The Snowmen
Mitakihara City arcade…
Jared was standing in the arcade as a hologram, still down in the dumps over the loss of the Ponds, Team RWBY, and Penny.
The fanboy is hearing the Dance Dance Revolution remix of the Connect theme sung by ClariS. He is standing on the railing in front of the machine as Kyoko Sakura is playing the rhythm game.
Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are competing against Kyoko Sakura as Homura Akemi is watching the clock to let Kyoko know when another Witch is coming.
"Funny, y'know, how you four are protecting Mitakihara City. And here I am right where you four were." Jared said, sadly.
"You know you can't do this forever." Kyoko said, a Pocky stick in her mouth. "Staying in the TARDIS."
"I regret looking up to Ruby Rose. She reminds me so much of you, Madoka Kaname. How pure you two girls are." Jared said, looking over at Madoka. "How do you do it?"
"Do what?" Madoka asked, trying to keep up with Jared.
"Being a cute Magical Girl. You and Ruby are clumsy and stupid girls for your own good. I love that about you two."
"Kyoko Sakura, you're like Weiss Schnee. Being all defiant. Even your backstories are similar." Jared said, letting out a sigh.
"So what if I am like Weiss Schnee?" Kyoko asked. "What's your point?"
"Mami Tomoe, you and Yang Xiao Long are definitely strong. And the two of you ended up getting ahead of yourself or armed and ready in the process."
"Were the head and the arm jokes really necessary?" Mami asked, telepathically.
"Right. Didn't know I left this open to you too."
"What am I?" Homura asked.
"You're, um…" Jared said, frowning. "You're like Blake."
"Blake Belladonna? How am I like her?"
"Everything you both went through and are still going through. It's completely similar in every way."
"Oh. So I'm like you then." Sayaka said, her hands behind her head. "You're going through that heartbroken arc then."
"Have been going through it for a while." Jared said, laughing a little. "Defeated Medusa and the Chitauri. I...need you guys..."
Jared's hologram disappeared and it left Madoka, Sayaka, Kyoko, and Homura concerned for him immensely. The four knew that they have to be there for him and it'll take a miracle to bring him back.
Rose & Crown...
A familiar looking young woman gathers empty tankards from the tables and takes the tray outside. There is a toothy snowman in the yard between the inn and the wash house. A man walks past her.
"Did one of you make this snowman?" Clara asked.
"No." The Doctor said.
"We didn't." Jared said, crossing his arms.
"Well, who did? Because it wasn't there a second ago. It just appeared, from nowhere." Clara said.
The Doctor turns and comes back to Jared to examine it.
"Hmm. Maybe it's snow that fell before. To the ground. Maybe this snow remembered how to make snowmen." Jared said, looking at the snowmen.
"What, snow that can remember? That's silly." Clara said.
"What's wrong with silly?" The Doctor asked.
"Is there anything wrong with it?" Jared asked.
"Nothing. Still talking to the both of you, ain't I?" Clara asked.
"What's your name?"
"Clara."
"Nice name. Clara. You should definitely keep it. Goodbye!" The Doctor said.
Clara follows the Doctor and Jared around the corner.
"Oi! Where are you two going? I thought we was just getting acquainted." Clara said.
"Those were the days." The Doctor said.
The Doctor and Jared leave. Clara starts to return to the inn, then changes her mind and runs after his brougham carriage. It's not a hansom because the driver is in front, not behind.
Carriage…
"It's nice to see the both of you talk to someone." Mami said, her voice over the phone. "Was she nice? Are you two interested in her?"
"Nope. We just spoke to her." Jared said, sadly.
This carriage has a telephonic communications device fitted.
"Did she make any impact on the both of you?" Mami asked, her voice over the speaker.
"No, no impact at all. Those days are over." The Doctor said.
"They really are. I lost the Ponds, Team RWBY, Jaune, and Penny." Jared said, frowning.
"You can't help yourselves." Vastra said, her voice over the speaker.
Vastra's study…
"It's the same story every time. And it always begins with the same two words." Vastra said.
Carriage…
"She'll never be able to find us again. She doesn't even have the name. Doctor. What two words?" The Doctor asked.
Clara's head appears through the hatch in the roof.
"Doctor? Doctor who?" Clara asked.
Vastra's study / Fuyuki City…
"How's he doing?" Sakura asked, telepathically.
Sakura Tohsaka is sitting with her older sister Rin and Shiro Emiya.
"Not so good." Mami said, telepathically. "He's been like this for months."
"It's like all life has been sucked out of him." Rin said, telepathically. "What can we do?"
"There was one girl who has made an impact on Jared several times." Sayaka said, telepathically.
The Puella Magi Holy Quintet is snacking on tea and cakes.
"Who?" Sakura asked, telepathically.
"Clara Oswald." Homura said, telepathically.
"Clara? Isn't she dead?" Shiro asked, telepathically.
"She is." Madoka said, telepathically. "Isn't she?"
"Not from what Jared told us." Mami said, telepathically. "She's very much alive. She has to bring him back. There's this thing called the Wish Seed. If that thing is real…"
"It could start an equivalent of a Holy Grail War or Walpurgisnacht." Rin said, telepathically. "This is bad. Jared is the only one that can help Pit stop this."
Alleyway..
A shapely young woman in leather trousers stands in Simeon's path.
"Well, Doctor Simeon, you're out very late tonight." Jenny said.
"Almost makes you wonder what you've been up to. But then, I have often wondered about the activities of Doctor Simeon and his exceptionally secretive Institute." Vastra said.
"Well, I am honoured this evening. The veiled detective and her fatuous accomplice." Simeon said.
"At your service." Jenny said.
"You realise Doctor Doyle is almost certainly basing his fantastical tales on your own exploits? With a few choice alterations, of course. I doubt the readers of The Strand magazine would accept that the great detective is, in reality a woman." Simeon said, lifting Vastra's veil to reveal that she is a Silurian. "And her suspiciously intimate companion…"
"I resent your implication of impropriety. We are married." Vastra said.
"More than can be said for you, eh, dear?" Jenny asked.
"Now then. This snow is interesting, don't you think? The ice crystals seem to have a low level telepathic field. Almost as if it can detect and respond to the thoughts and memories of the people around it. Memory snow. Snow that learns."
"How fascinating." Simeon said.
"I hope it's listening to the right people. It could be a terrible weapon in the wrong hands, don't you think?" Vastra asked.
"I think winter is coming. Such a winter as this world has never known. The last winter of humankind. Do you know why I'm telling you all this?"
"I am intrigued."
"Because there's not a single thing you can do to stop it."
"Perhaps I can't, but I know men who can." Vastra said.
"I look forward to meeting them." Simeon said, leaving.
"Do you mean the Doctor and Jared? They won't help us. They never help any more, you know that." Jenny said.
"Yes, my dear, I do. So pray for a miracle, because I think we are going to need them." Vastra said.
(Jared's POV)
Outside the Institute…
"Ugh, who knew Clara could be so annoying." Kyoko said, telepathically.
Simeon is being watched by a manservant with electronic binoculars.
"This is Victorian Clara." I said, telepathically. "The second echo of her I meet with the Doctor."
Nearby, the Doctor's carriage is rocking.
"Victorian?" Kyoko asked, telepathically. "Doesn't this all seem familiar to you?"
"What do you mean? It's nothing important." I said, telepathically.
"You begged us to come to you. How is this not important?"
"So what? It's not like the universe cares about me!"
"Too loud. Ah geez. You really don't see it, do you?"
"See what?"
"Doesn't this remind you all about us?" Kyoko asked, telepathically.
"No. It doesn't." I said, telepathically.
"Gah! Do I have to spell it out for you? When Madoka meets Homura! The karmic destiny!"
"Nope. Still not getting it."
"You really are slow."
"Let me out!" Clara said, nearby.
"Thank you, Strax. And if ever I'm in need of advice from a psychotic potato dwarf, you'll certainly be the first to know." The Doctor said.
"But if the snow is new and alien, shouldn't we be making some attempt to destroy it? Be reasonable." Strax said.
"Let me out!" Clara said, nearby.
"It is not our problem. Over a thousand years of me saving the universe, and over a decade of Jared saving the universe, Strax, you know the one thing we learned? The universe doesn't care." The Doctor said.
"In this cab. Oi, Doctor, Jared! Let me out! Are you listening to me?"
"We have a problem to worry about. It's a control freak filled with kindness. Someone not as innocent as Madoka Kaname, mind you." I said, crossing my arms.
"Let me out!" Clara said, her voice nearby.
Carriage…
"Oi!" Clara said, angrily.
"It's okay, Clara. No need to worry. We won't hurt you." I said, smiling.
"What is that thing?" Clara asked.
"Silence, boy!" Strax said.
"This is Strax. He's easily confused." Kyoko said, placing a Pocky in her mouth.
"Silence, girl. Sorry, lad." Strax said.
"Sontaran. Clone warrior race. Factory produced, whole legions at a time. Two genders is a bit further than he can count." The Doctor said.
"Sir, do not discuss my reproductive cycle in front of enemy girls. It's embarrassing."
"Typical middle child of six million."
"Who are you?" Clara asked.
"It doesn't matter, Clara. You're about to forget you've ever met me and the Doctor." I said, smirking.
"We'll need the worm." Kyoko said, Pocky still in her mouth. "Even though Clara seems like a likable girl."
"Ma'am." Strax said, walking away.
"You'll need the what? The worm? What worm?" Clara asked.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt, but one touch on your bare skin and you lose the last hour of your memory." The Doctor said.
Strax returns.
"The hell is it?" I asked, grabbing Kyoko's hand.
"Where's what, sir?" Strax asked.
"Kyoko sent you to get the memory worm."
"Did she? When? Who's he? What are we doing here? Look, it's been snowing!" Strax said.
"Oh, he didn't use the gauntlets. Great…" Kyoko said, rolling her eyes.
"Why would I need the gauntlets? Do you want me to get the memory worm?"
"You ass! Go and get the memory worm!" I said, squeezing Kyoko's hand.
By the carriage…
A short time later, Strax is under the carriage.
"Well, Strax, can you see it?" I asked, sipping on some bubble tea.
"I think I can hear it." Strax said.
"How'd you deal with them?" Clara asked, looking at Kyoko.
Clara giggles with Kyoko.
"I don't know. They're idiots." Kyoko said, scoffing.
"Hey, Clara. Don't run away. Don't even try. Stay where you are!" I said, looking between Clara and Kyoko. "And Kyoko. Make sure she doesn't attempt to run."
"Why would I stop her?" Kyoko asked.
"Because you're Red Person."
"Felicia really rubbed off on you."
"Why would I run? I know what's going to happen next and it's funny." Clara said.
"What's funny?" I asked.
"Well, your little pal, for a start. He's an ugly little fella, isn't he?"
"Maybe. He gave his life for mine and a friend of ours once. That was a long time ago. It was a battle and a long day." I said, sadly.
"Then how come he's alive?" Clara asked.
"Another friend of ours brought him back. I'm not sure all his brains made the return trip!" The Doctor said, angrily.
"Neither am I."
"I can see it." Strax said.
"Ooo! Can you reach it? Did you get it?" I asked, finishing up my bubble tea.
"Got what, sir?" Strax asked.
"Because these are the gauntlets, aren't they?" Clara asked, holding up the gauntlets.
"Sir, emergency! I think I've been run over by a cab." Strax said.
The Doctor uses the gauntlets to get hold of a large white worm, "There you go. One touch and you lose about an hour of your memory. Let it bite you and you could lose decades."
The Doctor puts it into a jar.
"Look at you, Clara, not trying to run." I said, looking at Clara.
"I don't understand how the snowman built itself. I'll run once you've explained." Clara said.
"Clara who?" The Doctor asked.
"Doctor who?" Clara asked.
"Oh, dangerous question."
"What's wrong with dangerous?"
"A lot of things." I said, when a snowman appears. "Me, I'm not a fan of danger."
"The snow emits a low level telepathic field." The Doctor said.
"My snowman." Clara said.
"It seems to reflect people's thoughts and memories and because it's unusual, somehow it carries a previous shape and…"
"No, Doctor. My snowman."
"Ah! Interesting. Well, were you thinking about it?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes."
"Low level telepathic field, eh." Kyoko said, telepathically. "Does it detect us?"
"What? Our conversation? I don't know." I said, telepathically.
Another one appears, then others.
"Well, stop. Clara, stop thinking about the snowmen!" The Doctor said, while the nearest snowman breaths snowflakes at us. "Get down! Clara, listen to me. The snow's feeding off your thoughts. And it's not feeding off of Jared's or Kyoko's. They're on a different telepathic wavelength."
"I don't understand." Clara said.
"You're caught in their telepathic field. They're mirroring you. The more you think about the snowmen, the more they appear. Imagine them melting. Picture it. Picture them melted!" The Doctor said, angrily.
"Hang on, doesn't this seem familiar to us? Like fully?" Sayaka asked, telepathically.
We get splashed with icy water.
"Jared, the hell? Did you go full out Homura?" Kyoko asked, telepathically:
The snowmen are gone.
"Maybe. I don't know:" I said; telepathically.
"Well, very good. Very, very good. Ha!" The Doctor said.
"Is that going to happen again?" Clara asked.
"Well, if it does happen again. You know how to handle it. Just imagine them melted:" I said, waking up to Clara.
"Unless I forget."
I put Clara into the carriage
"Clara, don't go looking for me. Or for the Doctor. Just forget about us, okay?" I asked, looking at Clara.
"What about the snow? Shouldn't we be warning people?" Clara asked.
"Like the world would believe you telling them about killer snowmen. It's not our problem. Merry Christmas. Strax, take Clara back where we found her."
"Sir." Strax said.
Strax drives on, but Clara has already got out of the carriage. She follows the Doctor, Kyoko, and I to -
Park…
I climbed over the railings with the Doctor and Kyoko, and I'm singing one of my favorite HoloLive songs sung by Tokoyami Towa.
"Nobody sees what it is blowing in the wind in this world. It is all monochrome, impossible to tell black from white. Though I try to paint it up, all the colors never take hold. I don't even feel alive, stuck in the middle of it all." I said, looking over at Kyoko.
"The coast is clear." Kyoko said, looking between me and the Doctor.
"I've had enough. I have a goal I want to reach though it is far. But this is my world, and I want to hold it dear with all my feelings. On the canvas of my dreams, I will continue to remain. To see what's burning in my heart play out, my own story." I said, jumping and grabbing a ladder, which I pulled down.
Clara hides behind a tree whilst the Doctor, Kyoko, and I climb the ladder and vanish. There is a clunk, and the ladder rises up and disappears too. After a moment, Clara comes out and tries to jump for the ladder. She gets it on the second attempt.
"Come on." Clara said, while she starts to climb. At the top of the ladder, she waves at passers-by, but they do not see or hear her. "Hello. Invisible." She is at the base of a spiral staircase. There are footsteps in the air above her. "An invisible staircase."
The ladder retracts again as she climbs. Soon the rooftops are a long way below.
Cloud…
The Tardis is here. Clara tentatively steps off the staircase into the cloud, goes over and knocks on the door. She hides around the corner when the door opens.
"Hello? Hello? Hello?" I asked, as we both circle the Tardis then Clara heads back down the staircase. "While a silver platter is so well and truly meaningless. I stand scared of losing the pieces of the puzzle I have. But then the freezing night finally begins to thaw. And reaches out to mе with a new dawn."
I found Clara's shawl. Madoka then exited the TARDIS and approached me.
"What is that?" Madoka asked, looking at the shawl.
(Open POV)
TARDIS / HoloLive office…
"How's he doing?" Towa asked, on the TARDIS scanner.
"He's singing your song over and over again." Sayaka said, sitting on the console room steps. "He is becoming, well, us."
"What can we do?"
"Clara, she showed up here a couple minutes ago. She reached out to him. Literally."
"She did? He has lost his voice. His way of things. Losing the Ponds and Team RWBY must have been tough for him."
"It was. I was there when he lost the Ponds."
"Who was there when he lost Team RWBY?" Towa asked.
"No one. It was just him."
"How many times did he meet Clara's echoes?" Towa asked, sitting on the couch.
"A few times now." Sayaka said, sadly. "But this might be the echo to bring him back."
"What if it isn't?" Towa asked.
"It has to be. He almost killed himself while with Palutena and the Avengers."
"You became a Witch in almost every timeline."
"That is true."
Kirito and Asuna's house…
Yui helped hack into the TARDIS console room to get a view of how Jared's doing over his heartbreak.
"Kirito, what can we do?" Asuna asked.
"We can't do anything." Kirito said.
"We have to do something!"
"We can't. We literally can't."
"Is Clara Oswald the right one to help him?" Asuna asked.
"Let me check." Yui said, closing her eyes to see the future archived adventures Jared will have with Clara. "She is."
"So what? We kick back and relax?" Asuna asked.
"That's all we can do." Kirito said. "And plus. He has been through as much as me."
"You're not wrong there."
"What if Clara fails?" Yui asked. "Time can be rewritten."
"If she fails. Then we will cease to exist." Kirito said. "Everything involving Sword Art Online, ALFheim Online, and Gun Gale Online. All of the virtual worlds I helped save. Or create with the Seed. Gone."
"How much of us are intertwined with Clara and Jared?" Asuna asked.
"The Great Intelligence interfered with us. When he reversed everything. Without Jared, the multiverse falls apart."
"Which Clara saves him?"
"The one that comes from the early 21st Century. 9 years before Sword Art Online." Yui said, closing her eyes to check. "It's super vital that she steps into the Doctor and Jared's interlinked time streams."
Palutena's Temple...
"Lady Palutena, can we stop Hades?" Pit asked.
"No. Not yet." Palutena said, sipping her cup of tea.
"He could kill hundreds of people!"
"I know. I know. It's just...Jared's still heartbroken. Maybe by the end of this chapter."
"This chapter? Oh. The episode. When is he at?"
"The Snowmen."
"Where he's on top of that cloud? With the Doctor?"
"Yes. No one can reach him except the Holy Quintet and the Paternoster Gang."
"It's that bad. Huh."
"I do know. I can see everything, you know?"
Fuyuki City…
"How is he?" Sakura asked.
"He still hasn't come back yet." Rin said, looking at the news. "The last time he showed up…"
"It was when he helped the Avengers and Symphogear defeat Loki." Shiro said.
"That's it?"
"We could try and help him."
"We can't reach him." Sakura said. "This is bad."
"I know it's bad." Rin said. "What should we do?"
"We sit back and wait. He'll pop up somewhere. Eventually." Shiro said.
"Maybe."
"He knows he can't stop. Clara will get him back." Sakura said. "I have complete faith in her."
Park…
"Doctor! Jared! Doctor! Jared!" Clara said, angrily.
"What's she looking at?" A man asked.
"She's asking for a doctor." Man 2 said.
A crowd gathers to watch Clara jumping in the air.
"Doctor! Jared!" Clara said, looking up at the sky.
"Now then, that's enough noise. We don't want to attract attention, do we?" Jenny asked.
"I'm looking for the Doctor and Jared. Do you know about them? The Doctor and Jared?"
"Doctor who?"
Vastra's home…
"Do not attempt to escape or you will be obliterated! May I take your coat?" Strax asked.
Vastra is in the conservatory, sitting in a peacock chair and surrounded by exotic greenery.
"Sit." Jenny said.
"There are two refreshments in your world the colour of red wine. This is not red wine." Vastra said.
"Madame Vastra will ask you questions. You will confine yourself to single word responses. One word only, do you understand?"
"Why?" Clara asked.
"Truth is singular. Lies are words, words, words. You met the Doctor and Jared, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"And now you've come looking for them again. Why?"
"Take your time. One word only." Jenny said.
"Curiosity." Clara said.
"About?" Vastra asked.
"Snow."
"And about them?"
"Yes."
"What do you want from them?"
"Help."
"Why?"
"Danger."
"Why would they help you?" Vastra asked.
"Kindness." Clara said.
"The Doctor and Jared are not kind."
"No?"
"No. The Doctor and Jared don't help people. Not anyone, not ever. They stand above this world and don't interfere in the affairs of its inhabitants. They are not your salvation, nor your protector. Do you understand what I am saying to you?"
"Words."
"They were different once, a long time ago. Kind, yes. Heroes, even. Saver of worlds. But they suffered losses which hurt them. Now they prefer isolation to the possibility of pain's return. Kindly choose a word to indicate your understanding of this."
"Men." Clara said.
"We are the Doctor and Jared's friends. We assist them in their isolation but that does not mean we approve of it. So, a test for you. Give me a message for the Doctor and Jared. Tell them all about the snow and what fresh danger you believe it presents, and above all, explain why they should help you. But do it in one word. You're thinking it is impossible that such a word exists, or that you could even find it. Let's see if the gods are with you." Vastra said.
(Jared's POV)
Tardis…
My iPhone 12 Mini rings. I took it out of my pocket and answered the call to see that it was Madame Vastra.
"Yes? What is it? I'm trying to listen to Palette." I said, wearing my AirPods. "It's a good song that represents my feelings so well."
"Miss Clara and her concerns about the snow." Vastra said, her voice coming out of my AirPods.
Vastra's home…
"I gave her the one word test." Vastra said.
"Like that would help anyone? It's pointless. What the hell did she say? Well?" I asked, my voice over the speaker.
"Pond." Vastra said.
Tardis…
"Strax has already suggested where to start investigating." Vastra said, her voice coming out of my AirPods.
Institute…
"Danger. Danger." The Snowman said.
"What's wrong?" Simeon asked.
"There is danger here. An intelligence. An intelligence beyond anything else in this time and place."
"Doctor Simeon, sir. There's people demanding to see you." The servant said, entering the room.
"No callers, not in here, not ever. Did they leave their names?" Simeon asked.
"Sir, it's Sherlock Holmes and John Watson." The servant said.
The Doctor is wearing a deerstalker hat, cape, walking cane, and with a Meerschaum pipe, unlit. There's a stethoscope around my neck and needles on my ankle.
"Oh, nice office. Big globey thing. Now, shut up, don't tell me! I see from your collar stud you have an apple tree and a wife with a limp. Am I right?" The Doctor asked.
"No." Simeon said.
"Do you have a wife?"
"No."
"Bit of a tree? Bit of a wife? Some apples? Come on, work with me here."
"I enjoy The Strand magazine as much as the next man, but I am perfectly aware that Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are fictional characters. Get out!" Simeon said, angrily.
"Thanks Ame. For letting me and the Doctor take half and half of you." I said, still wearing my AirPods and in the middle of a phone call with Amelia Watson. "This is too much fun!"
"I know. I gave you the idea, after all." Amelia said, her voice through my AirPods. "Why are you being my John Watson half?"
"Because of the irony! That's why!"
"Since the Doctor is an actual Doctor? Is that why?"
"Yes!"
The Doctor hits the globe with his cane.
"That is highly valuable equipment. You must step away now." Simeon said.
"We are the Intelligence." The Snowman said.
"Ooo. Talking snow. I love new things." The Doctor said.
"You are not of this world."
"Well, it takes one to snow one." I said, smirking. "What is this, Sherlock Holmes?"
"Was that pun really necessary?" Amelia asked, her voice over my AirPods.
"Right, let's see. Multi-nucleate crystalline organism with the ability to mimic and mirror what it finds." The Doctor said.
"But it looks like snow!" I said, looking at the snow globe.
"It isn't snow."
"You must leave here now." Simeon said.
"Shut up, I'm making deductions. It's very exciting. Now, what are you, eh? A flock of space crystals? A swarm? The snowmen are foot soldiers, mindless predators. But you, you're the clever one."
"He's Moriarty!" I said; smirking.
"You're right, Doctor John Watson. He is Moriarty." The Doctor said, walking up to the snow globe. "So, you turn up on a planet, you generate a telepathic field to learn what you can, and when you've learnt enough, what do you do? You can't conquer the world using snowmen. Snowmen are rubbish in July. You'll have to be better than that. You'll have to evolve."
During this speech, the Doctor has sonicked the doors locked.
"Sir, it appears to be stuck!" The servant said, his voice nearby.
"What have you done? Have you locked the doors?" Simeon asked.
"You need to translate yourself into something more, well, human." The Doctor said.
"Kick it down."
"To do that you'd need a perfect duplicate of human DNA in ice form. Where do you find that?"
"Sir?" The servant asked, his voice nearby.
"Get in here, quickly!" Simeon said.
"I've got a master key somewhere, sir."
"Oh, I know this. It's like looking through browser history on the internet! But since we're in Victorian times. Try finding the most opened file! The most viewed page!" I said, excitedly.
I walked up to Simeon's desk and picked up the rich man's scrapbook before handing it to the Doctor.
"You and the Doctor are nailing both parts of my personality well." Amelia said, her voice coming out of my AirPods.
"I've been watching you for weeks, Ame." I said, smiling.
The Doctor tosses Simeon's scrap book in the air, and it lands open at a newspaper cutting headed Tragedy at Darkover House.
"You know, you really should delete your history. Governess frozen in pond. Gotcha!" The Doctor said.
"Got it, sir!" The servant said, his voice nearby.
"Get in here! Take them downstairs." Simeon said.
But the Doctor and I have already left by the French windows.
Outside Darkover House…
"Okay, a body frozen in a pond." I said, crossing my arms.
"The snow gets a good long look at a human being, like a full body scan. Everything they need to evolve." The Doctor said.
"Pond. Not like Amelia Pond. Or like Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Names in fairy tales." I said, kicking my foot back and forth. "You're right there, Clara. What are you doing here?"
Strax is holding an alien weapon and Kyoko is standing next to him.
"Madame Vastra and Mami Tomoe wondered if you were needing any grenades?" Strax asked.
"Why would they need grenades?" Kyoko asked.
"If I wanted a grenade, I would have asked Homura Akemi. She does have a weapons vault within her shield." I said, walking up to Kyoko.
"They might have said help." Strax said.
"Help for what?"
"Well, your investigation."
"Investigation? Who says we're investigating?" I asked.
"Do you think we're going to start investigating just because some bird smiles at us? Who do you think we are?" The Doctor asked.
"Sherlock Holmes and John Watson." Strax said. "Or as Jared prefers, Amelia Watson."
"Don't be clever, Strax. It doesn't suit you."
"Sorry, sir."
"I'm the clever one, you're the potato one."
"Yes, sir."
"Now go away." The Doctor said.
"Like geez. You're more annoying than little miss Pocky loving Dance Dance Revolution girl here!" I said, grabbing Kyoko's hand.
"Yes, Mister Holmes and Mister Watson." Strax said.
"Will you shut up? Please!"
"You're not clever or funny and you've got tiny little legs!" The Doctor said.
I see Clara watching from a window. She waves, and I wave back.
"Okay, Jared, just tell her we're leaving, we're not going up. Leaving. Not going up." The Doctor said.
"We'll be up in five minutes!" I said, giving Clara a thumbs up. "No need to worry!"
"What was that about? Five minutes, where did that come from? You." The Doctor said, looking at me.
We leave the pond with Kyoko Sakura, and the ice begins to crack.
(Open POV)
Outside the garden walls…
Strax, Jenny, Vastra, Mami, Kyoko, and Sayaka watch a carriage pull up.
"It's the human male from the Institute. What's he doing here? Suggest we melt his brain using projectile acid fish, and then interrogate him. Other way round." Strax said.
Bedroom…
"Am I going to have the nightmare tonight?" Francesca asked.
"Definitely not." Clara said.
"How do you know?"
"Because people are coming to help."
"Who?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Is it one of your stories? Your definitely true ones?"
"Ha! All my stories are true." Clara said, angrily.
"Like how you were born behind the clock face of Big Ben?" Digby asked.
"Accounting for my acute sense of time."
"And you invented fish." Francesca said.
"Because I dislike swimming alone." Clara said.
"So what's this one?" Digby asked.
"There are men called the Doctor and Jared. They live on a cloud in the sky, and all they do, all day every day, is to stop all the children in the world ever having bad dreams."
"I've been having bad dreams." Francesca said.
"They've been on holiday. But I am confident they've now returned to work. And as a matter of fact, they're right here." Clara said, while the candle flickers as the door opens. "Aren't you, Doctor, Jared?" A woman made of ice enters. The children scream. "Bloomin' hell!"
"The children have been very naughty." The governess said.
"Get back. Now. Quickly." Clara said.
"You're doing your other voice." Digby said.
"Yes love, did you notice?"
"Naughty, naughty children." The governess said.
"Run!" Clara said.
Schoolroom…
"Um, what are we waiting for?" Homura asked, telepathically.
"The signal." Jared said, telepathically.
"There's an ice governess out there."
"We should help them." Madoka said, telepathically.
"We don't have to. You know we don't need to." Jared said, telepathically. "They're collateral damage."
"I'm getting impatient!" The governess said, forcing the adjoining door open. "You have been very naughty!"
"What about the men? You said the men was here, the cloud men." Digby said.
"Well, they're not, are they?" Clara asked.
"Where's the Doctor and Jared?"
"I don't know!"
"Doctor? Doctor? Doctor who?" Punch asked.
The Punch puppet aims the sonic screwdriver at the Ice Governess, who shatters.
"That's the way to do it." The Doctor said, as Punch kisses him. "Oi. Ow."
Outside the grounds, Simeon activates a device on the back of his carriage that sends snow into the air around the house.
"Where did she go? Will she come back?" Francesca asked.
"Don't worry. Everything's fine." Jared said, smiling.
"She's currently draining through your carpet. New setting. Anti-freeze." The Doctor said.
"You're very welcome, Clara."
"I'm very grateful. I knew both of you would come." Clara said.
"Nope, you didn't expect us to come, Clara. We don't come to you, who's a damsel in distress. A control freak. This isn't the sort of thing we do anymore." Jared said, grabbing Madoka's hand.
"Next time you're in trouble, don't expect us to…" The Doctor said, as he is distracted by his reflection in a mirror.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Clara asked.
"Sorry, it's just. Didn't know I'd put it on." The Doctor said, straightening his bow tie, while ice forms on the windows. "Old habits…"
"Um, isn't it cooler in here?" Madoka asked.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it? It is very cool. Bow ties are cool." The Doctor said.
"No, she means the room. The room's getting colder." Homura said.
A bulge forms in the carpet.
"She's coming back!" Digby said, terrified.
"What's she going to do? Is she going to punish me?" Francesca asked.
"Er, er, she's learnt not to melt. Of course, she's not really a governess, she's just a beast. She's going to eat you. Run." The Doctor said.
Entrance hall…
They run down the stairs.
"Children, what is the expla...who the devil are you? What are you doing in my house?" Latimer asked.
"It's okay. We are your governess' gentlemen friend, and we've just been upstairs kissing! She's double dating!" Jared said, excitedly.
"Captain Latimer. In the garden, there's snowmen! And they're just growing out of nowhere, all by themselves. Look!" Alice said, running to answer the front door.
"Good evening. I'm a Lizard Woman from the Dawn of Time, this is Mami Tomoe, Sayaka Miki, they're Magical Girls, and this is my wife." Vastra said, motioning towards Mami, Sayaka, and Jenny.
"Why is she panicking?" Sayaka asked.
"I guess Magical Girls aren't known to the public during these times." Mami said.
Alice screams and runs back into Strax and Kyoko.
"This dwelling is under attack. Remain calm, human scum." Strax said.
"Geez! What's with the yelling? Take a chill pill!" Kyoko said, angrily.
Alice screams and faints.
"So, any questions?" Jared asked. "About us or what we do?"
"You have gentlemen friends?" Latimer asked, looking at Clara.
"Vastra, Mami, what's happening?" The Doctor asked.
"The snow is highly localised, and on this occasion not naturally occurring." Vastra said.
"It's coming out of that cab parked by the gates." Jenny said.
"Which is Simeon's cab." Sayaka said.
"He's trying to make himself known." Mami said.
"Sir, one pulver grenade would blow these snowmen to smithereens." Strax said.
"Strax? Seriously? That's your plan? Blowing them up? They're made of snow! They're already smithereens! You see, Clara? That's our friends again." Jared said, grabbing Madoka's hand.
"Clara? Who's Clara?" Latimer asked.
"Your current governess is what she wants to be. She used to be a former barmaid. And her name is Clara." Jared said, squeezing Madoka's hand.
"That's the way to do it!" The governess said.
"Meanwhile your previous governess is now a living ice sculpture impersonating Mister Punch. Jenny, what have you got?" The Doctor asked.
Jenny throws a little ball that creates a forcefield at the top of the stairs, "That should hold it."
"Right, Jenny, I love you as much as Sayaka." Jared said, looking over at Jenny. "Clever and confident."
"Sir, this room. One observational window on the line of attack and one defendable entrance." Strax said.
"Okay, I don't know the layout of this house very well." Jared said, looking at a nearby room. "Everyone in there. Move! We don't have all day. Someone, carry the maid!"
Jared looked down at Alice, who's unconscious.
"Nice to see you off your cloud and engaging again." Vastra said.
"We're not engaging. We're under attack. I was under attack when Medusa and the Chitauri showed up." Jared said, looking at Vastra.
"You missed this, didn't you?" Vastra asked.
The governess batters against the forcefield.
"Shut up. I don't miss this one bit. I was fine with a normal life. I'm an introverted Gemini. Not an extrovert that craves adventures." Jared said, letting go of Madoka's hand.
(Jared's POV)
Study…
"Strax, how long have we got?" The Doctor asked.
"They're not going to attack. They made no attempt to conceal their arrival. An attack force would never abandon surprise so easily, and they're clearly in a defence formation." Strax said.
"Way, aye, aye. Well done, Straxie. Still got it, buddy." The Doctor said, kissing the Sontaran on the top of the head.
"Sir, please do not noogie me during combat prep."
"So there's something here they want." I said, leaning against the wall. "And I know what it is. Do you know, Clara?"
"The ice woman." Clara said.
"Yup. They took the nickname ice queen too literally. And the girl I used to call that. She's, um, she's dead."
"Why's she so important?" Sayaka asked.
"Because she's a perfect duplication of human DNA in ice crystal form. The ultimate fusion of snow and humanity. To live here, the snow needs to evolve and she's the blueprint. She's what they need to become. When the snow melted last night, did the pond?" The Doctor asked, looking at Clara.
"No." Clara said.
"Living ice that will never melt. If the snow gets hold of that creature on the stairs, it will learn to make more of them. It will build an army of ice. And it will be the last day of humanity on this planet."
The doorbell rings.
"Clara. Stay here. Mami, Kyoko, and Sayaka can keep you safe. They're Magical Girls. Madoka, Homura, Doctor, let's go!" I said, happily.
Entrance hall…
"Clara, I told you to stay in there." I said, looking at Clara.
"Oh, I didn't listen." Clara said.
"You do that a lot. Like how Madoka did it with Homura."
"It's why you like me."
"Who said I like you?"
Clara kisses me, long and hard, before letting go.
"I think you just did." Clara said.
"You kissed me." I said, blushing a lot.
"You blushed."
"Um, was now the time for you to kiss?" Madoka asked.
"Why did you waste a few seconds kissing each other?" Homura asked.
"Shut up! It's not what it looks like!" I said, looking between Madoka and Homura.
I open the front door.
"Release her to us. You have five minutes." Simeon said.
Simeon turns away and I close the door.
"We need to get her out of here but keep her away from them." The Doctor said.
"How?" Clara asked.
"I don't know. I can't remember everything, Clara." I said, grabbing Clara's hand. "How can we keep the ice queen away?"
The Doctor takes an umbrella from the stand, "With this. Do I always have to state the obvious?"
"Those creatures outside, what are they?" Latimer asked.
"The snowmen aren't that big of a deal. We just have to get the ice queen out of here. Madoka, Homura, want to help us be bait? And get in there, Latimer." I said, looking over at Latimer.
The Doctor goes up the stairs and sonicks the forcefield.
"What are you doing?" Clara asked.
"Is it cool?" Madoka asked.
"Between the five of us, I can't wait to find out." I said, happily. "I love it when things change due to my influence. Well, sometimes."
The forcefield turns off then reforms behind the Doctor, Clara, Madoka, Homura, and I.
"Clara, look after everyone here...Clara!" I said, looking over at Clara,
"Jared." Clara said, looking at me.
We duck under the Governess' arms and run up the stairs.
"That was stupid. You decided to come with us. Madoka and Homura have the stamina for this!" I said, looking at Clara.
"You were stupid, too." Clara said, still fixated at me. "You must be jeopardy friendly."
"I'm allowed. I'm an ally of justice and a Huntsman. I'm good at stupid."
"That's the way to do it!" The governess said, angrily.
"Why does she keep saying that?" Clara asked.
"Mirroring. Random mirroring. We need to get on the roof." The Doctor said.
"This way!" Clara said, pulling me away as I haven't let go of her hand.
"Wait! Don't pull me! I did the hand grabbing with Team RWBY! That was my job! It was always me!" I said, letting out a sigh.
Roof…
"Hurry! What's taking you so long, my Impossible Girl?" I asked, looking at Clara.
"My bustle is stuck." Clara said.
"Your bustle?" I asked, pulling Clara through the window. She lands on top of me. "Clara, this is why those outfits are saved for Magical Girls. Dresses and corsets. You're going to have to take those clothes off. I didn't mean."
"I know. I understand, I do."
"Good. Sorry. I haven't felt like this in a long time."
"Now, what's the plan?" Clara asked, looking at me.
"Who said I've got a plan?"
"Course you've got a plan. You look like someone that knows everything. You made the Doctor take that." Clara said, looking at the umbrella.
"Maybe I'm an idiot. Weiss used to call me and Ruby that." I said, grabbing Clara's hand.
"You're not. You're clever. Really clever. As clever as the Doctor. You said that you're a Gemini, right?"
"Are you clever?" I asked, grabbing the umbrella from the Doctor to toss it to Clara. "Well, if I have a plan. Which I usually don't. What is it, Clara? You tell me."
"That's the way to do it!" The governess said, angrily.
"Is this a test?" Clara asked, looking at me.
"Yes, it is. I lost Team RWBY months ago. And I miss them deeply." I said, frowning.
"What will it do to us?" Clara asked.
"I think it will kill us." Homura said.
"There might not be a way around this." Madoka said.
"That's the way to do it!" The governess said, angrily.
The Governess turns to snow to get through the window.
"So, plan. Do I have one, really?" I asked, kicking my foot back and forth.
"Oh, I know what your plan is. I knew straight away." Clara said.
"Nope, you didn't."
"Course I did."
"Show me what my plan was, Clara."
"Why should I?"
"Because we'll be dead soon. And Madoka and Homura dying is a bad thing. They don't live in this time. And neither does Mami, Kyoko, and Sayaka. Do I have a plan?"
"If we'd been escaping, we'd be climbing down the building. If we'd been hiding, we'd be on the other side of the roof. But no, we're standing right here." Clara said, walking to a specific part of the roof.
"So?" I asked.
"So!" Clara said, reaching up with the umbrella and pulling the ladder down.
"Clara is like you, Madoka. And Jared have become me." Homura said, telepathically.
"Gee. Thanks." Madoka said, telepathically. "I think I can see it."
The Governess is reforming on the roof.
"After you." Clara said, looking at me.
"After you. You'll be my girlfriend by the end of this." I said, smiling.
"After you, I'm wearing a dress. Eyes front, soldier!"
"My eyes are always front! I'm not a pervert!"
"Mine aren't. And you totally are one."
"Stop it."
"No. I understand you're the previous governess. I regret to inform you the position is taken. Goodnight." Clara said, tapping the ladder, steps onto it and is raised into the air.
Staircase…
"So, Doctor, you can move your cloud? You can control it?" Clara asked.
"No. No one can control clouds, that would be silly. The wind, a little bit." The Doctor said,
"She's following us."
"It feels weird to run again." I said, telepathically. "And you two have been hunting Witches with Sayaka and Kyoko."
I am looking between Madoka and Homura.
"We know." Homura said, telepathically.
"Do you see me in Clara?" Madoka asked, telepathically.
"Yes." I said, telepathically. "I can't tell the difference between you two. Not at all."
"Clever staircase. It's taller on the inside." The Doctor said.
"What am I standing on, what's this made of?" Clara asked.
"Super dense water vapour. Should keep her trapped for the moment."
Cloud…
"Do you actually live up here with the Doctor on a cloud, in a box?" Clara asked, looking at me.
"I've done it for months now." I said, walking towards the TARDIS.
I turned my back to see Madoka and Homura following me:
"Blimey, you really know how to sulk like the Doctor, don't you?" Clara asked, crossing her arms.
"I'm not sulking." I said, angrily.
"You live in a box! Do you at least have a house or something?"
"This is no more of a box than you are a governess. That's like saying you're a concept. A goddess. Someone that's forgotten about by the people closest to her."
"Oh, spoken like a man. You know, you're the same as all the rest. Sweet little Clara, works at the Rose And Crown, ideas above her station."
Tardis…
"Well, for your information, I'm not sweet on the inside, and I'm certainly not…" Clara said.
I turned on the TARDIS light. I missed Team RWBY so much, and the Eleventh Doctor let me choose the console room I wanted next.
The last console room was all childish and reminded me so much of Ruby Rose. But these days since I feel so cold and distant, so much like Weiss Schnee was when she first joined Team RWBY.
And I know that I'm still human but the TARDIS knows what I want since she saw it in my head, in my memories. I was able to go with the console room I remember at this time frame. A classic six sided free-standing console with time rotor.
"...little." Clara said, at a loss for words.
"This is the TARDIS. She can travel anywhere in time and space. And it belongs to the Doctor. I've been traveling with him for eight years now." I said, leaning against the TARDIS console.
Madoka and Homura are sitting down on the lower TARDIS steps, out of the way as they know I want to show off to Clara.
"But it's. Look at it, it's…" Clara said.
"Go on, say it. Most people do." The Doctor said.
Clara does the traditional circuit of the outside and returns, "It's smaller on the outside."
"Okay, that is a first." The Doctor said.
"Is it magic? Because it looks like Madoka, Homura, Sayaka, Kyoko, and Mami can use magic. So can it? Is it a machine?" Clara asked.
"Nope, she's not magical. But she can take you to so many places. And she looks mechanical." I said, smiling. "She's a ship."
"A ship?"
"Best ship in the universe."
"Is there a kitchen?"
"Yes there is. Mami cooks in there all the time for me. We have tea and cake in the entertainment room. Makes movie nights fun."
"Even so, Jared. Clara asking about a kitchen. That's another first." The Doctor said.
"I don't know why I asked that. It's just, I like making soufflés." Clara said, sadly.
"Soufflés?"
"Why are the both of you showing me all this?"
"You followed us, remember? We didn't invite you." I said, frowning.
"Doctor, Jared, you're nearly a foot taller than I am. One of you could have reached the ladder without this. Doctor, Jared, you took it for me. Why?" Clara asked.
"Because I love you. I love you a lot, Clara. I met you in 2013, the fall of that year. I came from another universe. You were a fictional character. I watched you and the Doctor travel for years. And then I ended up in this world. This universe in the fall of 2018." I said, letting out a lot of tears.
She throws the umbrella to me.
"And I never know why. I only know who." The Doctor said, holding up a key, then putting it in Clara's hand.
"What's this?" Clara asked.
"Me. Giving in. Like Jared gave into you ages ago."
"I don't know why I'm crying."
"I do. Remember this. This right now, remember all of it. Because this is the day. This is the day. This is the day everything begins." The Doctor said, as he starts to crank up the console.
"Clara!" Madoka said, when the Governess grabs Clara from behind and drags her outside.
"Clara!" Homura said, when Clara drops the key.
"Clara! Clara!" I said, running towards the TARDIS doors.
Cloud…
"Get off of me!" Clara said, angrily.
"Water vapour doesn't stop ice. I should've realised." The Doctor said.
Madoka and Homura are standing in the TARDIS doorway, speechless and feeling bad for me.
"Get off!"
"Let her go. Let her go now! Now! I can't lose you to falling like Team RWBY! They fell one by one a long time ago! Yang! Ruby! Blake! Weiss! All four of them! Let Clara go! Please!" I said, looking at the Governess.
"Get off of me!"
"No. Clara!" I said, as the Governess and Clara fell backwards off the cloud. "Nooooo!"
(Open POV)
Study…
There is a Whumph! outside.
"What was that?" Mami asked.
"It's Clara." Sayaka said.
Vastra's steampunk style tricorder does not give good news. No life signs detected.
"Clara fell into an abyss like Team RWBY did. The hell? What happened?" Kyoko asked.
"Dear God. Oh, dear God. Where did she fall from? We have to get her inside." Latimer said.
"Those things will kill you." Mami said.
"She's hurt."
"She's dead." Vastra said.
"It's the TARDIS." Sayaka said, sadly.
The sound of the Tardis is heard.
"Jared is alone." Kyoko said. "After finding love. And ending up in a heartbreak. Sayaka, we know how he feels."
"What is that? What is happening?" Latimer asked.
The Tardis materialises around Clara.
"They're bringing her in." Vastra said.
A short time later, Clara is lying on a table while Strax uses a device. The Tardis is parked in the corner of the room.
"That green woman said she was dead. How can she be alive now?" Latimer asked.
"This technology has capacities and abilities beyond anything your puny human mind could possibly understand. Try not to worry." Strax said.
Tardis…
The Doctor is scanning the ice fragments that were around Clara.
"Isn't the creature still a danger? It could reform." Vastra said.
"Nope, not in here." Jared said, sadly.
"Then you should be with Miss Clara."
"She's gonna to be fine. I know she is. She has to be."
"Jared, her injuries are severe. That equipment will bring back anyone for a while, but long term." Strax said.
"It was my fault. I am responsible for what happened to Clara. I have the foreknowledge. I forgot she was gonna fall off the cliff. I was too busy flirting. She was gonna be my girlfriend." Jared said, angrily.
"What is the point of blaming yourself?" Vastra asked.
"There's no point. Since she is gonna live."
Study…
The Doctor hands a London Underground souvenir lunchbox to Jenny. It rattles.
"Hello, Clara." Jared said, looking down at Clara.
"They all think I'm going to die, don't they?" Clara asked.
"They do. But I know you're gonna live this. Time can be rewritten."
"How?"
"I never know how. And neither does Jared. I just know who." The Doctor said, giving Clara the key again and Jared kisses her hand.
"The green lady. She said the two of you were the saver of worlds once. Are you both going to save this one?" Clara asked.
"If I do, will you come away with me?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes." Clara said.
"Clara, if I save the world. Like I always do. Will you be my girlfriend?" Jared asked.
"Yes."
"Well then. Merry Christmas." Jared said, walking over to Clara to kiss her on the lips. "I love you, Clara. Let's go, Doctor."
Jared pulls away from Clara and looks at the Doctor who straightens his bow tie, the Doctor takes back the lunch box and answers the door to Simeon.
Front door…
"I have in my hand a piece of the Ice Lady. Everything you need to know about how to make ice people. Is that what you want? See you at the office." The Doctor said.
Tardis…
"So then, Doctor, Jared, saving the world again? Might I ask why? Are you making a bargain with the universe? The two of you will save the world to let her live?" Vastra asked.
"Yeah. I am. And so is the Doctor. After all this time. With the Doctor, from Rose to the Ponds. And for me, from Vale to Atlas. After everything we've done. Don't you think we're owed this one?" Jared asked.
"I don't think the universe makes bargains." Vastra said.
"Why are you making a wish?" Mami asked.
"It's not possible." Kyoko said, a Pocky in her mouth. "It's like trying to make a contract with the Incubators and not knowing what you signed up for."
"It was my fault." Jared said, angrily.
"Well then. Better save the world." Vastra said.
Institute…
Vastra, the Doctor, Jared, Mami, and Kyoko are waiting when Simeon enters.
"You promised us something. Have you brought it?" Simeon asked.
"Big fella here's been very quiet while you've been out. Which is only to be expected, considering who he really is. Do you know what this is, big fella?" The Doctor asked, holding up the lunch box.
"I do not understand these markings." The snowman said.
"A map of the London Underground, 1967. Key strategic weakness in metropolitan living, if you ask me, but then I have never liked a tunnel."
"Same, the London Underground is as bad as the New York Subway system." Jared said, smirking.
"Enough of this. We are powerful, but on this planet we are limited. We need to learn to take human form." The snowman said.
The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver, and the Snowman's voice rises in pitch.
"The Governess is our most perfect replication of humanity." The snowman said.
"What's happening to its voice?" Kyoko asked.
"Just stripping away the disguise." The Doctor said.
"No, stop! Stop that. Cease, I command you." The snowman said.
"It sounds like a child." Mami said, sadly.
"Well, yeah, it sounds like a child. It is a child. It's Simeon as a child. This is the beauty of knowing what's gonna happen. The snow has no voice without him." Jared said, walking up to the snow globe.
"Don't listen to him, he's ruining everything." The snowman said.
"How long has the Intelligence talked to you?"
"I was a little boy. He was my snowman. He spoke to me." Simeon said.
"That's sad." Mami said, telepathically.
"But the snow doesn't talk, does it? It's just a mirror. Like encountering mirrors of characters you play in a gacha game. Did you know that in a city, there's a labyrinth full of copies of Magical Girls?" Jared asked.
"Are you talking about the Mirror Witch?" Mami asked, telepathically.
"Why bring that up?" Kyoko asked, telepathically.
"Because that relates to this in a way. The Mirror Witch copies Magica Girls and creates many layers for people to go through. And the snowmen. It just reflects back everything we think and feel and fear. Same concept, different base." Jared said, saying his thoughts aloud.
"Oh, I see." Mami said, telepathically.
"That does make a bit of sense. With you knowing everything about us Magical GIrls." Kyoko said, telepathically.
"You poured your darkest dreams into a snowman and look, look at what it became." Jared said.
"I don't understand." Vastra said.
"It's a parasite feeding on the loneliness of a child and the sickness of an old man. Carnivorous snow meets Victorian values and something terrible is born." The Doctor said.
"We can go on and do everything we planned." The snowman said.
"Oh yes, and what a plan. A world full of living ice people. Oh dear me, how very Victorian of you." The Doctor said.
"What's wrong with Victorian values?" Simeon asked, grabbing the lunch box and opens it.
"You sure you want to do that?" Jared asked.
"I have always been sure."
The memory worm in the box bites Simeon.
"That's good. I'm happy you're thinking like Madoka Kaname. She at one point erased her memories and powers as a goddess just to save Homura Akemi. Here and now, Doctor Simeon, your entire adult life is about to be erased." Jared said, happily.
"No parasite without a host. Without you, it will have no voice. Without the governess, it will have no form." The Doctor said.
"What, what, what's happening? What's happening? What did you do?" The snowman asked.
"You've got nothing left to mirror any more. Goodbye." Jared said, smiling.
"What did you, did you..." The snowman said, while the snow suddenly fills the globe and its voice deepens again. "Did you really think it would be so easy?"
"That's not possible. How is that possible?" The Doctor asked.
"Doctor? Jared?" Vastra asked.
Study…
"They're growing! The snowmen are growing!" Sayaka said, terrified.
"What should we do?" Madoka asked.
Institute…
"But you were just Doctor Simeon. You're not real. You were just a snowman. He dreamed you. How can you still exist?" Jared asked.
"Now the dream outlives the dreamer and can never die. Once I was the puppet." The snowman said, and Simeon is reanimated as an icy ghoul. "Now I pull the strings! I tried so long to take on human form. By erasing Simeon, the both of you made space for me. I fill him now."
Simeon knocks Vastra, Mami, and Kyoko aside and grabs the Doctor and Jared.
"More than snow, more than Simeon. Even this old body is strong in my control." The snowman said.
"Argh!" The Doctor said.
"Ow!" Jared said.
"Do you two feel it? Winter is coming!" The snowman said, and his touch starts to freeze the Doctor and Jared's skin.
"Argh!" The Doctor said.
"Ow!" Jared said.
"Winter is coming!" The snowman said, angrily.
Study…
"No, you must fight. Hang on and fight, boy. You can do it." Strax said.
"Captain Latimer. Your children. They're afraid. Hold them." Clara said.
"It's not really my area." Latimer said.
"It is now."
A single tear runs down from Clara's eye. Outside, thunder rends the snowstorm and turns it into rain.
(Jared's POV)
Institute…
"Jared!" Mami said, running up to me.
The snow globe is filled with melt water.
"I guess the snow melted. But why?" Kyoko asked, looking at the snow globe.
Simeon leaps off the Doctor and I.
"Mami, Kyoko." I said, running up to Mami and Kyoko for a group hug. "Don't you ever leave me, okay?"
"What's happening?" The snowman asked.
"Doctor, Jared, the globe. Kyoko is right. It's turning to rain. All of it, the snow, look." Vastra said, and Simeon dies. "He's dead. What happened?"
"The snow mirrors, that's all it does. It's mirroring something else now. Something so strong, it's drowning everything else." The Doctor said, as he opens a window and holds out his hand. "There was a critical mass of snow at the house. If something happened there…"
"Damn it! Clara! How could this happen?" I asked, letting out a lot of tears. "I forgot she was dying due to me almost being frozen."
The Doctor, Vastra, Mami, Kyoko, and I taste the rain.
"It's salty. Salt water rain." Vastra said.
"It's not raining. It's crying. The only force on Earth that could drown the snow. A whole family crying on Christmas Eve." The Doctor said.
Study...
The Tardis materialises.
"I'm sorry. There was nothing to be done. She has moments only." Strax said.
"That's fine, Strax. Clara, we saved the world. You, me, the Doctor. The Golden Trinity." I said, placing my hand on top of the Doctor's.
"Are you going back to the cloud with the Doctor?" Clara asked.
"Only if Pit and Palutena were there. But the TARDIS up in the sky. Not now."
"Why not?"
"You made it rain. My Impossible Girl. That's why I've always loved you." I said, leaning down at Clara to kiss her long and hard before letting go. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Clara said. "Run. Run, you clever boys. And remember."
The clock chimes midnight as Clara dies.
"It's Christmas. Christmas Day." Digby said.
Graveyard…
I left the Puella Magi Holy Quintet in the TARDIS knowing that they have to be dropped off back in Mitakihara City and Kazamino City in the early 21st Century. Well, at some point, at least. Captain Latimer is with his children by the graveside.
"And what about the Intelligence? Melted with the snow?" Vastra asked.
"Nope, I don't think so. It learned to survive beyond physical form. Like an artificial intelligence." I said, sadly.
"Well, we can't be in much danger from a disembodied Intelligence that thinks it can invade the world with snowmen." Jenny said.
"Or that the London Underground is a key strategic weakness." Vastra said.
The Great Intelligence. Rings a bell. The Great Intelligence." The Doctor said, walking forward to the grave as the family leave.
"I've been standing in front of the grave the entire time, knowing that my Clara is out there. I mostly wanted to focus on the here and now.
"Doctor? Jared?" Jenny asked.
"Man, I've been waiting for this." I said, smiling. "Clara Oswin Oswald."
The gravestone has already been carved and put in place.
"I never knew her name. Her full name. But Jared, you did. That's how you were comfortable around her." The Doctor said, looking at me.. "You were comfortable around her during the Dalek Asylum."
"Oswin Oswald. Junior Entertainment Manager, Starship Alaska." Oswin said, her voice in my head.
"Soufflé girl. Oswin. It was her." The Doctor said.
"Run, you clever boys." Oswin said, her voice in my head.
"Run, you clever boys." Clara said, her voice in my head.
"And remember."
"And remember."
"It was soufflé girl again. I never saw her face the first time with the Daleks, but her voice, it was the same voice." The Doctor said.
"Doctor?" Jenny asked.
"The same woman, twice. And she died both times. Jared, you flirted and kissed her. The same woman!" The Doctor said, happily.
"Yup, the same woman. Who has aspects of the Puella Magi Holy Quintet, mind you." I said, grabbing the Doctor's hand.
"While you have aspects of Team RWBY. No wonder those girls were written all over you."
"Doctor, Jared, please, what are you talking about?" Vastra asked.
"Something's going on. Something impossible, something. Right, you two stay here. Stay right here. Don't move an inch." The Doctor said.
"Are the both of you coming back?" Vastra asked.
"Nope! Not until we reach a town or city that's sweet. But that's ages away for us!" I said, running away with the Doctor.
"A town or city that's sweet? But where are you going?" Vastra asked.
"We're gonna do something that got me into the Whoniverse in the first place! Watching a mystery unravel!" I said, excitedly. "This time, I get to be a part of it. That's pretty lit, actually."
"And all we have to do is this, Jared. To find her. To find Clara. Ha ha ha!" The Doctor said, grabbing my hand.
"But Clara's dead. What are they talking about, finding her?" Jenny asked.
Clara Oswin Oswald. Remember me, we shall meet again. Born November 23 1866, died December 24, 1892.
"I don't know, but perhaps the universe makes bargains after all." Vastra said.
Same graveyard, over a hundred years later and somewhat overgrown.
"Where are you going?" A girl asked.
"Short cut." Clara said, happily.
"Through there? I hate this place! Don't you think it's creepy?"
"Nah. I don't believe in ghosts."
Tardis…
I looked over at the Puella Magi Holy Quintet who are leaning against the TARDIS railing, me being happy that I have my favorite quintet of heroes by my side. The Doctor is busy flicking switches on the TARDIS console as I'm sitting on the TARDIS jump seat.
"Clara Oswin Oswald. Watch us run." The Doctor said.