The God Complex
TARDIS...
"Have things gone as planned?" Miku asked.
"I don't think so." Tsubasa said.
"When does anything go as planned with the Doctor?" Chris asked.
"Basically never." Hibiki said, happily. "Come on, let's check this place out."
"Yeah, let's go." Jared said, happily.
Staircase…
Of a hotel. The Tardis has parked herself on the first floor landing of a staircase which winds its way up the floors in a tight set of flights.
"Let's go to Ravan-Skala, he says. The people are six hundred feet tall. You have to talk to them in hot air balloons and the Tourist Information Centre is made of one of their hats, he says. I'm sorry, but I don't see any huge hats." Amy said, angrily.
"Amy, Beaky, Jared, Symphogear, this could be the most exciting thing I have ever seen." The Doctor said.
"You're kidding. You're excited over a hotel." Chris said, annoyed.
"How can you be excited about a rubbish hotel on a rubbish bit of Earth?" Amy asked.
Reception…
"Because, assembled Ponds, Jared, Symphogear, this is not Earth. This has just been made to look like Earth. The craftsmanship involved. Can you imagine?" The Doctor asked.
"What? So where are we?" Miku asked.
"I don't know. Something must have yanked us off course. Look at the detail on that cheese plant!" The Doctor said, smiling.
"Right, but who would mock up an Earth hotel?" Rory asked.
"An apple!" Hibiki said, finding an apple in a large bowl. "Can I eat it?"
"I don't know if it's real or not." Miku said. "So, who built this place?"
"Colonists maybe, recreating a bit of home, like when ex-pats open English pubs in Majorca. No, whoever did this, I am shaking his stroke her hand stroke tentacle." The Doctor said.
"Have you seen these? Look at the labels underneath." Tsubasa said.
A set of photographs on the wall.
"Commander Halke, defeat." Chris said.
A Sontaran.
"Tim Heath, having his photo taken." Miku said.
"Lady Silver-Tear, Daleks." Hibiki said.
"Paige Barnes, other people's socks." Jared said.
"Tim Nelson, balloons. Novice Prin, sabrewolves. Royston Luke Gold, Plymouth?" Amy asked. "Lucy Hayward, that brutal gorilla. Doctor, Jared, what does it mean?"
"I don't know. It has been a long few weeks at Atlas. I kind of forgot. Let's find out." Jared said, ringing the bell on the desk and four people appear, three of them brandishing objects as weapons, the fourth waving a white flag.
"Whoa!" Rory said, terrified.
"Blimey, that was a bit quick." The Doctor said.
"We surrender." Gibbis said, and he is a grey alien with slightly rodent front teeth and no hair.
"No, it's okay, we're not…" Hibiki said, sadly.
"We surrender."
"We're nice."
"She's threatening me with a chair leg." The Doctor said.
"Who are you?" Rita asked.
Dressed in hospital scrubs.
"Oh god, we're back in reception." Howie said.
A bespectacled awkward teenager.
"We surrender." Gibbis said.
"I've never been threatened with a chair leg before. No, hang on, I tell a lie." The Doctor said.
"Did you just say, it's okay, we're nice?" Chris asked, looking at Hibiki.
"Jared, do you know this adventure?" Miku asked.
"Yes." Jared said, grabbing Hibiki's hand.
"What's it called?" Tsubasa asked.
"The God Complex. Be careful girls."
"Great…" Ryuko said, scoffing. "This guy has got a harem."
"He can't be all that bad." Senketsu said, his voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt.
"Okay, I need everyone to shut up, now." Rita said.
Someone or something is watching on the CCTV.
"Rita, be careful, yeah?" Howie asked.
"Their pupils are dilated. They're as surprised as we are. Besides which, if it's a trick, it'll tell us something." Rita said.
"Oh, you're good. Oh, she's good. Amy, with regret, you're fired." The Doctor said.
"What?" Amy asked.
"I'm kidding." The Doctor said, silently looking at Rita. "We'll talk." He looked at Gibbis. "I take it from the pathological compulsion to surrender, you're from Tivoli."
"Yes. The most invaded planet in the galaxy. Our anthem is called Glory To Insert Name Here." Gibbis said.
"You with the face, Howie, you said you were surprised to be back in reception." The Doctor said.
"The walls move. Everything changes." Howie said.
"You, clever one. What's he talking about?"
"The corridors twist and stretch. Rooms vanish and pop up somewhere else. It's like the hotel's alive." Rita said.
"So, it's like a Witch's labyrinth." Tsubasa said. "You told us about those."
"Yeah, it is like one." Jared said, turning off the music. "But it's a lot worse and dangerous. Basically a Magical Girl's nightmare."
"Witch's what? And Magical Girls aren't real." Ryuko said, crossing her arms.
"What's your name?"
"Ryuko Matoi. And this is my pal, Senketsu. He can do anything."
"Ryuko...Matoi? About this hotel being alive."
"Yeah, and it's huge, with, like, no way out." Howie said.
"Have you tried the front door?" Hibiki asked.
"No. In two days it never occurred to us to try the front door. Thank God you're here." Rita said.
Amy laughs.
Hibiki opens the front doors. "They're not doors, they're walls."
"Walls that look like doors. Door-walls, if you like, or dwalls. Woors even, though you'd probably got it when you said they're not doors." The Doctor said.
"The windows are…" Jared said, and he pulls back the curtains to reveal more bricks.
"It is a big day if you're a fan of walls." Senketsu said, it's voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt.
"What's that?"
"It's a Kamui. It's made out of Life Fibers."
"Life...Fibers?" Chris asked. "The hell is that?"
"It's not just that. The rooms have things in them." Rita said, sadly.
"Things? Hello! What kind of things? Interesting things? I love things, ask anyone." The Doctor said.
"Bad dreams."
"Well, that killed the mood. How did you get here?" Miku asked.
"I don't know. I'd just started my shift. I must have passed out, because suddenly I was here." Rita said.
"I was blogging. Next thing, this." Howie said.
"Senketsu died." Ryuko said, her hand on her hip. "Well, he disintegrated. Life Fibers were invading the world over the summer. I defeated my mother too. Me and him saved it from them."
"I came back in spirit. I became part of her scissor blades." Senketsu said, looking at Jared. "Ryuko was supposed to have a happy life."
"I was clinging onto my past. Along with everyone else. Mako, my sister, the Elite Four. The school I went to collapsed. All of us started a new life."
"Okay, so an alien invasion happened while I was at Remnant. That's new. Along with Miracle Day and the Battle of Bannerman Road happening." Jared said, looking between Ryuko and Gibbis. "What about you, Gibbis? What were you doing?"
"Oh, I was at work. I'm in Town Planning. We're lining all the highways with trees so invading forces can march in the shade." Gibbis said.
"Ah." Hibiki said, smiling.
"Which is nice for them."
"Yeah." Everyone said, at the same time.
"So, what have we got. People snatched from their lives and dropped into an endless, shifting maze that looks like a 1980s hotel with bad dreams in the bedrooms." The Doctor said, taking George's Rubik's cube from his pocket. "Well, apart from anything else, that's just rude."
(Jared's POV)
First floor landing…
"We'll pop back to the Tardis, I'll do a planet-wide diagnostic sweep, and then we'll have a sing song." The Doctor said.
"Where's the Tardis? You parked it there, didn't you?" Chris asked.
"What's a Tardis?" Ryuko asked.
"Our way out. And it's gone." Tsubasa said.
"Great, the hotel music." I said, grabbing Hibiki's hand. "I could do with some classical music right about now."
The music starts up again.
"Okay, this is bad. At the moment, I don't know how bad, but certainly we're three buses, a long walk and eight quid in a taxi from good. Are there any more of you?" The Doctor asked.
"Joe. But he's tied up right now." Rita said.
"Doing what?" Miku asked.
"No, I mean he's tied up right now."
Restaurant…
Joe is tied to a chair. All the tables are populated with ventriloquist's dummies, which are laughing.
"Between peg dolls and mannequins…" I said, looking over at Chris. "You would have hated the dolls."
They fall silent and look around as the Doctor and I enter, followed by the Ponds and the four Symphogear wielders, then the others.
"Mannequins are still creepy." Chris said, angrily.
"Hello. I'm the Doctor." The Doctor said.
"We're going to die here." Joe said.
"So, Ryuko, what are you like?" I asked, walking over to Ryuko. "You remind me of three people rolled up into one."
"Do I now?" Ryuko asked.
"Me, Hibiki, and a friend of mine, her name is Kyoko Sakura. I know what it's like to be alone."
"You do…"
"Yeah." Hibiki said, smiling. "I was alone for the longest time. Then I met Miku. And I got more friends too."
The Doctor and I observe Joe's horseshoe tie clip and dice cufflinks.
"If you like. Soon you will be, too. Be patient. First, find your room." Joe said.
"My room." The Doctor said.
"There's a room here for everyone, Doctor. Even you."
"You said you'd seen the light now." Miku said, sadly.
"Nothing else matters anymore. Only him. It's like these things. I used to hate them. They make me laugh now. Gottle o' geer. Gottle o' geer." Joe said, laughing. "You should go. He'll be here soon."
"I think you should come with me." I said, sliding a luggage trolley under Joe's chair. "You really piss me off, you got that?"
Reception…
"Why you five? That's what I don't understand. Aside from all the other things I don't understand." The Doctor said.
"What does it matter? Sooner or later, someone will come along and rescue us." Gibbis said, turning off the music. "Or enslave us."
"First, we find the Tardis. Quick thing before we go. If you feel drawn to a particular room, do not go in, and make sure someone else can see you at all times."
"Okay, Hibiki and Miku will stay together. Tsubasa and Chris will be a pairing. I'll go with Ryuko." I said, smiling. "I want to know more about her and Senketsu."
"That seems like a good idea." Senketsu said, it's voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt.
"Joe said, he will feast. Is there something here with us?" Rita asked.
"Something to add, Joe?" The Doctor asked.
"Here comes a candle to light you to bed. Here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chop, chop, chop, chop." Joe said.
"Can we do something about him?" Ryuko asked. "He's being a massive dick."
First floor corridor…
Joe's mouth has been taped shut, and Gibbis is wheeling him along.
"Personally, I think you've got the right idea. Times like this, I think of my old school motto. Resistance Is Exhausting." Gibbis said.
"This place gives me the creeps." Chris said, worried. "Why were we brought here?"
"I don't know." Tsubasa said. "We would have to figure it out."
"So, Ryuko, you said Elite Four. What are they like?" I asked.
"They're friends of my sister." Ryuko said.
"I said, what are they like?"
"Oh. You have a temper like her." Senketsu said, it's voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt.
"Yeah." I said, crossing my arms. "What's a Kamui anyway?"
"We're made out of Life Fibers."
A man in his underwear and with a whistle around his neck steps out of room 158.
"Hello." Hibiki said, staring at the man in front of her.
"Have you forgotten your PE kit again? Right, that's it, you're doing it in your pants!" The teacher said.
And goes back inside the room.
"Hey! Don't!" Miku said, running after Howie with Hibiki.
Howie opens room 155.
"Oh, my god…" Hibiki said, grabbing Miku's hand.
There are a lot of pretty girls there.
"Why are there a lot of girls?" Miku asked.
"Oh, look, girls, it's H-H-H-Howie!" A blonde girl said, happily.
"What's loser in K-K-K-Klingon?" A brunette asked.
"Praise him." Howie said, nearby.
"Shut the d, d, d, the door. This is just some m, m, messed up CIA stuff, I'm, I'm, I'm telling you." Howie said, sadly.
"You're right. Keep telling yourself that. It's a CIA thing, nothing more." The Doctor said.
(Open POV)
Second floor corridor…
They find the pages from PC Lucy's notebook.
Rory kneels to tie his shoelace and spots a Fire Exit, "Er guys?"
"Look." Amy said.
"The hell is that noise?" Chris asked
Something roars.
"I don't know what it is. I've been hearing it for a while now. But it is fucking loud." Ryuko said.
"Okay, whatever that is, it's not real, yeah?" Amy asked.
"No. No, I'm sure it isn't, but just in case, let's run away and hide anyway. In here." The Doctor said.
Rita pulls Joe's chair into a room. Tsubasa and Chris are behind her.
"No, this way! I've found a…" Rory said.
The Fire Exit door becomes room 219.
Rita's room…
"A B in mathematics? You are lazy. Do you understand me, girl? Lazy." Rita's father said.
"I'm sorry. Daddy, I'm so sorry." Rita said, letting out tears.
"Praise him." Rita said, nearby.
Second floor corridor…
"Rory, come on!" Jared said, holding Ryuko's hand.
"There was a…" Rory said.
"Come on!" The Doctor said.
Gibbis' room…
"Eek!" The Doctor said.
"Weeping Angels!" Hibiki said, squeezing Miku's hand.
"What are we supposed to do with them again?" Miku asked.
There are Weeping Angels here.
"Don't blink." Amy said.
"What?" Howie asked.
The lights flicker.
"Whatever you do, don't turn your back either." Jared said, grabbing Miku's hand. "These things, they're dangerous."
The Angels have moved forward.
"The hell do you mean?" Ryuko asked.
"Amy, Jared, Hibiki, Miku, get back. Why haven't they got us yet?" The Doctor asked, while he steps forward and tries to touch an Angel. His hand goes through it. "Amy, Jared, Hibiki, Miku, they're not real."
"What?" Amy asked.
"They should have got us by now!" Hibiki said, worried.
"Why haven't they?" Miku asked.
"What were they supposed to do?" Ryuko asked.
"Send you back in time to the past, for you to live your days there. They steal your potential life energy." Jared said, sadly. "For the day you would have gotten in your present."
"Amy, Jared, Hibiki, Miku, look at me. Focus on me. One of you, it's your bad dream, that's all." The Doctor said.
"I don't even think they're for us." Rory said.
"I think it was for Gibbis." Senketsu said, it's voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt.
Gibbis is hiding in the wardrobe.
"But Weeping Angels." Jared said, letting out a sigh. ���I don't even like them. Yes, I'm terrified of them."
Something is stomping slowly down the corridor.
"Doctor, what are you doing?" Amy asked.
"I'm sorry, I just have to see what it is. I just have to see." The Doctor said, looking through the security peep hole in the door. "Oh, look at you. Oh, you are beautiful. Oh, dear."
The ropes fall off Joe.
"Damn. He broke free." Chris said, annoyed.
Joe rips off his gag and goes into the corridor.
"I think it's going after Joe." Tsubasa said.
Second floor corridor…
"Come on, come to me. Come to me. Argh!" Joe said, angrily.
"Praise him." Joe said, nearby.
"Where is he?" Hibiki asked.
It all goes quiet.
"The hell should I know?" Ryuko asked.
Gibbis looks out of the wardrobe and the Doctor, Jared, Hibiki, and Ryuko go into the corridor.
"He's this way!" Jared said, holding Hibiki's hand.
They see a shadow turning the corner at the end.
"Come on!" Hibiki said. "Leave him alone!"
They run through the maze of identical corridors.
Staircase...
"Joe!" Jared said, squeezing Hibiki's hand.
Corridors…
"Joe!" Hibiki said.
"Joe!" Ryuko said.
The Doctor, Jared, Hibiki, and Ryuko find Joe slumped by a wall.
"Joe? Joe! Joe. Joe, what happened?" The Doctor asked.
Restaurant…
"Ryuko, what was your life before this?" Jared asked.
Rita boils a kettle while Miku is cookin some ramen.
"Basically, it was hell." Ryuko said, crossing her arms.
Joe is laid on a table and the Doctor is scanning him.
"Is he okay?" Hibiki asked.
"If we can wedge a chair under the door handles, that should stop anything from getting in." Rory said. "And no, Hibiki, we're not punching our way through this."
"Oh. Okay."
"Help yourself to tea. And Miku made us a meal. Guys, tea and dinner over here." Rita said.
"If it's any consolation, I've met the Weeping Angels, so I know how. In fact, I thought that room was for me." Amy said.
"I met Weeping Angels twice now." Jared said, walking over to Amy and Gibbis. "I'm terrified of them. But I know there's something else I'm more scared of."
"Joe was right. Whatever it is in here, it actually wants to kill us. Not oppress us or enslave us, kill us!" Gibbis said, terrified.
"Gibbis, listen to us, okay? The Doctor has been a part of my life and Amy's for a long time now. The same thing with Symphogear for me. Neither have let me down. Hibiki, Miku, Tsubasa, Chris, and the others. Like Maria, Shirabe and Kirika."
"You dummy!" Chris said, annoyed. "Why are you bringing this up now?"
"Because why not? I have nothing else better to do. I also have Magical Girls. And Teams RWBY and JNR. And there's the SAO survivors. None of you have let me down."
���Even when I thought the Doctor and Jared had, when I was a kid and the Doctor left me, he came back and Jared entered my life too. The Doctor and Jared saved me. Jared saved all of his friends too. And now the Doctor and Jared are going to save you. But don't tell the Doctor I said that, because the smugness would be terrifying." Amy said, smiling.
"Of course, if the Weeping Angels were meant for me, then your room is still out there somewhere." Gibbis said.
"Tea?" Rita asked, handing Rory a cup of tea.
"Here's some ramen." Miku said, handing her friends some ramen. "Don't know how they had noodles here. But they did."
"Every time the Doctor and Jared get pally with someone, and Hibiki is a bad influence on the both of them, I have this overwhelming urge to notify their next of kin." Rory said, laughing then flinches. "Ooo. Sorry. The last time I said something like that about Ruby, Amy, you hit me with your shoe. And you literally had to sit down and unlace it first."
"The hell is this place anyway?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, tell us." Ryuko said.
"I would like to know too." Senketsu said, his voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt.
"You haven't told us anything yet." Tsubasa said, walking over to Jared.
"Can you tell us?" Miku asked.
"Anything. Please! We're your friends." Hibiki said, smiling.
"Magical Girl." Jared said, smiling. "That's the only hint I can give you."
"That's it? Seriously?" Chris asked.
"What kind of hint is that?" Ryuko asked.
"Oh. This will make sense later." Miku said, smiling. "That hint."
"Well, yeah." Jared said, happily. "Like I said, this reminds me of a Witch's labyrinth."
"You still haven't explained." Ryuko said. "What is a Witch?"
"The final form of a Magical Girl. The one who made contracts with Incubators. They've basically influenced humanity."
"Tell me something new."
"Wait, the Life Fibers influenced humanity too?"
"We have…" Senketsu said, it's voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt.
"Why do the Life Fibers attach themselves to clothes?" Jared asked.
"That's a story I can tell you later." Ryuko said. "Me and my friends know everything about them."
"Why can't you tell me now?"
"Doctor, Jared, look at this. I found it in a corridor, I completely forgot I had it." Amy said, taking out a note.
"Er, my name is Lucy Hayward and I'm the last one left. It took Luke first. It got him on his first day, almost as soon as we arrived." The Doctor said, reading the note. "It's funny. You don't know what's going to be in your room until you see it, then you realise it could never have been anything else. I just saw mine. It was a gorilla from a book I'd read as a kid. My God, that thing used to terrify me. The gaps between my worships are getting shorter, like contractions. This is what happened to the others, and how lucky they were. It's all so clear now. I'm so happy. Praise him. Praise him."
"Praise him." Howie said.
"What did you just say?" Miku asked.
"Nothing. Praise him!"
"This is what happened to Joe!" Gibbis said, terrified.
"God, it's going to come for me now." Howie said.
"You'll lead it right here."
"Howie, when we get the TARDIS. So we can leave this place. We won't leave you behind." Jared said, walking over to Howie. "I promise. And I'm gonna keep that, got it?"
"Wow, making false promises left and right." Ryuko said, scoffing. "Is that the normal around here."
"Yeah." Tsubasa said.
"Unfortunately." Chris said, frowning.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Jared said, taking out a guitar and a mini amplifier from out of his backpack. He turned the frequency up on the guitar to get some silence. "Thank you. God!"
"Don't you see? He'll lead it right here." Gibbis said.
"What do you suggest?" Rita asked.
"Look, whatever it is out there, it's obviously chosen Howard as its next course. Now, tragic though that is, this is no time for sentiment. I'm saying if it were to find him, it may be satisfied and let the rest of us go. All I want to do is go home and be conquered and oppressed. Is that too much to ask?!" Gibbis exclaimed.
"It's okay. I'll stay with Howie. You take the others and go."
"No. We stay together." Hibiki said, determined. "We won't leave anyone behind. We'll save anyone remaining."
The Doctor goes over to Gibbis, "Your civilisation is one of the oldest in the galaxy. Now I see why. Your cowardice isn't quaint, it's sly, aggressive. It's how that gene of gutlessness has survived while so many others have perished. Well, not today. No one else dies today. Right? Brilliant. Howie, any second, it's going to possess you again. When it does, I'm going to ask you some questions. Please try to answer them."
"I hope my mum's all right, she's going to be w, worried." Howie said, sadly.
"Howie? Howie. Howie, you're next. We're all dead jealous. So, tell us. How do we get a piece of the action? Why isn't he possessing all of us?" The Doctor asked.
"You guys have got all these distractions, all these obstacles. It'd be so much easier if you just let it go, you know? Clear the path." Howie said.
"You want it to find you even though you know what it's going to do?" Chris asked.
"Are you kidding? He's going to kill us all. How cool is that?"
They leave Howie at the table.
"It's as I thought. It feeds on fear. Everything, the rooms, Lucy's note, even the pictures in reception, has been put here to frighten us. So we have to resist it. Do whatever you have to. Cross your fingers, say a prayer, think of a basket of kittens, but do not give in to the fear." The Doctor said.
"So, what's the plan?" Ryuko asked.
"Ready, girls. We're gonna catch a monster. Not Noise." Jared said, smirking. "Let's go!"
Pasiphae Spa…
They scatter around to try and trap it. The name Pasiphae confirms the monster as a Minotaur, to me at least.
"Bring me death! Bring me glory! My master, my lord, I'm here! Come to me. I'm waiting here for you. He has promised me a glorious death. Give it to me now. I want him to know my devotion." Howie said, over the speaker.
Rory is armed with a mop and Tsubasa is wearing her Ame no Habakiri.
Room 216…
The sad clown.
"Anything to do with you? How's it going?" Rita asked.
"Don't talk to the clown." Amy said, frowning.
"A clown? Really?" Chris asked.
Something with hooves stomps past the door, its horns scraping on the ceiling, and into the Spa.
Second floor corridor...
"Praise him. Praise him." Howie said, over the speaker.
Amy gets a baton of wood. Chris is wearing her Ichaival. Rita and Chris shut the Spa doors and Amy jams the wood through the handles.
"Rory, Tsubasa, he's in!" Amy said.
Rory uses the mop to jam the other doors. The Doctor and Jared turn out the lights.
"Let his name be the last thing I hear. Let his breath on my skin be the last thing I feel. I was lost in shadows, but he found me." Howie said, over the speaker.
Reception…
Howie is actually here, tied to a chair, and his voice is being transmitted through the intercom. Hibiki and Miku are near him.
"His love was a beacon that led me from darkness to light, and now I am blinded by his majesty. Humbled by his glory! Praise…" Howie said.
Pasiphae Spa…
"Shut him off already!" Ryuko said, angrily.
"...him." Howie said, over the speaker.
Ryuko pulls out the wires.
Reception…
"How long can we wait?" Miku asked.
"As long as it takes." Hibiki said, smiling.
"Do we have to?"
"I've been told not to speak to you. And Hibiki and Miku are having their own conversation." Gibbis said.
"Don't mean you can't listen." Howie said.
Pasiphae Spa…
"Nothing personal. I just think we should take things slowly. Get to know each other. You take people's most primal fears and pop it in a room. A tailor-made hell, just for them. Why?" The Doctor asked, while the Minotaur, for that is what it looks like, answers in snarls. "Did you say they take? Ah, what is that word? The guard? No, the warden? This is a prison."
Reception…
"You were right, you know. Chances are, if you hand me over, he'll leave you alone." Howie said.
"Miku…" Hibiki said, looking at Miku.
"Hibiki? Are you sure?" Miku asked.
"Yeah."
Hibiki and Miku took out their Relics and did their chants. And then, the two are in their Symphogear outfits.
"Possessed guys can be quite strong. Who's to say I didn't overpower you?" Howie asked, looking between Hibiki and Miku. "Oh, clever. Two Symphogear wielders here. Now where are the other two?"
Pasiphae Spa…
"So what are we, cell mates? Lunch? We are not ripe. This is what Joe said, that we weren't ready. So, what, what, you make us ready. You what? Replace? Replace what, fear? You have lived so long even your name is lost. You want this to stop. Because you are just instinct. Then tell me and Jared. Tell us how to fight you." The Doctor said.
"My master, my lord. I'm here! And Hibiki Tachibana and Miku Kohinata couldn't stop me!" Howie said, his voice over the speaker.
Outside the Spa…
"That's Howie." Tsubasa said.
"He's got out." Chris said, looking at Tsubasa. "That dummy! What did she do?"
Staircase…
"Oh, bring me death." Howie said.
Pasiphae Spa…
"Son of a bitch! Centurion! Ryuko! Look out!" Jared said, looking at Rory, and Ryuko.
Amy, Rita, Chris, and Tsubasa burst in.
"Stay back!" The Doctor said.
The Minotaur smashes a glass door and knocks Rory and Ryuko down.
"Pond, bring the fish." The Doctor said.
"What, the fish? Oh, the fish." Amy said, her eyes widening.
"Where'd he go?"
Outside the Spa…
"Somebody hit me and Ryuko. Was it Amy?" Rory asked.
The Doctor and Jared give chase, and find Howie's broken glasses.
"Shit." Jared said, looking down at the glasses.
"That hurts…" Ryuko said, annoyed.
"We should find the Doctor and Jared." Amy said.
Ryuko is drawn to room 17. She opens it. As Amy opens room 7 nearby.
"Praise him. Praise him." Voices said, nearby.
Tsubasa pulls Ryuko back and shuts the door.
"Ryuko, what did you see?" Senketsu asked, his voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt.
"Nothing. I'm fine." Ryuko said.
"Come on." Rita said.
Corridor…
The Doctor and Jared find Howie's body and the fanboy returns Howie's glasses. Gibbis, Hibiki, and Miku approach from the opposite direction to Amy, Rory, Rita, Ryuko, Tsubasa, and Chris.
"He freed himself." Miku said, sadly.
"And he overpowered us." Hibiki said, grabbing Miku's hand. "How is that possible? He's human like us."
"It might leave us alone now. Maybe now we'll be safe. Wait!" Gibbis said.
Reception….
Howie's photograph is on the wall.
"So, have one of you found your room?" Jared asked, looking at his friends.
"What do you think?" Tsubasa asked.
"Like I'm scared of anything." Chris said, scoffing.
"That was a couple of years ago." Jared said, looking at the four Symphogear wielders. "Hibiki, Miku, you two were scared to admit your feelings for each other. Chris, you didn't want to get close to anyone. But you managed to in the end. And Tsubasa, you didn't want to become a monster. You managed to conquer your fears. All of you."
"But why are we here?" Miku asked.
"No, I didn't. You know, Howie had been in speech therapy. He'd just got over this massive stammer. What an achievement. I mean, can you imagine? I'd forgotten not all victories are about saving the universe." Rory said.
Two bodies are laid out in the Restaurant. Amy puts the goldfish bowl from the Spa on a side table in Reception.
Staircase…
"I don't know why you four ended up here." Jared said, looking between Hibiki, Miku, Tsubasa, and Chris. "Like, it doesn't add up."
"Why do you think we did?" Miku asked.
"Maybe it's your fear of becoming monsters." Jared said, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know."
"You're not helping much." Chris said, angrily.
"I'm trying!"
"He is." Miku said, smiling.
"What now?" Tsubasa asked.
"We hang out in reception!" Hibiki said excitedly.
The Doctor spots the CCTV cameras, "Right down to the smallest detail. Got you, Mister Minotaur."
The Doctor goes back downstairs with Jared, Hibiki, Miku, Tsubasa, and Chris.
Rita goes up to the camera, "Praise him."
Corridor…
"Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him." Voices said, nearby.
Jared is drawn to Room 66. He opens the door.
"Right. Of course." Jared said, looking through the door. "That's what I'm afraid of. I knew that this was it."
He shuts the door and puts the Do Not Disturb notice on it. Downstairs, Gibbis is drawn to the goldfish. Ryuko is with Gibbis and she is sitting in a chair, bored.
(Jared's POV)
Security room…
Nine screens in a bank on the wall.
"Oh, you beauty. Come on, big fellow, where are you? Rita, where are you going?" The Doctor asked.
"She's going off somewhere." I said, looking back at the Doctor. "She's so stupid."
The Doctor phones room 311. She hears it and stops.
"Come on, come on, come on! Come on." The Doctor said, and the phone is answered. "Rita, where are you going? Can you take the phone into the corridor? Will it reach?" Rita does as she is told. "You started to praise it, didn't you?"
Rita nods.
"Rita, come back, please. We'll find a way to stop it, I promise." I said, standing next to the Doctor. "I don't want to lose you. You have so much potential as a companion to the Doctor."
"No, I need to get as far away from you all as possible." Rita said, on screen.
"No, no, no, you don't. The creature only wants whoever's praising it." The Doctor said.
"And then you'll put yourselves in its way."
"Jared and I are coming to get you. Block out the fear and stay focused on your belief."
"The hotel will keep us apart. I could be fifty miles away by now." Rita said, while there is a growl nearby. "I want you to do me one last favour, Doctor, Jared. I can feel the rapture approaching, like a wave. I don't want you to witness this. I want the both of you to remember me the way I was."
Amy, Rory, Ryuko, Hibiki, Miku, Tsubasa, and Chris enter.
"What happened? Rita disappeared." Hibiki said, frowning.
"What is she doing there?" Miku asked.
"Rita. Rita, please. We can stop this! Together! Let me and the Doctor find you." I said, looking at the screen.
"Doctor, Jared, you stay where you are. Please, let me be robbed of my faith in private." Rita said, on screen.
"Look, Rita. Rita. Go into the room. Lock the door." The Doctor said.
"I'm not frightened. I'm blessed, Doctor, Jared."
Corridor…
The Minotaur is close.
"I'm at peace." Rita said.
Security room…
"I'm going to hang up." Rita said, on screen.
"No, Rita!" I said, looking at the screen.
"Goodbye, Doctor, Jared."
"Rita!" The Doctor said, angrily.
"Thank you for trying." Rita said, on screen.
"Rita, please! Please! Please."
Rita puts down the phone and waits, smiling, as the shadow of the Minotaur is cast over her.
"Damn it!" I said, slamming my hand on the table. "Rita…"
The Doctor sonics the monitor off.
Bar…
"Fuck!" I said, smashing whatever I can find in the kitchen.
Gibbis is raiding the kitchen.
"I've never seen him this mad before." Miku said, sadly.
Three bodies laid out now.
"Same." Tsubasa said, frowning.
The Doctor and I are smashing breakables in frustration.
"What does this creature do?" Senketsu asked, it's voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt.
"Okay. It preys on people's fear and possesses them. But Rita wasn't afraid. She was brave and calm. Maybe it's something to do with the people, some connection between the five of you that'll tell me how to fight it." Gibbis said.
"Yes, you keep saying that, but you never do. And while we wait, people keep dying. And we'll be next." Gibbis said, annoyed.
"Don't worry, let me vent out my anger and frustration out with the Doctor. We'll work it out. Me and the Doctor. We always do!" I said, smashing stuff in the process
"You should move anything expensive out of their way first." Chris said, looking at Gibbis.
"Crap! I forgot something important. Really, really important. How could I be so slow?"
"Doctor, Jared, what is wrong?" Amy asked.
"It's not fear. It's faith. Not just religious faith, faith in something. I was too busy trying to save everyone that I forgot that fucking detail!"
"Howard believed in conspiracies, that external forces controlled the world. Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horseshoe. He was a gambler. Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose" The Doctor said, recapping what happened. "Gibbis has rejected any personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to oppress him and tell him what to do."
"Ryuko, you believed in Senketsu, your Kamui. Something out of this world and alien, where it could do anything you desire. Hibiki, Miku, you two believe in each other by making sure the other isn't in harm's way." I said, looking at Ryuko, Hibiki, Miku, Tsubasa, and Chris. "Tsubasa, you believed in your sword and you had a duty to protect others. Chris, you started to rely on others when you grew up without being close to anyone."
"They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them. That's what it replaces. Every time someone was confronted with their most primal fear, they fell back on their most fundamental faith. And all this time, I have been telling you to dig deep, find the thing that keeps you brave. I made you expose your faith, show them what they needed." The Doctor said.
"But why us? Why are we here?" Rory asked.
"It doesn't want you. That's why it kept showing you a way out. You're not religious or superstitious, so there's no faith for you to fall back on. It wants her." The Doctor said, fixated on Amy.
"Me? Why?" Amy asked.
"Your faith in me and Jared. That's what brought us here." The Doctor said.
"But why do they lose their faith before they die and start worshipping it?" Rory asked.
"It needs to convert the faith into a form it can consume. Faith is an energy, the specific emotional energy the creature needs to live. Which is why at the end of her note, Lucy said…"
"Praise him." Amy said.
"Yeah, that was it." I said, sadly.
"No. Oh, please, no." Rory said.
Stomp, stomp, growl.
Corridor…
We run. Amy stops at a crossroads.
"Amy? What are you doing?" Hibiki asked.
"He is beautiful." Amy said, happily.
"Leave her! Just leave her!" Gibbis said, angrily.
"The hell? We're not leaving her!" Ryuko said, looking at Gibbis.
The Doctor and I grab Amy and half-carries her away into a room.
Amy's room…
Little Amelia is sitting on her suitcase, looking out of the window.
Rory, Hibiki, Tsubasa, Chris, and Miku try to hold the door shut as the Minotaur pounds on it.
Amy drops to her knees, "Doctor, Jared, it's happening. It's changing me. It's changing my thoughts."
"Amy, I can't save you from this." I said, kneeling next to Amy. "There's nothing I can do to stop it, I'm sorry."
"What?" Amy asked.
"I stole your childhood and now Jared and I have led you by the hand to your death." The Doctor said.
"Amy, the worst thing wasn't me having adventures and defeating monsters. I knew that this would happen." I said, sadly. "This is what will always happen to you."
"Jared has foreknowledge for a reason." Tsubasa said. "But he can't reveal it all."
The Minotaur bursts in.
"That dummy only knows certain things. He can't know everything." Chris said, annoyed.
"Amelia, forget your faith in me and Jared. We took you with us because we were vain. Because we wanted to be adored. Look at you. Glorious Pond, the girl who waited for me and Jared. We're not heroes. I really am just a mad man in a box and Jared is really just a fanboy. And it's time we saw each other as we really are." The Doctor said, while the Minotaur staggered backwards. "Amy Williams, it's time to stop waiting."
Corridor…
"What's happening?" Hibiki asked.
The Minotaur collapses.
"I think we won." Miku said, frowning.
The Doctor goes to it as the lights flicker, "I severed the food supply, sacrificing their faith in me. I gave you the space to die. Shush, shush."
The hotel dissolves into a hologrid.
Hologrid…
"What is it, a minotaur or an alien? Or an alien minotaur? That's not a question I thought I'd be asking this morning." Amy said.
"It's both, actually. Yeah. Here we go." The Doctor said, reading a holographic database. "Distant cousin of the Nimon. They descend on planets and set themselves up as gods to be worshipped. Which is fine, until the inhabitants get all secular and advanced enough to build bonkers prisons."
"No. The prisons are in space." Chris said.
Rory, Gibbis, Tsubasa, Chris, Hibiki, and Miku are looking down through a porthole.
"Where's the guards?" Hibiki asked.
"No need for any. It's all automated. It drifts through space, snatching people with belief systems and converts their faith into food for the creature." The Doctor said.
"Ryuko, you're alive." Senketsu said, it's voice coming out of Ryuko's shirt. "But I shouldn't be here."
"Senketsu." I said, walking over to Ryuko. "How would you like to be with me?"
"I don't think that's possible. I was made to be linked to Ryuko Matoi."
"Like you said. You died back on Earth. I don't want you to die out here."
"Go with them." Ryuko said, her hand on her hip. "Or you can stay with me. It's your choice."
"It didn't want just me, so the both of you must believe in some god or someone, or they'd have shown you the door too. So what do Time Lords and fans from other universes pray to?" Amy asked.
"According to the in-flight recorder, the programme developed glitches. It got stuck on the same setting, the fears from the people before us weren't tidied away." The Doctor said.
The Minotaur growls.
"What is it saying?" Miku asked.
"An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space through an endless, shifting maze. For such a creature, death would be a gift. Then accept it, and sleep well. I wasn't talking about myself." The Doctor said.
The Minotaur dies.
"Could I have a lift? Just to the nearest galaxy would do." Gibbis said.
Street…
The Tardis materialises on a leafy suburban street, with a row of terraced houses opposite a small park.
"Dropped Symphogear and Ryuko Matoi back home." I said, smirking. "My work here is done for now."
One of the houses has a well preserved E-type Jaguar parked outside.
"Don't tell me. This isn't Earth, that isn't a real house. And inside lives a goblin, who feeds on indecision." Amy said.
"Nope, you're on Earth." I said, tossing Rory some house keys. "That house is real. And it's yours, Ponds."
"You're not serious?" Amy asked.
"I'm being completely serious, Amy. Come on, live a little."
"The car too? But, that's my favourite car. How did you know that was my favourite car?" Rory asked.
"You showed me a picture of it once and said this is my favourite car. I had S.O.N.G ship one over from Japan and bring it here to your home." I said, looking at Rory. "You have no idea how much the Japanese love Western cars. The E-type Jaguar is no different."
"Rory, can you give us two minutes? Two minutes?" Amy asked.
"She'll say that we can't accept it because it's too extravagant and we'll always feel a crippling sense of obligation. It's a risk I'm willing to take." Rory said, walking into the house.
"Good luck, Centurion!" I said, looking around the place.
"Hey." Amy said.
The Doctor and I lean against the long red bonnet with Amy.
"So. The both of you are leaving, aren't you?" Amy asked.
"You haven't seen the last of me." The Doctor said.
"And you haven't seen the last of me, Amy." I said, looking at Amy. "I'm not gone forever, y'know."
"Also, Bad Penny is my middle name. Seriously, the looks I get when I fill in a form, it's…"
"Why now?" Amy asked.
"Because you're still breathing." The Doctor said.
"You and Rory are still alive. Symphogear and the SAO Survivors are alive too. And so is all the Magical Girls out there in Kamihama." I said, sadly.
"Well, I think this is about the washing up, personally." Amy said.
"I mean, you're right, there's still heaps of stuff out there to look at. Do you know, there's a planet whose name literally translates as Volatile Circus? Or maybe there's a bigger, scarier adventure waiting for you in there." The Doctor said.
I'm walking towards the TARDIS with the Doctor.
"Even so, it can't happen like this. After everything we've been through, Doctor, Jared. Everything. You two can't just drop me off at my house and say goodbye like we've shared a cab." Amy said.
"And what's the alternative? Us standing over your grave? Over your broken body? Over Rory's body?" The Doctor asked.
"I hate endings, Pond." I said, letting out tears. "You remind me so much of the Ice Queen."
"I know I do." Amy said, hugging the Doctor and I. "If one of you bump into my daughter, tell her to visit her old mum sometime."
"And look after him." The Doctor said.
"Doctor, look after you." Amy said, letting go of the Doctor. "Jared, look after Team RWBY. Have them look after you too."
"I will, Amy. I promise." I said, letting go of Amy. "See ya."
"Bye."
The Doctor and I went into the Tardis, and it dematerialises.
Rory comes out of the house with champagne and glasses, "What happened? What are they doing?"
"They're saving us." Amy said.