Dead Man Walking

Autopsy room…

"The time is twenty one thirty. This is Doctor Martha Jones. Autopsy on Owen Harper, Caucasian, age twenty seven. Torchwood Officer five six five. Time of death witnessed at approximately twenty thirty. Autopsy begins." Martha said.

Jack barges in, "Stop! Nobody touches him till we get back, is that clear?"

Bar…

Jack and Jared goes to a basement bar, and gets stopped by the bouncer.

"It's all right. I've been looking forward to seeing the Captain and one of the saviors of the universe again." A girl said, holding up unusual tarot cards, one of them showing Jack as a knight in full armour and the other showing Jared wearing a joker outfit.

"Thank you for stopping me of using the Skasis Paradigm." Jared said, taking out a canister filled with pineapple concentrate. "It would have been a last resort. If you weren't there the day afterwards. After the Year that Never Was."

"It's okay." The girl said, looking over at Jared. "Only you can see me in this form."

The girl looks like it has taken the form of Nozomi Tojo.

"But Nozomi?" Jared asked. "Why did you choose her?"

"Because she uses tarot cards too. In that anime you like. Called Love Live."

"True. μ's has been a massive influence back then."

"They still are." The girl said. "Maybe you're a bit uncomfortable talking with a girl you don't know yet."

Jared watched the girl take the form of Madoka Kaname.

"Is this better?" The girl asked.

"Yeah." Jared said, as he approached the table with the girl and Jack.

A little later, the girl is doing a reading for Jack and Jared.

"Can you see where it is?" Jack asked.

"You'll owe me a favour." The girl said.

"Well?" Jack asked, while the girl turns over a card. "They hid it in a church?"

"No. When the people found out what it could do, they built the church on top of it. If I told the both of you not to use it, would you listen?"

"Shouldn't you know the answer to that?" Jack asked, leaving the bar with Jared.

The girl holds up a card showing the grim reaper, "I do. That's the problem."

St Mary's Church…

"Mami." Jared said, noticing the magical girl behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was busy finding out ways to bring Owen back to life." Mami said, figuring out that St Mary's Church is disused now. "Because Tosh looked troubled."

"Tosh is in love with Owen." Jared said, getting into the church easily with Jack and Mami.

"Be careful you two." Jack said, as the building turns out to be a Weevil flophouse.

The Weevils also collect things like dolls, empty tin cans and old bicycles. The three tiptoes through, and they make a slight search.

"I found it." Jared said, finding a locked box.

"Let me get it." Mami said.

Mami used her Soul Gem to turn into her magical girl form, and she used one of her ribbons to pick up the box carefully, "I believe we should get going."

"Yeah." Jared said, walking away with Mami and Jack.

The blonde magical girl accidentally lets one of her ribbons hit an organ key, and the note wakes the Weevils.

Hub…

Jack returns and runs through with the box, and Jared and Mami are behind him. The three are a bit bloodied and scuffed.

"Jack?" Gwen asked.

(Jared's POV)

Jack's office…

"Jack, what have you got?" Gwen asked, as the box contains a metal gauntlet.

"This is basically their version of the Soul Stone." I said, leaning against the wall.

"What's the Soul Stone?" Hibiki asked.

"I'm using the glove. I'm bringing Owen back." Jack said.

Autopsy room…

"The Soul Stone is one of the Infinity Stones. It's a part of the Infinity Gauntlet. There were three stones in 2012 New York. Or there will be, it consists of time, space, and mind." I said, sipping a cup of Mami's tea. "The Reality Stone was on Asgard, the Power Stone was on Morag, and the Soul Stone is on Vormir."

"How do you know where those six stones are?" Mami asked. "And what are they?"

"I thought the glove didn't work for you. Different glove, different circumstances. This time, it has to work for me. I'm not going to give it any choice. Okay, if you've got anything you need to say to Owen, now's your chance." Gwen said.

Jack dons the gauntlet and puts his hand on Owen's head, "Owen, it's Jack, can you hear me? Owen, hear my voice. Get a hold of it, let it draw you out, pull you out."

"I'm not getting any vital signs." Ianto said.

"Owen, it's me, Jack. He's coming, he's coming." Jack said.

"What?" Hibiki asked, while Owen screams.

"Oh, my God!" Martha said, shocked.

"What happened? Where am I? Oh God, I'm shot. He shot me!" Owen said, angrily.

"Owen, you need to listen to me. We don't have long." Jack said.

"Where am I? This isn't hospital, this is the autopsy room. What am I doing here? Jack. oh, no. What's that? What's that?"

"The resurrection glove. We lost you, but I brought you back."

"How long have I got?"

"We're at thirty seconds and counting." Ianto said, looking at the timer.

"Oh, no. Jesus. Really?" Owen asked.

"Okay, team, say your goodbyes. Gwen." Jack said.

"Gwen, no offence, but I've only got two minutes to live. Tosh!" Owen said, angrily.

"I'm gonna miss you." Tosh said, whispering in Owen's ear. "And I love you. I always have."

"How could Owen die like that?" Hibiki asked. "Can't we just bring him back to life fully?"

"I don't know." I said, squeezing Hibiki's hand. "I don't know to be honest. Time is always in flux."

"But why can't we save him? You have foreknowledge, right?"

"I do. But, today isn't my day."

"Want to talk about it?" Mami asked.

"No. I don't want to."

"If you don't want to talk about it. You can talk about something else."

"Like what?"

"Be brave. Owen! Owen!" Jack said.

Owen dies. Again. Jack continues to hold his hand.

"I'm really gonna need that hand back." Owen said.

"Owen?" Hibiki asked.

"Two minutes twenty." Ianto said.

"Look, I'm not using the glove." Jack said.

"But I'm still here." Owen said.

"Oh, here we go again." Ianto said.

Jack throws the gauntlet on the floor, and Owen sits up.

"Maybe I cheated it somehow. Maybe I wasn't meant to die so I'm being kept alive. Ah, somebody pass me my pants, please. Whoa!" Owen said, seeing the wound in his chest.

"It's okay. I hate to say it, but you'll get used to it." Jack said.

"That little girl." I said, as the fingers of the gauntlet move slightly. ��She told me that I am immortal. I couldn't believe it at once. But now I know."

Hub…

"When did you realize you were immortal?" Mami asked.

"It was when I was up against some Grimm with Team RNJR. I died that day." I said, eating some chocolate chip cookies. "I left my weapons with Hibiki and Miku before then. Or before that."

"So, that's when you came back to life." Mami said.

"Yeah. Two Beowolves killed me. I knew Rose brought me back. When she was Bad Wolf."

"What's Bad Wolf?" Hibiki asked.

"It's basically Rose when she looked into the heart of the TARDIS." I said, sadly. "Or the time vortex."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was a crazy day."

"A crazy day, huh."

"Too crazy."

"Suzie survived because she was draining energy from me. Owen could be doing the same to Jack." Gwen said.

"I feel fine." Jack said.

Jack's office...

Tosh scans Jack with a blue light bulb, "The Philemon filter detects biochemical energy. It's how we knew Suzie was draining Gwen."

"And what did you find?" Hibiki asked. "Anything interesting?"

"Nothing. There's no connection between them. It's not Jack." Tosh said.

"I told you, I feel fine." Jack said.

"So what's keeping me ticking? I mean, the energy in my brain must be coming from somewhere." Owen said.

"This glove is different to the other one. Maybe different gloves do different things?" Ianto asked.

"How many gloves are there?" Mami asked.

"Well, there are usually two gloves. One for each hand." I said, rolling my eyes. "Like there are two Infinity Gauntlets."

"He's right. We fished the first one out of the harbour last year." Ianto said.

"But where does it come from originally?" Martha asked.

"Good question. No idea. Tosh, do an analysis of the glove, see you if you can find out. Owen, I don't need to tell you that you're under quarantine." Jack said.

"You don't, and yet you still do." Owen said.

Hub…

"So, you're practically indestructible." Mami said.

"I am." I said, walking around the large room. "I don't like it though."

"But you still have to deal with hope and despair. Without becoming a Witch. Since you're not a magical girl."

"Yup."

"What are you gonna do now?" Hibiki asked.

"I'm gonna save the day." I said, laughing a lot. "Come on girls, let's help out Owen too."

"What's the big bad today?"

"Spoilers."

"So, we don't get any help then." Mami said.

"Not today, no. All I can say is Death."

"What kind of death?" Hibiki asked. "Is it a good death?"

"The bad kind."

"Let's face it together." I said, smiling.

Jack's office…

"Owen, I feel so bad for him." Hibiki said, as I place my hand on top of hers.

"Me too. He's gonna go through so much." I said, letting out a sigh.

"When will he die?" Mami asked.

"It won't come for a while. But I'm gonna be gone then."

"Where will you be going?" Hibiki asked. "Don't you want to stop it?"

"I do. But I can't."

"How come?" Mami asked.

"Owen's death and Tosh's death are established fixed points in time. I could if I would. But I can't, so…"

"It doesn't hurt to try." Hibiki said, happily.

"True. There are things you can only share with someone by fighting. For instance, how serious you are."

"Where did you get that from?"

Autopsy room…

"Jack, help! I need help now!" Martha said, terrified.

"I don't want to die." Owen said.

"What's happening?" Hibiki asked, entering the autopsy room with Mami, Jack, and I.

"He just collapsed. Owen. Owen, can you hear me? Calm down." Martha said.

"What happened? What happened?" Jack asked.

"I was in the darkness. There was something, something there…" Owen said.

"What?" Mami asked.

"What did you see?" Martha asked.

"I don't know. It was waiting for me." Owen said, crying.

"Come on. It's all right." Jack said, comforting Owen.

Conference room...

"Owen's body's undergoing some kind of transformation. His cells aren't decaying, they're changing." Martha said.

"What are they changing into?" Hibiki asked.

"An energy I can't identify. But it's growing, all the time. He's about forty percent something else."

"I don't feel any different." Owen said.

"We need to find out where this energy's coming from." Jack said.

"It's not from around here." Yui said, sitting in my jacket pocket. "That's for sure. It has the same DNA as the glove. Or close to it."

"Owen said he went somewhere when he collapsed. Could the energy and the glove come from the same dark place?" Gwen asked.

"Maybe it's from another dimension?" Hibiki asked. "Or a parallel universe? Maybe it's one where Jared's from."

"It's definitely not my world." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Because I know my world. And maybe the immortality is only when I'm here."

"Yes, guys, I'm still here." Owen said.

"Sorry. Okay, you said there was something in the darkness waiting for you." Jack said.

"I felt it. I didn't see it."

"Where do you think you went?"

"I don't know."

Hub…

"So what now?" Martha asked.

"Ianto, check our internal system readings for any dimensional anomalies in the last twelve hours." Jack said.

"Torchwood is basically like me, Madoka, and the others." Mami said, walking towards me. "Even if they don't want to cause chaos. They're indirectly involved with it."

"Yup. And Hibiki, Sarah Jane's gang is like you and the rest of your gang. Trying to protect the world." I said, playing on my Nintendo Switch. "The Holy Quintet and the Symphogear users, defending the Earth alongside Torchwood and Sarah Jane Smith."

"That sounds like a lot of fun." Hibiki said, happily. "What game are you playing?"

"Oh, some Sword Art Online:Hollow Realization. I unlocked dual wielding a while back. For this game's version of Kirito."

"Kirito. We should check up on him." Mami said, sipping her cup of tea.

"Now, you want to check up on him now?"

"And what about that quote? It's inspirational."

"It's Yuuki's. I want to meet her and Sachi someday. I do." I said, placing my Nintendo Switch on my lap.

"Melkurian." A voice said, nearby.

(Open POV)

Void...

"Abatha duroc minus mill kabal." A voice said.

Hub...

Owen's eyes are completely black, "Melkurian abatha duroc minus mill kabal."

Then he is back to normal. Down in the autopsy room, Martha sees that the Philemon detector is registering something.

"Crap, I forgot about Owen!" Jared said, looking between Mami and Hibiki.

"Why?" Mami asked. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"Yes!"

"Owen? Owen?" Hibiki asked, dragging Jared and Mami towards the rest of Torchwood.

"He said he needed the loo." Tosh said.

"Owen's digestive system's shut down. He can't eat or drink, so he certainly doesn't need to pee." Martha said.

"He's not answering." Jack said, while Ianto helps him on with his coat.

"Well, he's not in the Hub." Jared said, smirking.

"Does this mean he's out there?" Hibiki asked.

"It's Owen. It's not like he's dangerous." Jack said, scoffing.

"Are you sure?" Mami asked.

"Meaning?"

"You had the power to bring people back to life and you never told UNIT or Team Symphogear. Why?" Martha asked.

��They would've wanted to use it." Jack said. "Especially Maria and Tsubasa, both of them would want Serena and Kanade back."

"We're on your side, Jack, but Owen's just had a surge of energy that we can't begin to understand. The cells in his body are being transformed into something else. He's about fifty percent human, and that fifty percent is dead. We need to stop thinking about him as Owen." Martha said.

"I'll find him."

Disco…

To a background of Awfully Deep by Roots Manuva, Owen does nighttime Cardiff.

"I don't do mind games, I'm frame by frame I'm eighteen bits, I'm forty eight hertz…" A rapper said.

A hen night woman dressed as an angel comes over to Owen, who has just downed a pint of bee, "Smile, it won't kill you. You're gorgeous, you are."

She grabs Owen and kisses him, then puts her hand down the front of his trousers. No automatic response.

"Don't you like me?" The woman asked.

"Oh, get off me. No blood. Brilliant." Owen said, walking away.

"Thank you, Mami." Jared said, bumping into Owen with Jack by his side. "I appreciate it."

"How did you find me?" Owen asked, as there is a monitor on his wrist. "Get off me, Jack. Do you know what you've done? You don't care about me. You brought me back for an alarm code! And Jared, you didn't even try to stop Jack! You're supposed to be caring! Not siding with him!"

"That is not why I brought you back." Jack said.

"Have you any idea what it means to know that your life is over? That that was it! That is Owen Harper's contribution to the world! You idiots!" Owen said, lunging for Jack and Jared.

"Owen! Calm down." Jared said, grabbing Owen with Jack's help, and the two restrain him. "Please."

"Watch it." Jack said.

"Get off me, Jack, Jared. Get off me." Owen said.

The bouncers take over.

"Be careful with him!" Jack said.

Outside the Disco…

The police have arrived.

"Get off me, you meat head. Get off!" Owen said, angrily.

"That's enough." A policeman said.

"Let go of me!"

"Let's calm down, shall we?"

"Look, mate. I'm Torchwood."

"Yeah, of course you are, and I'm MI5."

Owen gets slammed against the wall, "I'm Owen Harper. I work for Torchwood on special ops."

"Special ops? What's he on about? Special needs more like it!" Jack said, in a cockney accent.

"Does little Owen need some help? Does he want to come back to life?" Jared asked, walking away. "Does he want to feel like a human again?"

"Good one." Jack said, laughing with Jared.

"Come on. Come on, that's enough!" The policeman said.

Weevils watch Owen and Jack being driven away in separate cars. And Jared rides in a car with Jack.

Kirito and Asuna's house…

"Hey Asuna." Jared said, drinking a cup of tea. "Had a rough day."

"Owen's giving you trouble?" Asuna asked, sitting on the couch.

"Yeah. I'm kinda locked up in prison."

"Prison?" Kirito asked. "Did Owen get into another bar fight? Like an idiot."

"Yup. Even though it has been a couple of hours."

"More like two."

"Two hours. But you don't know how it feels like to come back to life."

"I do. I came back to life a few times. Against some Noise and Grimm as a test."

"That really sounds like hell." Asuna said, frowning.

"It is." Jared said, logging off. "Thanks."

Police cells…

Jared opened his eyes and noticed how much time has passed in the real world.

"Oh, you take these things for granted. It's only when they're slipping away that you realise how amazing they are. This could be the last time I see these flecks or you know, feel these bricks underneath my hands." Owen said.

"Only in suffering do we recognize beauty." Jack said.

"So, what will you do now?" Yui asked, flying in front of Jared.

"Maybe relax." Jared said, looking at the AI through his super suit's helmet. "I don't know to be honest."

"You have forever with me!" Yui said, happily.

"I know. Wish it was Kirito and Asuna though."

"Mommy and daddy living forever."

"When you've lived as long as I have, you don't make any more up. And Jared, you will be living as long as me now." Jack said, as I retracted the helmet of my suit.

"You and Jared have forever, I could have seconds. Hardly seems fair." Owen said.

"It isn't fair." Jared said, sadly. "Forever is overrated after all. Hell, I've been immortal for almost a week now. While Jack has been immortal for over a century."

"Not from where I'm sitting."

"If you've got forever, you don't notice the flecks on the concrete or bother to touch the bricks. And you send your friends into danger, knowing the stakes aren't the same for you, that you might get them killed while you walk away unscathed." Jack said.

"Then why did the both of you bring me back? Guilt?" Owen asked.

"No, that's not why."

"Then why did you? Really."

"Because I wasn't ready to give up on you. I guess I was hoping for a miracle. And I still am."

"Me, I wanted to bring you back because I didn't meet you yet." Jared said, laughing a little. "Hell, I barely know Torchwood. Despite watching you guys on Amazon a lot back then. Come on. Let's go home."

Jack knocks on the cell door, "Torchwood. Authorization, Harkness, Jack. Four seven four three one seven."

Hub…

"Jack and Jared called in. They found Owen. They're okay. They're coming back." Gwen said.

"Is he himself?" Tosh asked.

"What do you mean, himself?" Hibiki asked. "Isn't Owen himself already?"

"I wanted to know why Owen left. Well, actually, more if he talked to anyone about what I said, so I checked the CCTV."

"Um, that's stalking."

"I know. Only now I wish I hadn't. Look." Tosh said.

"Melkurian abatha duroc minus mill kabal." Owen said, on the monitor.

"Oh, my God." Gwen and Mami said, at the same time.

"What is that?" Martha and Hibiki asked, at the same time.

Back street…

"Shit." Jared said, as there are Weevils are waiting by the Range Rover.

"There's too many of them. They're after me and Jared, we stole the glove from them. Go. Go!" Jack said, looking at Owen.

"Okay, Yui, give me Crescent Rose." Jared said, as the nanotechnology armor wrapped around his body.

A hard replica of Crescent Rose appeared on his hand, when the three get trapped by some dumpsters.

"Whoa! They must be really pissed off with the both of you." Owen said, looking between Jack and Jared.

Multi-storey car park…

"Owen! Stay here." Jack said, when the place is weevil-free.

"Of course they would follow us." Jared said, while his copy of Crescent Rose is in scythe mode. "One Weevil isn't so bad."

The immortal fanboy is staring at the one Weevil.

"You were saying." Owen said, when five Weevils appeared. "One Weevil you said."

"Owen!" Jack said, as the three run up to the roof.

"Owen, Jack, get behind me." Jared said, as he is beginning to hack and slash some of the Weevils.

"Yeah, right. Come on." Owen said, while the Weevils stop yards away, then get to their knees and cower.

"Owen, what the hell is going on?" Jack asked.

"Melkurian abatha duroc minus mill kabal."

Jack's office…

Ianto opens the safe and gets the universal translator.

"I need to know what Owen was saying." Tosh said.

"We all do." Martha said.

"This has never let us down before."

Hub…

"We should be able to play the translation through the computer's speakers." Tosh said, while the computer displays symbols instead. "It's never done that before."

"I shall walk the Earth and my hunger will know no bounds." The computer said.

"Um, what?" Hibiki asked.

"That doesn't sound good." Mami said, crossing her arms.

Holding cells…

"Why is she scared?" Hibiki asked, watching Janet cower.

"So I'm King of the Weevils, maybe even Weevil Messiah. But whichever way you look at it, it ain't good." Owen said.

"Nope, it isn't." Jared said, eating some bread with red bean paste. "It's happened before."

"Where'd you get this?" Jack asked, looking at what Gwen is holding.

"I found it in an article about Black Death, and what you're looking at there are the first images of the Grim Reaper. Not the Grimm Reaper, the silver-eyed huntress from Remnant." Gwen said.

"I shall walk the Earth and my hunger will know no bounds." Hibiki said, looking at the article.

"Wasn't it Death himself who said that?" Mami asked.

"But Death isn't real. Is it?"

"Yeah, I'm dead. I'm not Death. There is a difference." Owen said.

"But I don't think he knows that." Jared said, sadly. "Which is bad."

(Jared's POV)

Conference room…

"Right, that wood carving dates back to the fifteenth century, to a small parish called Saint James. When they heard about the plague, they built a wall around the town. Unfortunately, that didn't prevent a little girl from dying. So the legend goes, the priest performs a miracle, brings her back to life, but she doesn't come back alone. She brought Death with her, and he walked amongst them." Gwen said.

"Wait, didn't she google that?" Mami asked.

"So, what was the name of the priest's church?" Hibiki asked.

"Yep, Saint Mary's." Gwen said.

"That's where Mami, Jared, and I found the glove, which makes the parish of Saint James…" Jack said.

"The town that five hundred years later would turn into a city called Cardiff."

"What happened to the town when Death walked amongst them?" Owen asked.

"Well, twelve people died." I said, taking out some red velvet cake to eat it. "Death needed thirteen souls, just thirteen. Before it could control the Earth permanently. Something Kyubey couldn't stop, apparently."

"Why did they stop at twelve?" Hibiki asked.

"Faith is what they needed. Nothing more than that."

"Owen is changing. Who knows what that energy is? What if it's making him a host, a gateway?" Martha asked.

"I've been thinking there's something in the darkness, waiting for me to finally pass over, but I've got it wrong, okay? It's the other way around. It's trying to get here through me." Owen said, as his wrist monitor beeps. "What's this reading now?"

"Er, eighty percent."

"What happens when it completes? You know, we fight monsters. What happens when we turn out to be the monsters, when I do?"

"Even so! We don't want to fight you. I don't want to, none of us do. But, you're already dead." Hibiki said, frowning.

"What do we do with the dead? Come on, what do we do? You embalm them. If we inject a formaldehyde solution into my veins, it'll petrify my neural pathways and freeze dry my brain. It's the only way to be sure." Owen said.

Martha and Jack prepare the solution in the autopsy room. I am just watching some Konosuba with Hibiki and Mami.

"Are these three idiots?" Mami asked. "Especially Aqua."

"Um, how is she a goddess?" Hibiki asked.

"I don't know." I said, laughing a lot. "But she and Megumin don't even match up to you guys."

"They don't." Mami said, sipping her cup of tea.

"Why are we watching a comedy isekai?" Hibiki asked.

"Because it's better than watching Owen complain about his life."

Autopsy room…

Gwen escorts Owen through the Hub.

"Owen's at ninety five percent." Martha said.

"Then let's not waste any more time. No goodbyes." Owen said.

Martha and Jack strap Owen down on the autopsy table.

"Are you ready for the first injection?" Jack asked.

Owen nods, but when Martha turns to get it, the gauntlet is sitting over them, and moves slightly.

"Someone really doesn't like needles." Jack said, while the gauntlet leaps at Martha. "Lockdown!"

Jack tries to pull the gauntlet away from Martha, "Martha, just…���

It gets thrown across the room and lands on its back. After a brief wriggle, it rights itself again and goes after Martha. She scrambles up to where Gwen, Tosh, Mami, and Hibiki are standing. Ianto has brought a hockey stick.

"Owen, Owen, don't move. Everyone spread out. Shush." Jack said.

"Where did it go?" Hibiki asked.

"I think it went under the cabinet." Martha said.

"Come on, we should go to the mall later."

"Maybe later." I said, smiling.

"Or we can go to the arcade."

"You know, I've always wanted to hang out with you and Miku at some point."

Martha leans over the railing, and the gauntlet leaps onto her face. As we try to pull it off, I saw that her hand has become very wrinkled. Jack gets it off her, Owen unstraps himself and stands on it.

"Punch it!" I said, looking at the Gungnir user.

"If you destroy it, the connection could be lost." Tosh said.

"Now! Destroy it, Hibiki!��

Hibiki used her Relic to transform into her battle armor. Owen releases the gauntlet and Hibiki punched it hard. The gauntlet explodes.

"Oh, my God. Martha?" Gwen asked, as Martha is a grey-haired old woman. "Martha? What's happened to her?"

"It's the glove. It did this to her." Mami said, sadly.

"Owen, help me with her. Owen!" Jack said.

Owen is at one hundred percent conversion, "I will walk the Earth and my hunger will know no bounds."

"I don't like it." I said, and smoke comes out of Owen's eyes and mouth and solidifies into something creepy. "Of what is to come, you guys."

Hospital...

We are wheeling Martha in on a gurney.

"Police officer! I need a medic now!" Gwen said, angrily.

"Where did it go? Owen!" Jack said, as Owen is limping.

"So, what happened to that thing?" Mami asked.

"It's gone." Gwen said.

"So it's out there?" Jack asked, while we go into a side room.

"Martha." Hibiki said, grabbing my hand. "How could this happen?"

"I forgot that it would." I said, eating some chocolate chip cookies. "But yeah, things will be fixed."

"How?"

"I don't know. But I'm sure something would work."

"Something? Like what? Tell me."

"If I tell you now…"

"It might not happen." Mami said.

"Yeah. It won't."

"Last time, back when Cardiff was a town, it killed twelve people." Gwen said.

"So?" Jack asked.

"Why didn't it get to thirteen? And where does this faith bit come into it?"

"Ianto, Mami, we need answers." Jack said, looking at Mami and Ianto.

"We're on it." Ianto said, running off with Mami. "Let's go, Miss Tomoe."

"Owen, I want you and Hibiki back at the Hub. You're not safe, and let Hibiki protect you." Jack said.

"Jack, I'm free of it, I promise you. And I'm useful, I'm useful here. When it came though me, I felt it. I know what it is, I know what it wants. It's Duroc." Owen said.

"And what is Duroc?" Hibiki asked, letting go of my hand.

"Hunger."

"So, where is it?" Hibiki asked.

"It looks like we're staying here." I said, nodding my head. "Go. I need you to make sure that Weevils don't come in here."

"Right." Hibiki said, taking out her pendant. "Balwisyall nescell gungnir tron."

I watched Hibiki run out of the hospital, now wearing her Symphogear armor, and she began fighting the Weevils that have gathered outside.

"Why would it follow us here?" Gwen asked.

"It didn't have to." I said, laughing a little. "Since a lot of people are close to dying. It makes a lot of sense for someone like Death to go to a hospital."

Up in a ladies ward, the monitors all flat line. The woman in the end bed tries to summon help, then the smoke forms into a skeleton.

Jack makes a call, "This is Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood. You need to evacuate Saint Helen's Hospital Cardiff immediately."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Torchwood. If you can move as quickly and as safely as possible to your nearest exit. Thank you." Gwen said.

(Open POV)

Children's ward…

"Can I have a hand in here, please? All right, wake up! Dressing gowns on! It's not a drill. Can you listen to me carefully, please?" A nurse asked.

But one boy, who is receiving chemotherapy for cancer, is hiding in the toilets playing a computer game whilst listening to music on headphones.

Staircase / A&E...

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a drill. Please make your way to the assembly point in car park one. A girl out there is keeping the Weevils away as long as she can." Jack said.

"Coffee and tea, get on hacking into the hospital comms." Jared said, walking behind Gwen and Jack.

"We've got it covered." Mami said.

"They've got multiple code fours in intensive care." Ianto said.

"Which floor is that?" Jack asked.

"It's the sixth floor." Mami said, sipping a cup of tea out of a thermos.

Staircase…

"What's a Code Four?" Jack asked.

"It's heart attacks." Jared said, kicking the wall out of annoyance. "Crap. I watched way too much British shows back then to know that."

"We need to do a body count. Let me know if we get to twelve." Jack said.

Outside the hospital/Staircase...

"How's it going out there?" Jared asked.

"There's too many of them." Hibiki said, punching another Weevil. "Get away from them!"

"I'm gonna treat you and Miku to a nice day at a carnival. My treat."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Now make sure everyone outside the hospital makes it to their cars safely. Call the others if you need a helping hand."

Intensive care unit…

The ladies are now little more than skeletons.

"Owen, Tosh, we're on the sixth floor. There's fatalities. Seven of them." Jack said.

"I'm hearing of a fatality during a routine operation." Gwen said.

"Make that eight." Jared said, sadly. "Which means there's five to go. Until Death reaches his goal. Oops."

"What?"

"There's five of us. Well, five of Torchwood." Jack said.

"And I kinda just asked Hibiki to call the rest of the Symphogear users." Jared said, playing with his hands a bit. "Six people can use it. And once you get the pendants away from them, they're no different from any other human."

"And there are two who can't use the pendants, Jared and Mami, which makes thirteen." Jack said.

Corridor / ICU…

"Jack, if it was last seen on the sixth, did it go up or down from there?" Owen asked.

"Most of the top floors are evacuated, so if it's still hungry, I'd guess it's going to…" Jack said.

"To go downstairs." Jared said, looking at Jack and Gwen. "Shirabe, Maria, and Kirika are down at the lower levels."

"We're on the eighth. We'll make our way down." Owen said.

"Jack, we still have no idea what to do if we find it." Tosh said.

"Ianto?" Jack asked. "Mami?"

A&E…

"Well, we found it." Mami said, looking down at her iPad. "The phrase we've been looking for. Ianto?"

"I shall walk the Earth and my hunger will know no bounds, but I keep getting redirected to Weight Watchers." Ianto said, looking at a computer screen.

"It was a medical journal. History Of Medicine." Gwen said, over the Bluetooth.

Intensive care unit…

"Try under Tavistock or Wellcome." Gwen said.

Seventh floor…

"We're on the seventh floor." Tosh said.

"It's here, I can feel it." Owen said.

"Owen, you're scaring me."

"I'm not exactly reassuring myself. Come on."

Children's ward...

Jamie returns to the empty ward and finds the desiccated remains of the nurse. He runs, but the door is shut.

"Melkurian abatha duroc minus mill kabal." A voice said.

The grim reaper solidifies and approaches.

Owen bursts through a side door, "Take my hand. Come on!"

They run out.

Corridor…

"This is bad." Jared said, pacing back and forth. "Twelve people are dead."

"So?" Jack asked.

"The legend says, when Death took thirteen souls its power would be unstoppable. It would roam the earth forever, Jack, Jared. It only needs to kill once more." Gwen said.

"If it's twelve, we're running out of time."

Outside the hospital…

"This isn't like fighting Noise." Yukine said, looking back at her friends. "Weevils. Why bring us out here anyway?"

"Jared needed backup." Kirika said, slicing and dicing some Weevils. "We're also evacuating people out of this place."

"But will this work?" Shirabe asked.

"Of course it will." Hibiki said, happily. "I know it will."

"What's the plan?" Tsubasa asked.

"Jared, um, he never fully explained it to me."

"So, we have to kill the Weevils." Maria said. "And protect the people in the surrounding area."

"That's easy enough." Kirika said.

"What did Jared promise us?" Yukine asked.

"A day at the beach. Or at the arcade." Hibiki said, laughing a little.

"Really?" Kirika asked. "I hope it's true."

The six then began to continue taking out the Weevils and evacuating people out of the hospital and guiding people away from danger.

A&E / Staircase…

"Ianto, Mami, what do we have?" Jared asked.

"Back in 1479, the priest discovered that Death needed thirteen souls to walk the earth for eternity." Ianto said.

"The priest did stop Death at twelve kills." Jared said, sipping on some bubble tea.

"It was Faith." Mami said.

"I know!" Jack said, angrily.

"No, the little girl that died and was brought back to life. Her name was Faith. She stopped it." Ianto said.

"Well, how?"

"It doesn't say."

Reception…

"Faith didn't have anything to lose. She was already dead. Jamie. Jamie, you're scared, of course you are. The last lot of chemo didn't work and you can't bear the thought of going through all that pain again, and I understand that, mate, I really do. But let me tell you that not everyone dies of this disease and the ones with the best chance of making it are the ones who believe that they can beat Death. And sometimes, just sometimes, you can. So watch and learn, Jamie Burton." Owen said.

"Watch what?" Jamie asked.

"Watch me beat Death."

Tosh gets the door open, "Come on!"

Outside the hospital...

"Is he the last one?" Hibiki asked, next to her fellow Symphogear users.

"It does look like it." Tsubasa said. "We'll keep him safe."

"Let's go inside." Kirika said, pulling Shirabe's hand.

"Yeah." Yukine said. "Even if things went a bit smoothly."

Reception….

"Tosh." Owen said, kissing Tosh and steals her gizmo. The door closes between them. "You're so gonna hate me for this."

"Owen! Owen, no! Open the door! What the hell are you doing? Owen. Owen." Tosh said, as Death comes down the stairs.

"How long? How long can you last here with only twelve victims? There's nothing here for you! Owen Harper's soul has left the building. There's nobody here but us dead men."

The smoky skeleton is within reach of Owen.

"No! Owen!" Tosh said.

"Owen!" Jamie said.

"Owen!" The Symphogear users said, at the same time.

A bony hand reaches for Owen, and he grabs it. It tries to pull away and fails.

"What else have you got? What else can you do to the dead?" Owen asked.

"Come on…" Hibiki said, watching Owen and Death struggle. "Owen…"

"Help! Jack! Jack! Jack!" Tosh said, terrified.

Jack, Gwen, and Jared watch from an upper level, as the Symphogear users watch from outside the hospital.

"Owen! Owen!" Jack said.

"Owen!" Jared said.

"Owen!" Gwen said.

"Is that all you've got? Finish!" Owen said.

"Owen!" Tosh said.

"No, no, no." Jack said, as Death vanishes.

"Is he okay?" Shirabe asked, and the doors open again.

"Jack?" Ianto asked, over the Bluetooth earpiece.

A&E…

"Jack? Gwen? Anyone?" Ianto asked, while a hand grabs his shoulder, making him leap out of his skin.

"Martha." Mami said, when another hand grabbed her hand, scaring the blonde magical girl. "You're okay."

Martha is back to her normal age.

Roald Dahl Plass…

"Thank you girls for helping out today." Jared said, looking at six of his favorite girls from Tokyo. ���All of you."

"Don't mention it." Kirika said, smirking.

"So, are we gonna go to the beach?" Hibiki asked.

"Let's not go too far." Yukine said.

"You guys go ahead." Jared said, looking at the rest of the girls. "I have to talk to Hibiki."

"Okay." Tsubasa said, walking away. "We'll be around if you need us."

"You don't have to keep relying on us. If you miss Team RWBY." Hibiki said.

"I know." Jared said, frowning. "But still, it's so far away."

"Not really. We've got your back. And you have ours."