(Open POV)
Clara's flat…
Clara is in her Zygon pod. Next, she's waking up suddenly in her own bed. The alarm clock shows the time backwards at first, then correctly. 6:26. Clara gets up and walks along the corridor to the bathroom. She opens the cabinet and takes out a tube labelled 'This Is Toothpaste', then squeezes some onto her toothbrush, dropping it in the sink when she sees that it is black.
"Clara. Clara!" The Doctor said, his voice nearby.
Clara goes to the living room.
"You're breaking up!" Bonnie said, nearby.
The television screen is crackling with static signal.
"The invasion has happened. You're probably surrounded by Zygons. Get to the TARDIS, get yourself safe. Apparently our plane is never going to land. Let's see what we can do about that!" The Doctor said, nearby.
"I'm sorry, but Clara's dead." Bonnie said.
"Right. This is like the times Jared and I go to ALO and GGO." Clara said, running to the front door and opening it, but there is only a blank wall behind it. "Yuna told Kirito that virtual worlds are like dreams. And Madame Vastra said that time travel is possible in dreams."
In the pod, Clara's eyes move rapidly beneath the lids. Clara goes to the window in the living room and opens the curtains. Blank.
"Dream checks." Clara said.
The newspaper print is gibberish.
"Dream checks, dream checks." Clara said.
Except for down at the bottom of the page.
"It's your decision, Doctor, Jared." Bonnie said, nearby.
Clara turns more pages to read the word 'Truth or Consequences'.
"Truth or consequences." Bonnie said, nearby.
The television now shows Bonnie's viewpoint, through the missile launcher to Jared's airplane.
"This really is like the virtual worlds created on the Seed." Clara said, leaping up and jolting the screen. "Jared's been preparing me for this. Haha!" She giggled. "Yes!"
Bonnie's arm jerks and the missile misses the plane.
Aeroplane…
Osgood, Momoko, Rena, and Kaede are looking down out of a window.
"Doctor? Jared?" Kaede asked, looking between the Doctor and Jared.
The plane rocks as the missile zooms past.
"You missed!" Jared chirped, laughing a lot.
Bonnie reloads and aims. Clara strains to move the TV again, but it won't budge. Instead, she shapes her hand as if it is on the trigger, and tries to stop her counterpart from squeezing. She bites it and Bonnie fires the missile. The airplane goes Ka-BOOM! Bonnie turns away, satisfied.
Etoine's flat…
A frightened man carrying a couple of full plastic shopping bags runs up the slope from an underpass very like the one in Flatline, bumping into a street cleaner who is brushing sizzling bundles of hair along the ground. He drops his shopping and carries on running into the block of flats above the Fleet Estate Centre, looking back occasionally at the impassive people standing and sitting around. Bonnie comes up the slope and sees him run inside, then catches him up inside his bare and tatty living space.
"I know what you are." Bonnie said.
"Please. Please." Etoine said, sadly.
"I'm going to set you free. Humans cannot accept the way we really are. If we cannot hide, we must fight. You are going to be the first. The first to make the humans see." Bonnie said, raising her arms and zaps Etoine's head.
Etoine falls then runs away. There are squelching noises as Etoine's arm transforms into thick pink with suckers. He runs outside as more suckers pop out of his skin.
Fleet Estate…
Bonnie follows to watch the transformation as he stands in front of a group of unmoved teenagers, and films it on her phone.
"Help me. Help me. Help! Help me." Etoine said, frowning.
Transformation complete, the terrified Zygon runs back into the shopping centre.
Bonnie makes a call, "Commander here. The first one has been changed. I'm going to UNIT to retrieve the Osgood box."
In her mind, in her pod, Clara replays the moment the aeroplane exploded, then pauses the image on the TV. Six parachutes are visible. She smiles.
(Jared's POV)
Beach…
Littered with bits of wreckage. Osgood sits up, still wearing the parachute harness. She feels around her for her spectacles and finds they have broken at the bridge.
"Doctor? Jared? Doctor! Jared!" Osgood yelled, shrugging off her harness and going over to where the Doctor is getting out of his, nearby, sonic sunglasses safely on his nose.
I got out of my parachute as I ran over to Momoko, Rena, and Kaede to help the three Magical Girls to get out of their parachutes, "You got any questions for us?"
"Doctor? Why do you have a Union Jack parachute?" Rena asked, crossing her arms.
"Er, camouflage." The Doctor said.
"Um, camouflage? Do we need camouflage?" Kaede asked.
"Yes, we're in Britain. Oh, Osgood, your specs are broken. I'll fix them. You can wear mine, they're sonic." The Doctor said.
"Sonic specs?" Osgood asked.
"Yeah." The Doctor said.
"Isn't that a bit pointless? Like a visual hearing aid?"
"What's wrong with pointless? I once invented an invisible watch. Spot the design flaw." The Doctor said.
"The design flaw being that the invisible watch was used by Danny Pink to save the day." I said, happily. "That day with the Skovox Blitzer was interesting. To say the least. I don't know what adventure I should go on after this one."
"Neither do I. What ideas do you have?"
"I was thinking of another Marvel movie. Despite me just doing Captain Marvel."
"Fair point."
"Doctor, Jared, you two are talking nonsense to distract me, Momoko, Rena, and Kaede from being really scared. It's one of your known character traits." Osgood said, putting the sonic sunglasses on.
"Don't look at my browser history." The Doctor said.
The sunglasses beep.
"Whoa!" Osgood said, terrified.
"Yeah, I said don't." The Doctor said.
We reach the concrete jetty leading up off the beach and walk up it.
"So, why didn't that Zygon blow us up with her big bazooka? Aren't we supposed to be dead?" Momoko asked.
"We are dead. Bonnie did blow us up with her big bazooka. This is us being blown up with a big bazooka. We managed to escape it in the nick of time."
"But, Momoko means, the Zygon seems to know what she's doing. The first thing I'd do if I wanted to invade the world would be to kill you and the Doctor." Osgood said.
"Thanks. We really appreciate that." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Doctor, I wouldn't even let you get talking, like you always do. Bullet between the eyes, first thing." Osgood said, looking at the Doctor.
"Again, thank you." The Doctor said, annoyed.
"Twelve times, if necessary. And Jared, I wouldn't even let you plan like you normally would. I would expose you to a Specter Deflector."
"Thanks. You've done research into ghosts." I said, grabbing Momoko's hand.
"I have. It was easy to hack into the Fenton Works lab."
"Ah, yes. Why limit yourself to me and Jared? You've really thought this through, haven't you?" The Doctor asked, looking at Osgood.
"I'm a big fan. Of the both of you. But she gave you and Jared a chance to get out. She hesitated. If she had Clara's memory print, she'd know better than to give the two of you even a second. You've both gone quiet because I mentioned Clara. Doctor, Jared, you think she might be dead." Osgood said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"Yes." The Doctor said.
"Are you okay?" Rena asked, looking between the Doctor and I.
"I don't know. I'm still in the hope phase."
"Same. I'm worried I must have changed something because of my influence. Momoko, Rena, and Kaede weren't here. For how I remember this adventure." I said, squeezing Momoko's hand. "I'm still hopeful Clara is still alive."
"Um, how is that going?" Kaede asked, looking between the Doctor and I.
"Hell. Please talk about something else." The Doctor said.
In her mind, in the pod, Clara is miming texting with her eyes closed. In the real world, Bonnie is texting without realising it.
Osgood, the Doctor, Momoko, Rena, Kaede, and I reach the access road.
"So, why do they want to destroy the ceasefire? I thought it was supposed to stay in place." Momoko said.
"Don't think of them as rational. They're different. They don't care about human beings, they don't care about their own people. They think the rest of Zygonkind are traitors." The Doctor said.
My phone rings with a notification. New text message.
"It's a splinter group." The Doctor said.
"It's not." I said, taking my phone out of my sling bag and looking at the notification. The sender is Clara. "It's Clara. Well, it's not Clara. It's Bonnie. She's the Zygon who…"
"The Zygon who probably killed her. Read it." The Doctor said, looking down at my phone.
"Okay." I said, reading the text on my iPhone 16 Pro Max. "It says, 'I'm awake'."
"What does that mean? A political awakening? Jared, why would she be sending you propaganda? She just blew us up with a big bazooka." The Doctor said, scoffing.
"Never really met Clara. Pretty strong, yeah?" Osgood asked.
"She was amazing."
"Nope. It's not 'was'. It's 'is'. It's not from Bonnie. Bonnie is of course the Zygon that took Clara's form. It's Clara that texted us. Oh, my Impossible Girl. You used our ALO and GGO time to good use." I said, happily.
"How? I get that Clara played VRMMO games with you. But how did she text you with her phone and without using an AmuSphere or an Augma?" The Doctor asked, looking at me.
"Clara's using what I taught her to good use. It's what I do with my friends. So they can help me whenever and wherever I need their help."
"Jared's right. Clara's not dead. She's in a pod somewhere. They need a live feed to the information in her brain. But she's fighting back. She's trying to take control, piece by piece." Osgood said.
"Texting?" The Doctor asked, looking down at my phone.
"How much more human do you get? It's as human as using telepathy to communicate. The Zygon probably doesn't even know it sent this, or why it misfired that bazooka." Osgood said.
"You don't know. It's just a theory." The Doctor said.
"Yes, it's just a theory, but how's that hope phase now?"
"Worse than ever. Because Jared knew something I didn't. Again."
"Then we've got a game." Osgood said, smirking.
(Open POV)
UNIT safe house…
Bonnie walks past a mirror to a picture of the First Doctor, which she moves to reveal a safe with a keypad. She opens it, then goes back to the mirror when she realises that instead of a reflection, it showed Clara and her living room as she went by. But it is just a reflection now, so she returns to the safe, removes a laptop and switches it on.
"Hello. If you're watching this, I have been captured and interrogated." Osgood 2 said, on screen.
"During the interrogation, I have revealed to you the existence of the Osgood box." Osgood 1 said, on screen.
Bonnie has an increasingly annoyed face.
"I have revealed its location and the combination to open this safe. And guess what?" One Osgood asked, on screen.
"I lied." Both Osgood said, on screen.
"The Osgood box exists. But it's not here, so stop looking." Osgood 2 said, on screen.
"Really, stop." Osgood 1 said, on screen.
"The Osgood box can end the ceasefire."
"The Osgood box can start the war. The Osgood box can wipe out all humankind. But there's a reason it's called the Osgood box."
"Haven't you guessed?"
Angry Bonnie grabs the lap-top and throws it to the floor, stamping on it.
(Jared's POV)
Road…
The Doctor, Osgood, Momoko, Rena, Kaede and I go up to a police car.
"Hey. What's up?" I asked, when the policemen wind down the window and I showed them my psychic paper. "I'm the Black Pearl. I'm one of the Avengers. You might have heard of me. The plane that crashed nearby was mine. I had a big plane, a presidential plane to save the world."
The policemen do not react.
"The plane exploded half a mile that way, I think." I said, looking over at Kaede who has a worried look on her face. "Actually, it's okay. We're fine, right?"
"Um, yeah." Kaede said, nervously.
"Yeah. We're fine. Let's go, you guys." I said, quietly to Osgood, Momoko, Rena, and Kaede. "Come on."
We walk away.
I called Clara back, "The Zygon answered the phone."
"Hello." The Doctor said, grabbing my phone from me.
UNIT Safe House / Road…
"Doctor, you and Jared are dead." Bonnie said.
"Yes, well, we're dead now, and we think we might be a bit more dead in a minute. What's your plan, Zygella?" The Doctor asked.
The police car is reversing to block access back to the beach.
"I don't have a plan." Bonnie said.
"Come on, you don't invade planets without having kind of plan. That's why they're called planets, to remind you to plan it? Hey, hey! That's good! Pun-tastic. Doctor Pun-tastic! Oh, come on, that was a good one, Zygella!" The Doctor cheered.
The policemen get out of the car to follow us.
"Don't call me Zygella. My name's Bonnie. My name's Bonnie. Jared knows my name is Bonnie." Bonnie said, giving us a quick wink.
"And you're winking at me." The Doctor said.
"I am not winking at you. Where is the Osgood box?" Bonnie asked, giving a wink.
"You do know what winking means? You're sending out some very mixed messages here. You know I'm over two thousand years old and Jared's over a thousand years old? We're old enough to be your Messiahs." The Doctor said.
More policemen are approaching.
"I am not winking at you. Where is the box?" Bonnie asked, her voice nearby.
"Come on, we need to get out of here." I said, happily.
"There's a van!" Rena chirped.
We return to a VW van parked half on the pavement and half on double yellow lines.
"Okay. Non-verbal communication. I assume that you never bothered to learn Morse code." The Doctor said, looking at Bonnie on my phone.
"You really haven't." I said, using my electromagnetism for electricity to come out of my hands to open the car doors. "That's one thing I didn't teach Clara. Because I was expecting you Bonnie. I'm not telling you where the Osgood Box is."
"Tell me!" Bonnie yelled.
"Okay, we'll have to try something else. Twenty questions. Where's your pod? Is it in a tunnel? Is it in London?" The Doctor asked.
Bonnie feels her eyelids twitching and raises her hand to cover one then both of them.
"Thanks very much. Gotcha!" The Doctor cheered.
We get into the van. Osgood, Momoko, Rena, Kaede, and I are in the passenger seats, the Doctor is driving.
"Okay, Clara. Stay where you are. You're doing amazing. Our time spending it with the SAO Survivors really paid off. We're coming to get you. And don't let Bonnie into your memories." I said, smiling.
"Memories? What memories? What has she got?" Bonnie asked.
"Don't tell her where the Osgood box is okay? And please, don't tell her what it is. If you do, it'll change the future of what I remember."
Van…
Call ends. The Doctor hands my phone back to me, starts the engine and drives off with a little wheel-spin.
"It's obvious the Zygon can hear that." Rena said, happily.
"Obviously." I said, smiling.
"So she's going to look around inside Clara's mind, looking for answers." Momoko said.
"The mind of Clara Oswald. It's as bad as the mind of Jared Shay. She may never find her way out." The Doctor said, chuckling.
"Yeah. My mind is as bad as Clara's." I said, laughing a lot.
"It is. Your mind is full of fandom stuff. She'd struggle even more with yours."
"Doctor, I don't think I've ever seen you smile before." Osgood said.
"Dazzling, isn't it?" The Doctor asked.
"It is." I said, when my phone beeps. "Right on time. I'm able to track Clara's phone. Google Maps location tracking two years early. The location Bonnie sent the text from. It's a shopping center in South London."
"Ah, London. Perpetual city, cradle of culture, here we come! Clara, stay safe."
"And Bonnie texted us a video also." I said, loading up the video on my iPhone 16 Pro Max.
BBC News, of course.
"A video supposedly showing an alien in south London is posted across the internet." A woman said, her voice coming out of my phone.
"Doctor, Osgood, Momoko, Rena, Kaede. That's the place Bonnie texted us from. We need to hurry." I said, looking down at the floor.
(Open POV)
Clara's living room…
Bonnie walks up to Clara's pod and taps on the window. The television comes to live.
"Hello." Bonnie said, on screen.
Clara grabs the remote and tries to change channels.
"Oh, there's no point turning over. There's nothing better on the other side. I could erase your mind." Bonnie said, on screen.
"Then why haven't you?" Clara asked, while Bonnie closed her eyes. "Having trouble?" Clara closes her eyes. "Let's see what I can do. Jared exposed me to ALO and GGO. One fantasy world and one post-apocalyptic world."
Bonnie turns into a Zygon, falls down, then stands back up in human form again.
"See, this thing works two ways, you know." Clara said, smirking.
"I want those memories!" Bonnie cried, nearby.
Clara sits on the sofa to read her newspaper, "Trouble is, you're asking me for them, which means you can't access them, right?"
"I can make you tell me." Bonnie said, in the tunnel.
"No, you can't. Otherwise, you would have done already." Clara said.
"I can kill you."
"Go on, then."
"You think you're calling my bluff."
"I am calling your bluff. You need me alive."
"Only as a source of information." Bonnie said, nearby.
"Then you'd better start asking questions." Clara said.
"You'd better not lie." Bonnie said, in the tunnel.
"You see, that's the problem." Clara said, laughing. "I am a brilliant liar. And Jared's a brilliant liar also. How are you ever going to know?"
"Oh, Clara. For a moment, I thought you were clever." Bonnie said, on the TV.
Bonnie puts two fingers to the pulse in her left arm. The heartbeat is heard.
"Our hearts are linked. Beat for beat. The one thing you and I can never do is lie to each other." Bonnie said, on the TV.
Clara checks her own heartbeat.
"Oh, that scared you, didn't it?" Bonnie asked, in the tunnel.
(Jared's POV)
Fleet Estate…
The van screeches to a halt. The Doctor, Osgood, Momoko, Rena, Kaede, and I get out. I am tracking the exact location of the text and video, and Osgood has her own spectacles on again.
"London! What a dump." The Doctor said, sarcastically.
"London's okay. It's not my favorite city. That has to go to New York City." I said, holding my phone in my hand.
"No, it's not, it's a dump."
"Doctor, you and Jared spend an awful lot of time here, considering it's a dump." Osgood said.
"Jared and I spend an awful lot of time being kidnapped, tortured, shot at and exterminated. Doesn't mean we like it." The Doctor said.
"Well, this is where the video was shot. Bonnie was here. Come on, Doctor, Osgood, Momoko, Rena, Kaede." I said, clutching my phone.
Fleet Estate Centre…
"It's dark." Rena said, looking around the place.
The place is dark.
"I don't like it." Kaede said, sadly.
"There's electricity in the air." I said, squeezing my phone.
"It stinks. It smells like barbecues." Osgood said, and we're a few steps further in. "Oh."
Sizzling hairy lumps.
(Open POV)
Tunnel / Clara's living room…
"Now, listen to me. Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to ask you questions and if you don't tell me the exact and complete truth, I will know and I will kill you. Do you understand me?" Bonnie asked.
"Yes." Clara said.
"I will slaughter you in that pod right now. Am I lying to you?"
"No."
"Good. Then we'll begin. Where is the Osgood box? You will answer me, Clara. Truth or consequences, lie and you die. Where is it?"
"UNIT HQ. Under the Tower of London."
"Where specifically?"
"The Black Archive."
"Ah, yes. The dark little storage facility for forbidden alien tech, where this all began. Who has access to it?"
"The Osgoods."
"Only the Osgoods?"
"The Doctor and Jared sealed it up after the last time. The last time, Jared brought Chisato and Takina with him. Didn't want UNIT interfering with the ceasefire." Clara said, sadly.
"Don't avoid the question. Do only the Osgoods have access?" Bonnie asked.
"The Doctor and Jared have access, too."
"Who else? Is it Jared's friends from across all of time and space? No. It's not them. It can't be them. Not without Jared giving them approval first. Ah. You. You have access?"
"Yes."
"Is it a key? Or a code? No, a pass. A key code? Give it to me now."
"I can't."
"Interesting. You're not lying."
"No, I'm not."
"But you have access of some kind."
"Obviously."
"Give it to me now."
"I told you. I can't. You know I'm not lying, I can't give you access."
"Okay, how do you get in there? How, physically, do you get in?"
"It's automatic." Clara said.
"But how? Tell me!" Bonnie yelled.
"The door is keyed to my body print."
"Ah, yes, your body print. You can't give me access, because I have access already. I'm you."
"Yes."
"And what am I going to find? What's in the Osgood box? Clara?"
"The box ends the ceasefire."
"So I'm told. How?"
"There's a button inside the box. Press it, it will transmit a signal that will unmask every Zygon on the planet for up to an hour. What's there to smile about?"
"Ah, mass panic followed by war. Every Zygon on our side at a stroke." Bonnie said.
"Twenty million Zygons against seven billion humans. That's not a war you can win." Clara said.
"Then we will die in the fire, instead of living in chains."
"Most of your own kind don't want that."
"Then it's time we stopped giving them a choice."
"It's time you asked the most important question."
"Which is?"
"I'm waiting."
"Why's it called an Osgood box?" Bonnie asked.
"I'm not telling you." Clara said.
"Good. I've been looking forward to hearing you scream."
"I'm not telling you, because when you get to the Black Archive, you'll find out for yourself. And when you do, you're going to want to speak to me again. Am I lying to you?" Clara asked, and the heartbeats say no. "See you later."
Clara turns the TV off.
(Jared's POV)
Fleet Estate Centre…
Using flash lights.
"Um, how much longer do we have?" Kaede asked, telepathically.
"This adventure would be close to the end once we reach the Black Archive." I said, telepathically.
"And how long is that?" Rena asked, telepathically.
"A while."
"Then it shouldn't be long then." Momoko said, telepathically.
"It's not." I said, telepathically.
"Let's just, er, stick with what we had. I need to ask you, because it's important, because it might matter." The Doctor said.
"What's important?" Osgood asked.
"Which one are you? Human or Zygon?" The Doctor asked.
A door opens nearby and something squelches. We run to find a Zygon, who in turn runs into a general store to try and hide. It turns back into the man from earlier, but not completely.
"Hey. It's okay. We can help you." I said, looking at Etoine.
"It wasn't me. They attacked me. They saw me. I had to." Etoine said, sadly.
The squelchy transformation should, but he doesn't change much, just the odd sucker. It clearly hurts.
"It's okay." I said, happily. "There's no need to worry. I promise."
"A commander came. She turned me back! Argh!" Etoine yelled.
"We can help. We can help you. Doctor, Jared, we can help him, can't we?" Osgood asked, looking between the Doctor and I.
"I'm not sure." Etoine said.
A burst of electricity leaps from Etoine to the Doctor, who staggers briefly. Etoine runs.
"Please! Come back! Come back!" The Doctor cried.
(Open POV)
Tunnel…
Kate enters with a Zygon escort, "North America reporting back to High Command."
"I'm going to the Black Archive. I'll open it up, you will follow." Bonnie said.
"Of course." Kate said.
"But first, locate the Doctor and Jared. If possible, duplicate them, and then kill them."
"It will be my pleasure."
(Jared's POV)
Store room…
"We can't help you yet, but…" I said, when another bolt of electricity leaves Etoine and grazes me.
"Why? I was happy like this. I was happy here." Etoine said, sadly.
"I know. I understand. I do."
"I can't change. I can't hide."
"Can, can you let us help you?" Kaede asked.
"No! You're Truth or Consequences." Etoine said, frowning.
"We're not. We're really not Truth or Consequences." Rena said, happily.
Etoine transforms a little more, "I'm not part of your fight. I never wanted to fight anyone, I just wanted to live here. Why can't I just live?"
"Hey. Come on. We're on your side. We want to help you." Momoko said, smiling.
"I'm not on anyone's side. This is my home." Etoine said.
"Just listen to us. We're not them. Promise." I said, clutching the strap of my sling bag.
"I can't go back now. You've taken my life!" Etoine cried, holding his hand up, palm towards his own face.
"No, no, no! Stop! Stop! Stop…" The Doctor said, looking at Etoine.
"They will kill me." Etoine said, committing suicide.
"There it is, Osgood, Jared, Momoko, Rena, Kaede. There's their plan." The Doctor said, letting out a sigh.
Fleet Estate Centre…
Walking back through the shopping centre.
"Unmask everyone, provoke fear, paranoia, provoke a war." The Doctor said.
"Worse than the war that happened in Kamihama City between the East and West. And way worse than Embryo Eve and Walpurgisnacht." I said, squeezing the strap of my sling bag.
"Doctor. Jared." Kate said, while her escort now looks like UNIT soldiers.
"Kate. It's great to see you. You okay?"
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Kate asked.
"It's just we'd heard otherwise." The Doctor said.
"I'm fine. Doctor, Jared, we know where the Zygon command centre is. We know where Clara's pod is. We can take the both of you there." Kate said.
"Well, how very convenient, because that's just exactly what we're looking for." The Doctor said.
(Open POV)
UNIT HQ…
"And here it is, the Black Archive. Oh, I do like being you, Clara." Bonnie said, smirking.
Clara's pod is being wheeled on a box trolley by two UNIT soldiers.
"Everyone just waves you on past. I bet they do the same with Jared's friends. Now, how does this work?" Bonnie asked, waving her left hand in front of a light and the vault door unlocks.
Bonnie leads the way in.
(Jared's POV)
Tunnel…
Kate leads the Doctor, Osgood, Momoko, Rena, Kaede, and I to the pods, with the soldiers bringing up the rear.
"Well, they like a good cave, don't they? How many of these pods are occupied?" The Doctor asked.
"We don't know." Kate said.
"So, which pod is Clara's? I can't possibly remember everything." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Well, that's strange. It was here before." Kate said.
"Doctor, Jared, I think they're Zygons." Osgood said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"Oh, you cheeky little monkeys!" The Doctor yelled.
(Open POV)
Black Archive…
"Normalise." Bonnie said, as her soldiers turn into Zygons.
Bonnie finds the room with a long table and the red Osgood box on the end of it.
"Well, Clara, I think you're reaching the end of your…" Bonnie said, stepping into the room and sees something that shuts her up.
Clara's phone rings.
Tunnel…
Kate is using the Zygon communicator, "The Doctor and Jared are here."
"Don't kill them. We need them alive." Bonnie said.
"What for?" Kate asked.
Black Archive…
"Because I just found out why it's called an Osgood box." Bonnie said, looking at the blue box at the other end of the table.
Tunnel…
"There's two of them." Bonnie said, her voice coming out of the communicator.
"There's two Osgoods. So I told the Doctor about how I remember there being two boxes. That's why this is called Operation Double. What did you expect, Bonnie? Did you really expect it to be easy?" Jared asked, looking down at the floor.
Black Archive…
"What's in them, Doctor, Jared? Tell me. Now!" Bonnie said, angrily.
Tunnel…
"One of the Osgood boxes turns all the Zygons back to being Zygons." Jared said, happily. "It normalizes them."
"And the other?" Bonnie asked, her voice coming out of the Zygon communicator.
"The other Osgood box destroys the Zygons. Each and every one of them. Including you, Bonnie."
Black Archive…
"Which is which?" Bonnie asked.
Tunnel…
"Spoilers." Jared said, smugly.
Black Archive…
Bonnie walks out of the Archive and nods to the Zygon guards, who pull the top of Clara's pod. Clara stands. Then Bonnie walks back into the Archive and puts her phone on the table as Clara is escorted in.
"Which box normalises the Zygons, Doctor, Jared? Tell me, or she dies." Bonnie said.
(Jared's POV)
Tunnel / Black Archive…
"No. This is war. You pull the trigger, you pay the price." The Doctor said.
"Kill her." Bonnie said, looking at Clara's pod.
The Zygons put their hands to Clara's head.
"The blue one! The blue one! The blue one normalises all your people." The Doctor said.
Bonnie reaches out to the blue box, but doesn't touch it, "Are you lying? Are you lying to me, Doctor?"
"No, I'm not. And when you open up the box, you'll see I'm not lying." The Doctor said.
"And I know that the Doctor's not lying. Because I'm going based on what I remember of this before we went to Trenzalore." I said, grabbing Momoko's hand. "My memory is bad these days."
Bonnie hits the top of the box. The lid opens to reveal a nicely carved Gallifreyan design with two red buttons, one labelled Truth, the other Consequences.
"Doctor? Jared?" Bonnie asked, opening the red box. It is the same. "Doctor! Jared!"
"We know." I said, smirking.
"Bring them to me!" Bonnie said, angrily.
Tunnel…
The Zygons advance on the Doctor, Osgood, Momoko, Rena, Kaede, and I.
Kate shoots the Zygons in the back of their heads, "Sorry, Doctor. Self-defence."
"Kate, you're you. You're, you're not a Zygon." Kaede said, at a loss for words.
"I'm me." Kate said.
"So, how did you survive?" Rena asked.
Kate recalls the moment that Norlander transformed. She raised her gun and blam! blam! blam! blam! blam!
"Five rounds rapid." Kate said, and an angry Bonnie threw the mobile phone at the wall. "I'm sorry, Doctor, Jared. I know you don't approve."
"I don't. Chisato uses fake bullets." I said, squeezing Momoko's hand.
"That's why I like her. She tries her best to keep her allies and her enemies alive. Why does peacekeeping always involve killing?" The Doctor asked.
Kate drops the Zygon communicator and grinds it underfoot.
"Is this the lot?" The Doctor asked.
"No, there are plenty more of them. They were the nearest. You are you?" Kate asked, looking at Osgood.
"I'm me." Osgood said.
"But human or Zygon?"
"Me."
"What are we dealing with?"
"Twenty million Zygons about to be unmasked. You don't know whether they are human or not. And you can't fight them, not with soldiers." The Doctor said.
"Which leads me to a very big question." Kate said.
"Oh, I was really hoping that it wouldn't."
"The Zee-67, Sullivan's gas, the gas that kills the Zygons. Jared took it when he was working for Torchwood Three in the 70s or the 80s. He then gave it to you."
"Well, you know how it is. Daddy knows best."
"And your father was close to me also, Kate." I said, looking at Kate.
"That's what's in the red box, yes? Of course it is. If I remember rightly, it causes a chain reaction in the atmosphere. Turns every Zygon on Earth inside out." Kate said.
"Let me negotiate peace. You can't commit mass murder…" The Doctor said.
"Then why did you leave the gas with us?"
"The boxes are safeguards for both species. You agreed to that."
"I never agreed to that."
"Yes, you did, then Jared and I wiped your memory. And you agreed to that, too. But that's why there were two Osgoods to police the ceasefire. One human and one Zygon, to keep the secrets and keep the peace."
"I'm sorry, Doctor, Jared. Truly. But the peace is failing already. Come on."
Black Archive…
"It's no good, Bonnie. You can't win." Clara said, sadly.
"I don't care." Bonnie said, frowning.
"Hi! Hello! Hello!" The Doctor chirped.
The two Zygons seize Clara.
"Oh, hello! Hi. Hi. Stop this. Stop this, please. Let me and Jared take both of these boxes away. We'll forgive, we'll forget. And the ceasefire will stand." The Doctor said.
"No." Bonnie said.
Kate goes to the red box.
"Doctor, Jared, which of these buttons do I press? Doctor, Jared, which one? Truth or consequences?" Kate asked.
Bonnie stands at the blue box, "Truth or consequences?"
"This is the moment we've all been waiting for. Make your mind up time!" The Doctor said, going into American Game Show Host mode. "One of those buttons will destroy the Zygons, release the imbecile's gas. The other one detonates the nuclear warhead under the Black Archive. It'll destroy everyone in London. Bonnie. Bonnie, sweetheart! One of those buttons will unmask every Zygon in the world. The other one cancels their ability to change form. It'll make them human beings forever." He then spoke in his normal voice. "There are safeguards beyond safeguards. Jared and I did this on a very important day for us and this ceasefire will stand."
"Agreed. I did this some time after the city of Atlas fell onto the city of Mantle." I said, looking between Bonnie and Kate. "That was a day Team RWBY and I regret deeply and have guilt over. I wanted to change that when I was with the Doctor."
"This is wrong." Bonnie said.
"Nope. It's not."
"You and the Doctor are responsible for all the violence. All of the suffering."
"Nope. We're not responsible for all of the violence and suffering."
"Yes."
"Nuh uh."
"Yes. You engineered this situation, Doctor, Jared. This is your fault." Bonnie said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"No, it's not. It's your fault." The Doctor said.
"I had to do what I've done."
"So did we." I said, grabbing Momoko's hand. "The Doctor and I did what we had to do back in 2013. It's 2015 now."
"We've been treated like cattle." Bonnie said.
"So what." The Doctor said, scoffing.
"We've been left to fend for ourselves."
"So's everyone."
"It's not fair."
"Oh, it's not fair! Oh, I didn't realise that it was not fair! Well, you know what? My TARDIS doesn't work properly and I don't have my own personal tailor. Jared's ghost powers are based on his emotions and he will take Hydra bases with the Avengers." The Doctor said, looking at Bonnie.
"Oh yeah. That would be fun. Momoko, Rena, Kaede. Do you want to help stop a megalomaniac artificial intelligence villain after this?" I asked, looking between Momoko, Rena, and Kaede.
"Sure." Kaede said, happily.
"Fine." Rena said, crossing her arms.
"Who is it?" Momoko asked, looking at me.
"You'll see." I said, smugly.
"The things don't equate." Bonnie said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"These things have happened, Zygella. They are facts. You just want cruelty to beget cruelty. You're not superior to people who were cruel to you. You're just a whole bunch of new cruel people. A whole bunch of new cruel people being cruel to some other people, who'll end up being cruel to you. The only way anyone can live in peace is if they're prepared to forgive. Why don't you break the cycle?" The Doctor asked.
"Why should we?" Bonnie asked.
"So, what is it that you actually want?" I asked, squeezing Momoko's hand. "Do you actually know?"
A long pause.
"War." Bonnie said.
"Ah. Ah, right. And when this war is over, when you have a homeland free from humans, what do you think it's going to be like? Do you know? Have you thought about it? Have you given it any consideration? Because you're very close to getting what you want. What's it going to be like? Paint me a picture. Are you going to live in houses? Do you want people to go to work? Will there be holidays? Oh! Will there be music? Do you think people will be allowed to play violins? Who's going to make the violins? Well? Oh, you don't actually know, do you? Because, like every other tantrumming child in history, Bonnie, you don't actually know what you want. So, let me ask you a question about this brave new world of yours. When you've killed all the bad guys, and when it's all perfect and just and fair, when you have finally got it exactly the way you want it, what are you going to do with the people like you? The troublemakers. How are you going to protect your glorious revolution from the next one?" The Doctor asked.
"We'll win."
"Oh, will you? Well, maybe, maybe you will win! But nobody wins for long. The wheel just keeps turning. So, come on. Break the cycle."
"Doctor? Why are you still talking? Why isn't Jared doing the talking?" Bonnie asked.
"Because Jared and I want to get you to see, and we're almost there!" The Doctor cheered.
"Do you know what I see, Doctor, Jared? A box. A box with everything I need. A fifty percent chance."
"For us, too." Kate said.
Both women have their hands poised over the buttons.
The Doctor resumes Games Host mode, "And we're off! Fingers on buzzers! Are you feeling lucky? Are you ready to play the game? Who's going to be quickest? Who's going to be luckiest?"
"This is not a game!" Kate said, worried.
"No, it's not a game, sweetheart, and I mean that most sincerely." The Doctor said.
"Hughie Green?" I asked, letting go of Momoko's hand. "Good time for that catchphrase."
"Thank you."
"Why are you and Jared doing this?" Bonnie asked.
"Yes, I'd quite like to know that, too. Doctor, you and Jared set this up. Why?" Kate asked.
"Because it's not a game, Kate. This is a scale model of war. Every war ever fought, right there in front of you. Because it's always the same. When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many hearts will be broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning. Sit down and talk!" The Doctor said, letting out a sigh. "Listen to us. Listen, Jared and I just, we just want you to think. Do you know what thinking is? It's just a fancy word for changing your mind."
"I will not change my mind." Bonnie said.
"Then you will die stupid. Alternatively, you could step away from that box, you can walk right out of that door and you could stand your revolution down." The Doctor said.
"No! I'm not stopping this, Doctor, Jared. I started it. I will not stop it. You think they'll let me go, after what I've done?"
"You're all the same, you screaming kids. You know that? Look at me, I'm unforgivable. Well, here's the unforeseeable. I forgive you. After all you've done, I forgive you. Like how I've forgiven Jared and Team RWBY for the Battle of Atlas." The Doctor said.
"You don't understand. You and Jared will never understand."
"We don't understand? Are you kidding? Us? Of course we understand. I mean, do you call this a war? This funny little thing? This is not a war! I fought in a bigger war than you will ever know. Jared will fight in a bigger war than you will ever know someday. I know, because I looked ahead in his timeline. I did worse things than you could ever imagine. And Jared has done worse things than you could ever imagine. And when I close my eyes, I hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count! Jared will close his eyes someday too, and he will also hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count also! And do you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it? You hold it tight till it burns your hand, and you say this. No one else will ever have to live like this. No one else will have to feel this pain. Not on our watch!" The Doctor yelled.
Kate closes the lid of the red box and steps back.
"Thank you. Thank you." The Doctor said, happily.
"Thanks." I said, smiling. "Doctor, what were you referencing to me?"
"Spoilers. You'll find out someday. And I'm sorry. It isn't Thanos."
"What's worse than Thanos?"
"Spoilers. You'll tell me it was worse than him in a dream someday."
"Oh."
"I'm sorry. To both of you." Kate said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"We know. We know. Thank you." The Doctor said, looking over at Bonnie. "Well?"
Long, long pause.
"It's empty, isn't it? Both boxes. There's nothing in them. Just buttons." Bonnie said, her eyes widening.
"Of course. And do you know how you know that? Because you've started to think like me. Jared started to think like me after the Fall of Beacon and the Year that Never Was." The Doctor said.
"That is true. The Fall of Beacon and the Year that Never Was…it was devastating." I said, when Bonnie drops her hand away from the buttons. "Too traumatic. I have a lot of guilt for putting Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Martha and her family, and Captain Jack Harkness through that."
"It's hell, isn't it? No one should have to think like that. And no one will. Not on our watch." The Doctor said, as his eyes, my eyes, and Bonnie's eyes meet. "Gotcha."
"How can you be so sure?" Bonnie asked.
"Because you have a disadvantage, Zygella. I know that face." The Doctor said, studying Bonnie closely.
"This is all very well, but we know the boxes are empty now. We can't forget that." Kate said.
"No, well, er, you've said that the last fifteen times. And each time, Jared brought his friends to get the outcome we wanted." The Doctor said.
"Yeah. I do a friend group swap every time." I said, using my electromagnetism as the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver on the memory filter in the ceiling. "When some attempts failed."
Bang! Osgood and Kaede lean an unconscious Kate against a rack of stuff.
Bonnie closes the blue box, "You and Jared didn't wipe my memory."
"No. Just Kate's. Oh, and your little friends here, of course." The Doctor said, looking over at the Zygons. "When they wake up, they won't remember what you've done. It'll be our secret."
"You and Jared are going to protect me?" Bonnie asked.
"Well, you're one of us now. Whether you like it, or not." Rena said, scoffing.
"Doctor, I don't understand how you and Jared could just forgive me." Bonnie said, looking between the Doctor and I.
"Because Jared and I have been where you have. Jared wanted to go through it again, he wanted to spare me the pain of what he went through at the Battle of Atlas, by wanting to help me. There was another box. We were going to press another button. We were going to wipe out all of my own kind. Man, woman and child. Jared and I were so sure we were right." The Doctor said.
"What happened?" Clara asked.
"The same thing that happened to you. We let Clara Oswald get inside our heads. Trust us. She doesn't leave." The Doctor said, looking at Clara.
"She really doesn't. Even when I try to go somewhere alone. She'd want to follow me." I said, smiling.
(Open POV)
Zygon Command Centre…
Bonnie goes through the Drakeman Junior School boiler room to the giant Command polyp, and manipulates its fronds.
"Zygon High Command. The ceasefire is back in place. The rebels are standing down. You are all…" Bonnie said, pausing for a moment for suspense. "…safe."
She transforms into a Zygon to move the last frond.
(Jared's POV)
Brockwell Park…
"The TARDIS." Osgood said.
"The TARDIS." The Doctor said.
"The best ship in the universe." I said, leaning against the TARDIS.
"What does it stand for?" Osgood asked.
"What? You're kidding me? Surely you know that? Jared knows that." The Doctor said.
"Well, I've heard a couple of different versions." Osgood said.
"I made it up from the initials. It stands for Totally And Radically Driving In Space." The Doctor said.
"Osgood, do you want to come with us? We have the entirety of the future, all of human history, and the whole universe to explore." I said, happily.
"More than anything. And Jared, we've talked about this while you were in Townsville. But I think I have to stay. I've got a couple of boxes to keep an eye on. And a world to keep safe." Osgood said.
"Okay. I understand. I do. Clara, Momoko, Rena, Kaede, would you mind if you can…"
"Um, mind what?" Kaede asked.
"We'll see you in the TARDIS, okay?" The Doctor asked.
"Okay."
"Right." Rena said.
"Take your time."
"Er, yeah, sure." Clara said, when the penny drops.
Clara goes and hugs Osgood.
"Take care, you." Clara said, smiling.
"Clara, you take care of them. Don't let them die or anything." Osgood said.
"What if they're really annoying?"
"Then fine."
"Got ya." Clara said, going into the TARDIS with Momoko, Rena, and Kaede.
"Come on, girls." Momoko said, looking between Rena and Kaede.
"The Doctor and Jared need to talk to Osgood." Kaede said, sadly.
"Fine. We can watch idol videos." Rena said, shutting the TARDIS doors.
"We need to know. Which one are you?" The Doctor asked, looking at Osgood.
"She's Osgood, Doctor Disco." I said, still leaning against the TARDIS, and I took my phone out of my sling bag and loaded up the camera app.
"Human or Zygon?"
"Jared and I will answer that question one day. Because Jared knows when that'll be Do you know when day that will be?" Osgood asked.
"The day nobody cares about the answer." Osgood said, nearby.
I took a photo of the Doctor's facial expression when I saw what was in front of me and sent the text to the Osgood group chat. A second Osgood in 7th Doctor duffel coat, paisley scarf etc steps out from behind Osgood, where we know there was no one before. Her spectacles haven't got a mend on the bridge.
"Gotcha!" Osgood 2 chirped.
"Oh, look at his face." Osgood said, happily.
"It's almost not fair." Osgood 2 said.
"It really isn't." I said, placing my phone back inside my sling bag. "And sent."
"Thank you." Osgood said.
"We really appreciate the photo. Now it's immortalized forever." Osgood 2 said.
"But I don't, I don't. How, how?" The Doctor asked, stuttering.
"Ugh. Just think it through, Doctor. You know what they're doing." I said, clutching the strap of my sling bag.
"Well, it wouldn't be right, would it?" Osgood 2 asked.
"To carry on using Clara's face…" Osgood said.
"When there's a vacancy."
"Zygella?" The Doctor asked.
"She's Osgood, Doctor Disco." I said, laughing a lot. "Nothing more, nothing less."
"But which one of you…" The Doctor said, looking between the two Osgood.
"Osgood!" The two Osgood said, at the same time.
"It doesn't matter which of us is which." Osgood said.
"All that matters is that Osgood lives." Osgood 2 said.
"And nothing's going to stop us!"
"You're a credit to your species, Petronella Osgood." The Doctor said.
"No, Basil." Osgood said.
"We're a credit to both of them." Osgood 2 said.
"Oh, and you should know. We're very big fans." The Doctor said, going into the TARDIS with me.
"We are. You should go for something sweet. You were in New Mexico after all." I said, shutting the TARDIS doors.
TARDIS…
"Momoko, Rena, and Kaede are in the theater room watching idol concert replays. So, the both of you must have thought I was dead for a while?" Clara asked.
"Yeah." The Doctor said.
"We did. I thought I changed things to the point you were dead." I said, leaning against the TARDIS console.
"I'm sorry to have that happen to you and the Doctor. How was that?" Clara asked, looking between the Doctor and I.
"Longest month of my life." The Doctor said, looking away from Clara over to me. "Jared, your influence on history wasn't that strong."
"Gray's Sports Almanac." I said, rolling my eyes. "Just saying."
"But you, Doc Brown, and Marty McFly restored history afterwards. Me being gone. It could only have been five minutes." Clara said, happily.
"I'll be the judge of time." The Doctor said, pulling the lever and the TARDIS dematerialises.
(Open POV)
Brockwell Park…
"Jared said to get something sweet. Ice creams?" Osgood asked.
"Yes, ice creams. Then back to work." Osgood 2 said.
"What's today?"
"Oh, you know, same old, same old. Doing what we usually do when Jared is on holiday with his family. Defending the Earth."
The Osgoods look at each other and use their inhalers, then walk away side by side.