash rolls down the mountain towards them. The eruption blocks out the sunlight.
Villa...
"Out! Out! Everybody out! Quickly." Caecilius said.
Temple…
The Doctor, Donna, Jared, Mami, and Kyoko run through the chaotic streets of Pompeii.
"You lied to us. And yet this was meant to be." Spurrina said.
Pompeii...
"This is Pompeii." Kyoko said, while ash is falling on the town. "One of the saddest events in history."
"Don't. Don't go to the beach. Don't go to the beach, go to the hills. Listen to me. Don't go to the beach, it's not safe. Listen to me." Donna said, as a little boy is crying. "Come here."
"Give him to me." A woman said, picking up the boy and runs off.
"Come on." Jared said, running off with the Doctor, Mami, and Kyoko. "We don't have all day."
Villa...
Caecilius and his family are cowering in a corner, "Gods save us, Doctor, Jared."
The Doctor goes to the Tardis with Jared, Mami, and Kyoko.
"No! Doctor, Jared, you can't. Doctor! Jared!" Donna said, and the Tardis engines start up and she runs inside.
Tardis…
"You can't just leave them!" Donna said, angrily.
"Don't you think I deserve a break, super temp?" Jared asked, flicking switches on the TARDIS console with the Doctor. "History's intact, like how it should be. The Relics will be found, Symphogear will happen. And everyone will die in Pompeii."
"You've got to go back. Doctor, Jared, I am telling you, take this thing back. It's not fair." Donna said, sadly.
"No, it's not." The Doctor said.
"But your own planet, Doctor. It burned."
"That's just it. Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would. But I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't, I can't."
"And Jared, you watched our whole planet burn. You watched the Holy Quintet suffer. And you lost Penny Polendina and Pyrrha Nikos." Donna said, looking at Jared. "You've been through a lot."
"I know. But saving these people won't change anything. It won't."
"Oh, hell, it will." Kyoko said, walking towards Jared. "Turn this ship around. You know you want to."
"Come on." Mami said, sipping her cup of tea. "For us."
"Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone." Donna said, letting out some tears.
Villa...
The Tardis rematerialises.
"Come with us." The Doctor and Jared said, the two holding out their hands.
Hillside…
"Now I know why this adventure is called the Fires of Pompeii." Mami said.
The nine watch as Pompeii is filled with volcanic ash.
"It's never forgotten, Caecilius. Oh, time will pass, men'll move on, and stories will fade. But one day, Pompeii will be found again. In thousands of years. And everyone will remember you." The Doctor said.
"What about you, Evelina? Can you see anything?" Donna asked.
"The visions have gone." Evelina said.
"The explosion was so powerful it cracked open a rift in time, just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not any more. You're free."
"But tell me. Who are you, Doctor, Jared? With your words, and your temple containing such size within?" Metella asked.
"Well, we were never here. Don't tell anyone." Jared said. "Come on, you guys. Let's go."
"The great god Vulcan must be enraged. It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of volcano. All those people." Caecilius said.
The Doctor, Donna, Jared, Mami, and Kyoko slip back into the Tardis.
Tardis…
"Thank you." Donna said.
"Yeah. You were right. Sometimes I need someone. Hell, Jared does need someone now. Welcome aboard." The Doctor said.
"Yeah." Donna said.
"So, that was Pompeii." Mami said, leaning against the TARDIS console.
"Yeah." Jared said, frowning. "It was. Did you like it?"
"It could have been better." Kyoko said. "Like, less fire creatures."
"You are cool and spicy after all."
"Cool and spicy? Me?"
"Yes."
"He is right, you know." Mami said. "You are a bit spunky."
"Lunch is on me." Jared said, taking out his wallet. "Where do you want to eat?"
"A diner." Kyoko said. "Yuma must be hungry."
"Yuma? You have to introduce me to her at some point."