Forest of the Dead

Stacks…

"Hey, who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights?" Dave asked.

River uses the squareness gun on the wall, "This way, quickly. Move!"

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

Hearthome City Contest Hall…

Jared is wearing a suit and tie and he tossed out two balls in the air containing Pokémon. One of the Pokémon is a Shaymin and the other is an Glaceon, "Okay, Shaymin, Energy Ball. And Glaceon use Ice Beam!"

Shaymin launches energy balls up into the sky and Glaceon surrounded them with ice beams to make a marvelous sight of iced energy balls.

Jared picked up a tennis racket and he began swinging them towards Glaceon who kicked it back with her paws, "That's what I'm talking about. Alright!"

"Amazing." Silica said, watching Jared perform with grace. "Do you think he sees us?"

"I don't know." Lisbeth said. "Maybe."

"Who knows." Kirito said. "But he really is into it."

"In this world, I run a Seal shop."

"A Seal shop?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah. Basically accessories."

"Talk about a massive downgrade." Kirito said.

"Hey!" Lisbeth said, angrily.

"I think you having a Seal shop is a wonderful idea." Silica said, happily. "And I have a Poffin shop here. In Jubilife City."

"Poffins, huh. Wouldn't it make more sense for Asuna to do that?"

"What can I say?" Asuna asked. "I'm trying to become Top Coordinator."

"More like top model." Kirito said.

"Top model, huh. You don't know anything about looking good."

Hearthome City…

"Argh. I can't believe I got eliminated!" Jared said, taking the lead from the SAO survivors.

"Um, maybe you shouldn't have done tennis." Silica said.

"I was bored, okay?"

"You know what would have worked. An Ice Aqua Jet." Lisbeth said.

"An idea Dawn came up with. No way."

"You know, one loss isn't that big of a deal." Lisbeth said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I so want the best Seal you could offer."

"Only if you can take me to Veilstone City."

"Fine."

Veilstone City…

"Two days it took to get here." Kirito said. "Couldn't we have rode our bikes?"

"That would have taken way too long. And you were the one that said we needed to relax." Jared said.

"I do recall you wanting to relax too." Asuna said.

"No, I didn't."

"You totally did."

"Silica." Jared said. "Arcade?"

"Sure." Silica said.

"Yes!"

Jared then spotted someone in the distance fritzing out to be replaced by the Doctor fiddling with his sonic screwdriver, "Doctor!"

"No, the signal's definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, and it looks like Yui Kirigaya is blocking it too, but it's trying to break through. Donna! Jared!" The Doctor said.

"Jared!" Kirito said, walking up to Jared.

"I saw the Doctor." Jared said, happily.

"So, you remember."

"Remember what?"

Rotunda…

The large moon is hanging high in the orange sky.

River cuts a square in the wall with her gun and enters, "OK, we've got a clear spot. In, in, in! Right in the centre. In the middle of the light, quickly. Don't let your shadows cross. Doctor."

"I'm doing it." The Doctor said, sonicing away.

"There's no lights here. Sunset's coming. We can't stay long. Have you found a live one?" River asked.

"Maybe. It's getting harder to tell. What's wrong with you?"

"We're going to need a chicken leg. Who's got a chicken leg? Thanks, Dave." River said, throwing the meat into the shadow, and once again it is just bone before it hits the ground. "Okay. Okay, we've got a hot one. Watch your feet."

"They won't attack until there's enough of them. But they've got our scent now. They're coming."

"This is getting really dangerous." Momoko said.

"Um, what can we do?" Kaede asked.

"I don't know." Rena said, blushing. "Why don't we get out of here?"

"What about the Vashta Nerada."

"Let's take them all down."

"And how do we do that?" Momoko asked.

"Shine flashlights." Rena said.

"That might work."

River goes over to where the Doctor is still scanning shadows with Momoko, Rena, and Kaede, "What's wrong with it?"

"There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it." The Doctor said.

"Then use the red settings." River said.

"It doesn't have a red setting."

"Well, use the dampers."

"It doesn't have dampers."

"It will do one day."

"One day?" Rena asked. "Why not today?"

The Doctor takes River's sonic screwdriver, "So, some time in the future, I just give you my screwdriver."

��Yeah." River said.

"And Jared wants to give Miku Kohinata his Iron Man suit." Momoko said. "Which is perfectly fine, because she doesn't have a Symphogear in this timeline."

"But me giving River my sonic screwdriver." The Doctor said, looking at Momoko. "Why would I do that?"

"I didn't pluck it from your cold dead hands, if that's what you're worried about." River said.

"And I know that because?"

"Listen to me. You've lost your friends. You're angry. I understand. But you need to be less emotional, Doctor, right now."

"Less emotional? I'm not emotional."

"Is that how I'm normally like?" Rena asked, looking at Kaede.

"Um…" Kaede said.

"Okay, you two are getting on my nerves! Doctor and River, we're all gonna die here and now. And you two are fighting like an old married couple!" Rena said, blushing a lot.

"Doctor, one day I'm going to be someone that you trust completely, like how you trust Jared completely, but I can't wait for you to find that out. So I'm going to prove it to you. And I'm sorry. I'm really very sorry." River said, whispering in the Doctor's ear, and he looks stunned. "Are we good? Doctor, are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good." The Doctor said.

"Good." River said, taking back her screwdriver and leaves him.

"Know what's interesting about my screwdriver? Very hard to interfere with. Practically nothing's strong enough."

"Unless they're hairdryers." Rena said.

"I'm working on that." The Doctor said, looking back at the blue haired magical girl. "So there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before. So what's new? What's changed? Come on! What's new? What's different?"

"Um, it's getting darker." Kaede said, frowning.

"It's a screwdriver. It works in the dark. Moon rise. Tell me about the moon. What's there?" The Doctor asked, looking at Lux.

"It's not real. It was built as part of the Library. It's just a Doctor Moon." Lux said.

"What's a Doctor Moon?"

"A virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet."

"Well, still active. It's signalling. Look. Someone somewhere in this library is alive and communicating with the moon. Or, possibly alive and drying their hair. No, the signal is definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, and it looks like Yui Kirigaya is blocking is too, but it's trying to break through." The Doctor said, when images of Donna and Jared appear.

"Doctor!" Rena said.

"Donna! Jared!" The Doctor said, as Donna and Jared disappear again.

"That was them. That was your friends! Can you get them back? What was that?" River asked.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm trying to find the wavelength. Argh, I'm being blocked. And I assume Yui is being blocked too." The Doctor said.

"Professor?" Anita asked.

"This is bad." Kaede said.

"We know." Rena said, annoyed. "Why can't we leave?"

"Because Jared likes us." Momoko said.

"Um, what now." Kaede said.

"We live."

"And how do we do that?" Rena asked, as River puts the helmet on Anita.

"Hang on." The Doctor said, sonicing the visor black.

"Oh god, they got inside." Rena said, terrified.

"No, no, no. I just tinted her visor. Maybe they'll think they're already in there, leave her alone."

"Are they that easy to be fooled?"

"Maybe. I don't know. It's a swarm. It's not like we chat." The Doctor said.

"Can you still see in there?" Other Dave asked.

"Just about." Anita said.

"Just, just, just stay back. Professor, a quick word, please." The Doctor said.

"What?" River asked.

"Down here."

They crouch down.

"What is it?" River asked.

"Look, you said there are eight people still alive in this room." The Doctor said.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, why are there nine?"

Skeletal zombie Dave has caught up to them, "Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Run!" The Doctor said.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Dave asked.

Oniyuri…

"Ruby?" Yui asked, her voice over Ruby's Scroll. "It's Yui."

"Yui." Ruby said, sitting down on the ground. "Is Jared okay?"

"About that." Kirito said, his voice over the Scroll. "He's kinda trapped."

"Trapped how?" Jaune asked.

"He's with us. In the world of Pokémon. It's this virtual reality world."

"A virtual reality world?" Ren asked. "Is that it?"

"Not just that." Kirito said, his voice over the Scroll. "It's based off of Jared's memories. And the layout of it. It's a mix of everything."

"Um, what do you mean by everything?" Ruby asked.

"Everything as in his interests." Silica said, her voice over the Scroll. "A bit of everything. Doctor Who, Sword Art Online, Symphogear, magical girls, and then stuff involving you guys. It's cool."

"But at the same time, it's weird." Asuna said, her voice over the Scroll.

"He combined everything." Ruby said, her eyes widening. "Ben 10 and Marvel thrown in there too?"

"Yeah." Lisbeth said, her voice over the Scroll. "It's crazy. Really crazy."

"It does." Nora said. "But what are we doing now?"

"We wait." Qrow said. "Until Jared comes back. For you guys."

"Aww man." Ruby said, sadly.

"He's your boyfriend."

"Is not!"

Hearthome City Pokemon Center…

"Who were you talking to?" Jared asked, walking over to Kirito.

"No one." Silica said, sadly.

"So, can we go to Pastoria City?" Jared asked.

"What's in Pastoria?" Asuna asked.

"Nothing much. I want to go to the Great Marsh. And catch Pokémon."

"Of course you do." Kirito said, frowning.

"Let's go!" Jared said, dragging Silica out of the Pokémon Center.

"Um, is he okay?" Yui asked.

"Yeah." Asuna said. "I know he is."

"I call getting Silica an Eevee!" Jared said, smiling.

"What's an Eevee?" Lisbeth asked.

"Something adorable." Jared said. "Like Silica here."

"Thanks. Am I that cute?" Silica asked.

"Yup."

"If it's as cute as you say. I want a couple!"

"Maybe I should get you all the Eeveelutions."

Stacks...

The group run through a high level walkway to another library skyscraper.

"Professor, go ahead. Find a safe spot." The Doctor said.

"It's a carnivorous swarm in a suit. You can't reason with it." River said, looking at the Doctor.

"You really can't." Rena said.

"Five minutes." The Doctor said.

"Other Dave, Rena, stay with him. Pull him out when he's too stupid to live. Two minutes, Doctor." River said, running off.

Zombie Dave barges through the doors, "Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"You hear that? Those words? That is the very last thought of the man who wore that suit before you climbed inside and stripped his flesh. That's a man's soul trapped inside a neural relay, going round and round forever. Now, if you don't have the decency to let him go, how about this? Use him. Talk to me. It's easy. Neural relay. Just point and think. Use him, talk to me." The Doctor said.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Dave asked.

"The Vashta Nerada live on all the worlds in this system, but you hunt in forests. What are you doing in a library?" The Doctor asked.

"Doctor, we need to go!" Rena said, looking at the Doctor.

"In a minute. You came to the library to hunt. Why? Just tell me why?"

"We did not." The Vashta Nerada said.

"Oh, hello."

"We did not."

"Take it easy, you'll get the hang of it. Did not what?"

"We did not come here."

"Well, of course you did. Of course you came here." Rena said, blushing a lot.

"We come from here." The Vashta Nerada said.

"From here?" The Doctor asked.

"We hatched here."

"But you hatch from trees. From spores in trees."

"These are our forests."

"Look around you. You're not near a forest!" Rena said.

"These are our forests." The Vashta Nerada said.

"You're not in a forest, you're in a library. There are no trees in a…" The Doctor said, realizing what's going on. "...library."

"We should go. Doctor!" Other Dave said.

"Books. You came in the books. Microspores in a million, million books."

"We should go. Doctor!"

"Oh, look at that. The forests of the Vashta Nerada, pulped and printed and bound. A million, million books, hatching shadows."

"We should go. Doctor!"

"Oh, Dave! Oh Dave, I'm so sorry." The Doctor said, as Other Dave is also a skeleton now.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Dave asked.

"We should go. Doctor!" Other Dave said.

"Doctor, you're really stupid." Rena said. "You talk way too much. And you never stop."

"You're right, Rena Minami, I don't. And you say what you feel like Weiss Schnee and Kyoko Sakura. Want to know the only reason we're still alive? Always stay near the door." The Doctor said, opening a trapdoor with his sonic screwdriver and drops with Rena.

The Doctor and Rena hangs on to a support strut and inch their way along, screwdriver clenched between the Time Lord's teeth.

Pastoria City…

"Jared, there's a reason why we agreed to you coming here." Kirito said. "To see the lie."

"Um, what are you talking about?" Jared asked.

"You've noticed that besides us." Lisbeth said. "Look around you, you idiot."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Um, I don't know how to say this." Silica said. "But you remember everything don't you?"

"Not really."

"You really do remember it." Asuna said, smiling. "The Library, the Doctor, Team RWBY, magical girls, and us."

"The only thing is. You were programmed not to look." Kirito said.

"And your Pokémon. They're not real." Silica said.

"How dare you. Shaymin's real. The Pokémon I've known for over ten years are real!" Jared said. "Sorry, I've had a long day."

"Just look around you." Kirito said. "Everyone besides us are stock images. They're like art assets in a video game."

Jared looked around to see that there are different characters that are repeated over and over again, "God. Why have I been so stupid?"

Reading room…

Night has fallen. River, her remaining team, Kaede, and Momoko are in another round room. She is checking the shadows with her screwdriver.

"You know, it's funny, I keep wishing the Doctor and Jared were here." River said, sadly.

"The Doctor and Jared are here, aren't they? They are coming back, right?" Kaede asked.

"You know when you see photographs of people you know, but it's from years before you knew them, and it's like they're not quite finished. They're not done yet. Well, yes, the Doctor's here in person. And Jared's here too, even if he was uploaded to CAL. They came when I called, just like they always do. But not my Doctor and Jared. Now my Doctor, I've seen whole armies turn and run away. And he'd just swagger off back to his Tardis with his fanboy and open the doors with a snap of his fingers. And now my Jared, I've seen him enjoy life again. Having fun with Team RWBY and really love traveling too, after avenging the Earth. The Doctor and Jared in the Tardis. Next stop, everywhere." River said, happily.

"Spoilers. Nobody can open a Tardis by snapping their fingers. It doesn't work like that." The Doctor said.

"It does for the Doctor. And it always worked for Jared." River said.

"I am the Doctor."

"Yeah. Some day."

"How are you?" Rena asked, looking at Kaede.

"I'm fine." Kaede said. "Where's Other Dave?"

"Not coming. Sorry." The Doctor said.

"Well, if they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?" Anita asked.

"I don't know. Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference." Momoko said.

Anita has two shadows, "It's making a difference all right. No one's ever going to see my face again."

"Can I get you anything?" The Doctor asked.

"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?" Anita asked.

"I'm all over it."

"Doctor. When we first met you, you didn't trust Professor Song, only Jared did. And then she whispered a word in your ear, and you did. My life so far. I could do with a word like that. What did she say? Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me."

"Um, safe." Kaede said.

"What?"

"Safe. Like when was the last time someone says saved?" Rena asked.

"They're right. The two magical girls are onto something." The Doctor said. "You don't say saved. Nobody says saved. You say safe. The data fragment! What did it say?"

"Four thousand and twenty two people saved. No survivors." Lux said.

"Doctor? Girls?" River asked.

"Nobody says saved. Nutters say saved. You say safe. You see, it didn't mean safe. It meant, it literally meant, saved!" The Doctor said, happily.

"Which means Jared is saved onto the hard drive." Momoko said, smiling. "He's still alive."

"Yeah. He is."

"That's good."

Pastoria City…

"Right now, we're all binary code." Kirito said.

"All zeros and ones." Lisbeth said.

"You're fine, physically, I think." Yui said, excitedly.

"Yeah. I know." Jared said, looking down for a moment.

Reading room...

The Doctor has got into a Library Archive File, "See, there it is, right there. A hundred years ago, massive power surge. All the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm. The computer tries to teleport everyone out."

"It tried to teleport four thousand twenty two people?" Momoko asked.

"It succeeded. Pulled them all out, but then what? Nowhere to send them. Nowhere safe in the whole library. Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. Four thousand and twenty two people all beamed up and nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails. So what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?" The Doctor asked.

"It saved them." Kaede said.

The Doctor draws on a large polished table, "The library. A whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved four thousand and twenty two people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive."

Pastoria City…

"Miss Evangelista is going over what we're talking about with you to Donna." Yui said, closing her eyes to check.

"Oh. Right." Jared said, pacing back and forth. "I'm stuck in another world. One that's like the world of Pokemon."

"Yeah." Silica said. "Do you like it?"

"It is pretty though, being here. But I wish, I wish I could be here forever."

"Why forever?" Asuna asked. "Don't you want to see Ruby again?"

"I do. But why can't I keep having fun?" Jared asked.

"Because you can't."

"Why can't I?"

"You're an Avenger." Lisbeth said, smirking. "Or you will be one. By our time."

"Me, an Avenger?"

"Yeah. Right now you're…"

"Spoilers." Asuna said.

Oniyuri…

"I hope, I hope Jared is okay." Ruby said.

"He's Jared, he got to be." Nora said, smiling.

"What do you suppose he's doing?" Jaune asked.

"In a Pokemon world? Maybe he's catching Pokemon." Ruby said. "He's catching Pokemon without me."

"You want to catch them all?" Ren asked.

"Who wouldn't?"

"Haters. Or people who haven't played it." Qrow said.

"Why would anyone hate something as cute as an Eevee. Or an Oshawott?" Ruby asked.

"Because they're not as young as you."

"I am young."

Reading room…

An alarm sounds.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Lux asked.

"Autodestruct enabled in twenty minutes." Someone on the computer said.

Pastoria City…

"She turned on auto destruct!" Yui said, looking at Kirito and Asuna.

"This is bad." Kirito said.

"Yeah." Asuna said, looking up to see that the sky is red and the alarm is sounding.

"What do we do now?" Silica asked.

"Just wait. We could leave now." Lisbeth said, loading up the menu. "But why would we?"

Reading room…

"What's maximum erasure?" Kaede asked.

"In twenty minutes, this planet's going to crack like an egg." The Doctor said.

"No. No, it's all right. The Doctor Moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect Cal." Lux said.

Pastoria City…

"CAL is in distress." Yui said, floating in front of Kirito and Asuna.

"How?" Kirito asked.

Reading room…

The terminal screen goes blank.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor said, annoyed.

"All library systems are permanently offline. Sorry for any inconvenience. Shortly…" The computer said.

"We need to stop this. We've got to save Cal." Lux said.

"What's CAL?" Rena asked. "You kept saying that over and over. But what is it?"

"We need to get to the main computer. I'll show you." Lux said.

"It's at the center of the planet." Kaede said, her eyes widening.

"Well, then. Let's go." Momoko said, as River points her screwdriver at the library logo in the middle of the compass rose in the floor. "It's no good staying here."

It opens.

"Gravity platform." River said.

"I bet I like you." The Doctor said.

"Oh, you do."

The seven step on and go down.

Pastoria City…

"Yui, can we access Doctor Moon from here?" Kirito asked.

"No, we can't." Yui said.

"I should have seen this coming." Jared said, taking out some jelly babies. "But I was too occupied as to what is going on here."

"Can I?" Silica asked.

"Sure. Where's Pina?"

"Oh. She's in ALO." Silica said, eating the jelly babies.

"Jelly babies?" Lisbeth asked.

"Have some. It's all yours Say...Lisbeth." Jared said, as Lisbeth went over to the bag to snack on the jelly babies.

"You almost called me Sayaka. As in Sayaka Miki."

Data core…

"Autodestruct in fifteen minutes." The computer said.

The Doctor looks up to see a globe with swirling energy in it, "The data core. Over four thousand living minds trapped inside it."

"Yeah, well, they won't be living much longer. We're running out of time." Rena said.

Pastoria City…

"You guys should log off now. Someone is gonna do the system reboot. And I hope, I hoped it would be me." Jared said, looking at Yui and the SAO survivors.

Data core…

The Doctor finds an access terminal.

"Help me. Please, help me." A girl said, nearby.

"What's that?" Anita asked.

"Was that a child?" River asked.

"The computer's in sleep mode. I can't wake it up. I'm trying." The Doctor said, typing away on the keyboard.

"Can't you do something?" Kaede asked.

"Doctor, these readings." River said.

"I know. You'd think it was dreaming." The Doctor said.

"It is dreaming, of a normal life, and a lovely Dad, and of every book ever written." Lux said.

"Computers don't dream." Rena said, annoyed.

"Help me. Please help me." The girl said, nearby.

"No, but little girls do." Lux said, pulling a breaker and a door opens.

"What are you talking about?" Momoko asked, and they run in.

CAL interface…

"Oh no…" Kaede said, as a node turns to face them. "How did this happen?"

"Please help me. Please help me." The girl node said.

"Oh, my God." River said, shocked.

"It's the little girl. The girl we saw in the computer." Anita said.

"She's not in the computer. In a way, she is the computer. The main command node. This is Cal." Lux said.

"Cal is a child? A child hooked up to a mainframe? This is worse than a child becoming a magical girl! One that makes a contract with Incubators. Why didn't you tell me this? I needed to know this!" The Doctor said, angrily.

"Because she's family! Cal. Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time. Any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything, and he gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show."

"So you weren't protecting a patent, you were protecting her." Rena said, sadly.

"This is only half a life, of course. But it's for ever."

"And then the shadows came." Kaede said, frowning.

"The shadows. I have to. I have to save. Have to save." The girl node said.

"And she saved them. She saved everyone in the library. Folded them into her dreams and kept them safe." The Doctor said.

"Then why didn't she tell us?" Anita asked.

"Because she's forgotten. She's got over four thousand living minds chatting away inside her head. It must be like being, well, me."

"So what do we do?" Momoko asked.

"Autodestruct in ten minutes." The computer said.

Data core...

"Easy! We beam all the people out of the data core. The computer will reset and stop the countdown. Difficult. Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer. Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer. She can borrow my memory space." The Doctor said.

"Doctor, um, that's a bit difficult." Kaede said, frowning. "It'll kill you stone dead."

"Yeah, it's easy to criticise."

"Kaede's right, you can't do this. It'll burn out both your hearts and don't think you'll regenerate." River said.

"I'll try my hardest not to die. Honestly, it's my main thing." The Doctor said, as he looked back at the three magical girls. "More of my main thing than theirs. Magical girls, ever so indispensable."

"Doctor!" Rena said, angrily.

"I'm right, this works. Shut up. Now listen. River, you and Luxy boy, back up to the main library. Prime any data cells you can find for maximum download. Momoko, Rena, Kaede, get back to the TARDIS, emergency program one should work this time. She'll send the three of you back home, Jared should have a way to send himself and Donna back home. And before you say anything else, Professor, Rena, can I just mention in passing as you're here, shut up."

"Oh! I hate you sometimes." River said, annoyed.

"I know!" The Doctor said.

"Mister Lux, with me. Anita, if he dies, I'll kill him!" River said, as she, Rena, Kaede, Momoko, and Lux leave.

"The Doctor is being a complete idiot." Rena said, looking at River.

"I know." River said. "I should be the one sacrificing myself."

"How about us?" Momoko asked.

"No. You three are special. And your wishes, they're not made to have you stay alive."

"Um, how do you know our wishes?" Kaede asked.

"You lot told me." River said. "With Jared there. We were at the arcade, doing crane games."

"Crane games?" Rena asked. "Why would we do that with you? We don't even know you."

"That's the thing, my dear. I know you three in the future."

"And what happens in the future?" Momoko asked.

"All I know is, something happened a year ago." River said. "For Yachiyo. It's kind of a shame that Jared is slowly becoming her."

"Wait, huh?" Rena asked.

"What do you mean?" Kaede asked.

"Jared becoming Yachiyo?" Momoko asked.

River then ran off with Momoko, Rena, and Kaede back to the Doctor. The spacesuit collapses.

"Oh, Anita." River said, sadly.

"I'm sorry. She's been dead a while now. I told you lot to go!" The Doctor said, angrily.

"Lux can manage without me, but you can't." River said, punching the Doctor, knocking him out. "And those three can manage without us."

River then took the Soul Gems belonging to Momoko, Rena, and Kaede, knocking the three out.

A little later, River places the Soul Gems back into the hands of Momoko, Rena, and Kaede before she continued twisting some wires together.

"Autodestruct in two minutes." The computer said.

The Doctor, Rena, Kaede, and Momoko wake up.

"Oh, no, no, no, no. Come on, what are you doing? That's my job." The Doctor said.

"More like that's our job." Rena said, looking down to see that she's handcuffed to Momoko and Kaede.

"Oh, and I'm not allowed to have a career, I suppose?" River asked. "While those three have careers."

"Why are we handcuffed? Except you River. Why do you even have handcuffs?" The Doctor asked.

"Spoilers." River said, smirking.

"This is not a joke. Stop this now. This is going to kill you! I'd have a chance, you don't have any."

"You wouldn't have a chance, and neither do I. And neither do those three, after they lose their hope and fall into despair. I'm timing it for the end of the countdown. There'll be a blip in the command flow. That way it should improve our chances of a clean download." River said.

"River, please. No." The Doctor said.

"Funny thing is, this means you and Jared always known how I was going to die. All the time we've been together, the three of us, both of you knew I was coming here. Doctor, the last time I saw you and Jared, the real versions of you and your fanboy, the future versions of the two of you, I mean, you and Jared turned up on my doorstep, with new haircuts and suits. You and Jared took me, Kirito, Asuna, and Yui to Darillium to see the Singing Towers. What a night that was. The Towers sang, and you both cried." River said.

"Autodestruct in one minute." The computer said.

"None of you wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose you and Jared knew it was time. My time. Time to come to the library. Doctor, you even gave me your screwdriver. That should have been a clue." River said, as the two screwdrivers and her diary are just out of the Doctor's reach, and the three magical girls are handcuffed in a triangle formation. "There's nothing you can do."

"You can let me do this."

"If you die here, it'll mean I've never met you and Jared." River said.

"Time can be rewritten." The Doctor said.

"Not those times. Not one line. Don't you dare. It's okay. It's okay. It's not over for you and Jared. The both of you will see me again. You've got all of that to come. You, Jared, and me, time and space. You watch us run."

"River, you know my name."

"Autodestruct in ten…" The computer said.

"You whispered my name in my ear." The Doctor said.

"Nine, eight, seven…"

"There's only one reason I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could."

"Hush, now." River said.

"Four, three…��� The computer said.

"Spoilers."

"Two, one…"

River joins two power cables together, and there is a blinding light.

Pastoria City…

"It's time." Kirito said. "Someone did the reset."

"It was River." Jared said, letting out some tears. "I wish, I wish I could…"

"No, don't finish that sentence." Lisbeth said, smirking. "I know what you're gonna say. But it's too late."

"It is." Silica said.

"You'll see us again, okay?"

The SAO survivors loaded up their in game menus as they logged off, with Jared just standing in the bright light.

Data core…

"I'm sorry about River." Momoko said.

"It's fine." The Doctor said. "Everything is fine."

"Um, it isn't." Kaede said.

"You're upset that you lost her." Rena said.

The sad Doctor is still handcuffed to a copper pipe and the three magical girls are still handcuffed together.

(Jared's POV)

Shop…

People are teleporting out.

"Please be patient. Only three can teleport at a time. Do not state your intended destination until you arrive in your designated slot." The computer said.

"Any luck of finding him?" I asked, sipping on some milk tea.

I freed Rena, Kaede, and Momoko and I sent them home through a portal I conjured up.

"There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the library that day. I suppose he could have had a different name out here, but, let's be honest, he wasn't real, was he?" Donna asked.

"Maybe not." The Doctor said.

"I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?"

"Everything."

"Doctor, that was rude." I said, still sipping on my coconut taro milk tea. "Really rude."

"Sorry, did I say everything? I meant to say nothing. I was aiming for nothing. I accidentally said everything." The Doctor said.

"Stand right in the middle of the teleport, please. Keep your hands and feet inside at all times." A woman said.

"What about you?" Donna asked.

"And remember to switch off your mobile comm. unit."

"Are you all right?" Donna asked, looking at me.

"I'm fine, super temp." I said, trying to not think of River and Donna not getting this life. "Really, I'm fine."

"You're not, Jared. I know you. And how about you, Spaceman?"

"I'm always all right." The Doctor said.

"If you are pregnant, please go to teleport seven on the floor above…" The woman said.

"Is all right special Time Lord code for really not all right at all?" Donna asked.

"Why?" The Doctor asked.

"Because I'm all right, too."

"Come on." I said, smiling. "I need a break after all that. Three virtual worlds are enough. Four is too much for me."

The Doctor, Donna, and I walk out just as Lee stands on the teleport pad. He sees her and starts to stutter her name, but gets teleported away before he can get a sound out.

Staircase…

I put River's diary on the balcony rail, "I never realized how cool this place is. Even so, it ended up being sad in the end."

"Your friend, Professor Song. She knew the both of in the future, but she didn't know me. What happens to me? Because when she heard my name, the way she looked at me." Donna said.

"Donna, you have me right in front of you. I could spill the future. Or we could look you up in River's diary."

"He's right." The Doctor said. "What do you think? Shall we peek at the end?"

"Spoilers, right?" Donna asked.

"Right." The Doctor said, putting River's sonic screwdriver on the diary. "Come on. The next chapter's this way."

"Yeah." I said, walking back up with stairs with the Doctor and Donna. "I need to pick up some manga too at some point."

"When you run with the Doctor and Jared, it feels like it will never end. But however hard you try, you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like the Doctor and Jared. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark, if they ever, for one moment, accepts it." River said, her voice echoing in my head.

The Doctor runs back for the screwdriver, "Why? Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that? And why would I let you convince me to do that? Thing is, future me and future you had years to think about it, all those years to think of a way to save her, and what he did was give her a screwdriver. Why would I do that?"

"Because her sonic has a neural relay, you dummy!" I said, looking at the sonic screwdriver that has two green lights on it. "That's why!"

"Oh! Oh! Oh, look at that. We're very good!" The Doctor said, looking at me.

"What have you lot done?" Donna asked.

"We saved her, Donna." I said, excitedly. "Can't believe I haven't forgotten about it."

Stacks…

"Oh, no, you don't." I said, looking at River's sonic. "You're not dying now. When I haven't met you properly yet."

The Doctor and I are running as one green light goes out.

"Stay with us! You can do it, stay with us! Come on, the three of us, one last run!" The Doctor said.

Reading room…

"Sorry, River, shortcut!" The Doctor said.

"Platform disabled." The computer said.

"We really are." I said, as the Doctor and I dove into the gravity well. The last light is blinking. "I don't want to lose you, Mrs Robinson."

Data core…

"Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day." River said, her voice still in my head.

"I can't wait for the adventures I'll have with you and your parents." I said, when the Doctor plugs the screwdriver into the core with me by his side, and her neural energy is transferred.

"Not today." River said, her voice in my head.

I placed my Augma headset on my head, and I closed my eyes, as Charlotte Node smiles, "Doctor, carry me back into the TARDIS, okay? Thanks. Link Start."

Hospital grounds…

River is wearing a loose white robe. Charlotte and Doctor Moon walk up to her.

"It's okay, you're safe. You'll always be safe here. The Doctor and Jared fixed the data core. This is a good place now. But I was worried you might be lonely, so I brought you some friends. Aren't I a clever girl?" The girl asked.

"Aren't we all?" Evangelista asked.

Anita, the two Daves, Miss Evangelista with her normal face, and I are walking towards River.

"Hello, Melody." I said, looking at River.

"Oh, for heaven's sake. You and the Doctor just can't do it, can you? You men. You and the Doctor are impossible men. Neither of you just can't give in." River said, running up to me for a hug.

"Nope. I'm too clingy, River." I said, laughing a lot. "Group hug, guys!"

"Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all." River said, as the Doctor returns to the Reception with me on his shoulder, and the Time Lord stares at the Tardis. He snaps his fingers, and the door opens. Donna is waiting inside. "Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and the Doctor comes to call with his fanboy…"

The Doctor snaps his fingers again and the door closes.

Children's bedroom…

River closes her diary, "Everybody lives."

"Yup." I said, looking at River. "Team RNJR needs me."

"They do." River said, as she kisses Charlotte goodnight and looks at Ella and Joshua. "Sweet dreams, everyone."