Episode 145: Awakening the Battlefield of Lonely Souls, the Ultimate Meaning of Life
『 "Oh, I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself either," Rose said apologetically. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Rose: Doctor, stop! Let me have a try!" ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Hahaha, that's hilarious." ]
[ Silver Wolf (Honkai: Star Rail): "Interesting. With an interface like that, which can't just be seen by anyone, this guy's life is going to be difficult from now on." ]
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "Serves him right. Who told him to be so ambitious? He only followed the Doctor for a short time and was immediately chased away." ]
[ .....]
『 What angered the Doctor at this moment was... Adam's actions might bring huge consequences to the entire history of humanity.
And judging by his appearance, he showed no remorse. For his own selfish motives, he even attempted to deceive the Doctor.
Adam could do nothing but apologize to the Doctor, pleading with him to remove that chip.
"You can't just leave me here."
"No, I can."
"As punishment, you have to live carefully in this era."
Because, with just a simple snap of the fingers,
Adam's biggest secret would be completely exposed.
"But I still want to be with you."
"But I only want to take the best," the Doctor looked coldly at Adam before him.
"Now, I already have Rose."
After speaking, the two left Adam's room. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "That was phrased perfectly: 'I only take the better ones.' This guy clearly isn't any good." ]
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "He clearly isn't a good person." ]
[ Yukinoshita Haruno (Oregairu): "Now, he's really going to have to live out his entire life here with this secret." ]
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "Hehe, I'm also curious about one thing: when will the secret about that strange thing on his forehead be exposed?" ]
[ .....]
『 The scene shifted.
Not long after the two left,
Adam's mother, who had been out, returned. Seeing her long-lost eldest son,
"Time just slipped away like that," Adam's mother sighed, then quietly raised her hand and snapped her fingers to express her feelings.
However,
Right after that snap, a mechanical sound rang out.
The screen plunged into darkness. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Sawamura Eriri (Saekano): "That annoying guy was discovered by his own mommy right after the Doctor left." ]
[ Utaha Kasumigaoka (Saekano): "Adam's motivation and actions violated the most fundamental rule of time travel as practiced by the Doctor: do not meddle with the timeline for personal benefit." ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Who told him to do those things? It serves him right!" ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Exactly! Exactly!" ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "....." ]
/Screen goes black
"Ding! The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire? The Companion Abandoned by the Doctor.' concludes."
"Ding! 'The Awakening of Battlefield of Lonely Souls, The Ultimate Meaning of Life' opens."
[ Natasha (Honkai: Star Rail) "The awakening... of a battlefield phantom?" ]
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "I feel like it's a bit scary, the awakening of a lonely soul." ]
[ The Doctor ⦍11th⦎ (Doctor Who): "So it's here. I met a very interesting person here, too." ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Will that person become your new companion?" ]
[ The Doctor ⦍11th⦎ (Doctor Who): "Something like that." ]
[ .....]
『 The Scene opened with the TARDIS chasing another time machine through the time vortex.
This story must start from the beginning.
Initially, while traveling through time and space, the Doctor received a pale blue signal.
The Doctor, sharp-eyed and quick-witted, immediately recognized it as an emergency warning sign understood by everyone in the universe.
Staring at the time machine on the display, the Doctor couldn't help but switch into rant mode:
"Oh dear, I misunderstood before. All those wobbly bits were actually extremely urgent alarms."
"Although I hacked into its system, it still has to obey the TARDIS key's command."
"Wherever it wants to go, we go, sticking close."
But just as Rose asked about safety, the TARDIS control panel suddenly sparked violently.
And the thing they were intently watching was preparing to leap sharply into a new time rift, achieving time travel.
To uncover this sudden mystery, the Doctor, without hesitation, followed closely behind, flying toward Earth together.
The scene shifted.
The Doctor landed somewhere in central London.
The familiar silhouette of the TARDIS slowly materialized, gently pulling out from a street with a soft screech of brakes.
However, the two who had just stepped outside didn't realize that a sinister gaze was fixed tightly upon them.
To find out exactly what was happening here, the Doctor planned to search carefully everywhere, tracking the missing machine's traces.
But due to the time jump, the Doctor did not arrive at the same moment as the object, but landed one month after it had appeared here.
This undoubtedly added a degree of difficulty to their search.
Rose walked down the street alongside the Doctor and asked,
"Is it really okay for us to just appear so openly like this?"
Hearing this, the Doctor pulled out a psychic paper and handed it to Rose.
Upon looking, the Doctor's temporary identity was clearly displayed on the card:
⟦ Dr. John Smith - Department of Planetary Affairs ⟧
This psychic paper could display whatever identity the holder wished to show, and the Doctor intended to use this disguise to advance the investigation.
Rose, however, asked with some doubt,
"Doesn't this lack a bit of logic?"
(Note: Logic here implicitly refers to the wise character Spock from Star Trek)
The Doctor didn't say much, instead scrutinizing Rose's English-style outfit,
"Your clothes seem a bit tight, oh."
"Maybe, but I wanted to show it off," Rose replied while adjusting the tight clothing.
The Doctor didn't look closely now, focused only on finding a busy place to inquire whether anyone had witnessed the mysterious location.
So, he used the sonic screwdriver to open the back door of a pub.
As Rose followed him, a strange sound suddenly rang in her ears:
"Mummy?" The innocent child's voice came through clearly.
Rose suddenly looked up and saw a small boy wearing a gas mask standing on the rooftop, looking lost and helpless. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "Wait, when did this child appear?" ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Ah! He's standing so high up, won't he be in danger!" ]
[ Utaha Kasumigaoka (Saekano): "A little boy wearing a gas mask—sure enough, this is the standard look for that era." ]
[ .....]
『 Watching that skinny figure swaying precariously on the rooftop,
Rose couldn't help but feel a pang of worry.
But the Doctor had already entered the pub, leaving Rose to deal with the situation alone and go for the rescue.
The little boy stood on top of a crate. Rose was pondering how to climb when a thick rope suddenly dangled beside her.
Without thinking, Rose immediately grabbed the rope, attempting to climb upward.
But she had no idea that this rope was actually the tether for an anti-aircraft barrage balloon of this era. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Barrage balloon? What is that thing?" ]
[ Shinomiya Kaguya (Love Is War): "Anti-aircraft... is this back in the time of war?" ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "It's a defensive measure used by the Brits during WWII, right? Have they traveled back to the Second World War?" ]
[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "WWII? What is that?" ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "The former Second World War, but for us, a long time has already passed." ]
[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "A World War, that sounds absolutely terrifying." ]
[ .....]
『 And so, in this moment on screen, as the balloon slowly ascended, Rose was dragged along with it into the air...
Rose was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place now.
She could only clutch the rope tightly in her hands, refusing to let go.
"Doctor!" She yelled the Doctor's name at the top of her lungs while desperately holding on.
But where was the Doctor?
At this moment, the Doctor was incredibly busy.
He was inside a pub, his eyes fixed on the singer softly performing on stage.
Once the singer finished, the Doctor quickly bounded onto the stage.
He loudly asked the audience below,
"Excuse me, everyone, I want to ask about something."
"Has anything fallen from the sky recently?"
Everyone was stunned at first, then burst into laughter.
The Doctor was completely bewildered when suddenly the air raid siren blared overhead.
The people present dispersed quickly and orderly.
The Doctor was initially still in the dark until his gaze fell upon a poster on the wall.
( Seele Will Send No Warning! )
It was then that the Doctor suddenly realized that they had traveled back to the period of World War II, specifically the history of the German Air Force's relentless bombing of Britain. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "So this is the Great Smog of London during the war era." ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "The people of this era are still living peacefully despite the threat of war." ]
[ Shinomiya Kaguya (Love Is War): "However, Rose, facing this era head-on like this, must be very.." ]
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "Just looking at this makes me a little scared." ]
[ Klee (Genshin Impact): "Lots and lots of explosions. So happy!" ]
[ Tatsumi (Akame Ga Kill) "But who is this person called Seele?" ]
[ Seele (Honkai Impact Third): Huh? ]
[ Seele (Honkai: Star Rail): "??" ]
[ Yukinoshita Yukino (Oregairu): "No, the 'Seele' here should refer to the leader of the Krauts' side during that period—the Little Moustache (you know who)." ]
[ Yukinoshita Yukino (Oregairu): "And so it was abbreviated to Seele, perhaps." ]
[ Seele (Honkai Impact Third): "Oh, oh, oh." ]
[ Seele (Honkai: Star Rail): "Why did I become the villain in that world? That's really annoying." ]
( Translator-kun: It was the Author-san who censored the name of that person, "Hitler," on the poster. And change it to Seele. Idk, maybe his name was taboo on Faloo. )
[ .....]
『 Meanwhile, Rose was carried into the sky by the balloon, personally experiencing this era.
The roar of anti-aircraft guns and bombers filled the surroundings.
Clutching the rope, she could only dodge left and right, hoping the Doctor would hurry and save her.
Although the Doctor noticed Rose was gone after the pub, something much stranger drew his attention away.
The exterior telephone box on the TARDIS, which was just for decoration and wasn't even connected to a line, was actually ringing?
How could that be! Just as the Doctor was about to investigate, a girl with braided hair suddenly appeared and stopped him.
"I'm warning you, don't answer that phone," the girl said.
The Doctor looked at her curiously. "You seem to know something? Then tell me what's going on? Why is this phone ringing?"
"It's not even connected; how can it ring?"
The Doctor was about to turn and explain, but he found that the girl was already gone, vanished in the blink of an eye. And the phone was still ringing loudly.
In the end, the Doctor answered the phone. But the voice coming from the receiver was that of a child, which stunned the Doctor.
It was a child's voice, calling: "Mummy…"
"Who are you?" the Doctor pressed into the phone. "Who is speaking?"
"Are you my mummy?"
"Who exactly are you? Speak up!" The Doctor grew more anxious with every question.
"Mummy?"
No matter how the Doctor questioned, only the child's voice responded on the other end of the line.
Just as the Doctor wanted to ask one more question, the phone line suddenly went silent. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "That voice is so strange. Why does it keep calling the Doctor and calling him 'Mummy'?" ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "No, wait. This thing isn't even connected to a line. How is it ringing?" ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "That thing, is it useless without a connection?" ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "Yes, telephones of that era all required a connection to a line to be used." ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Eek, the more I watch, the scarier it gets." ]
[ .....]
『 Suddenly, a rustling sound came from a nearby alleyway.
The Doctor quickly ran over to investigate and found that a family of three was hurriedly scrambling into an air-raid shelter.
As soon as the family left, the braided girl who had appeared mysteriously earlier showed up.
She seized the opportunity while the owners were gone and quickly slipped into the house. She searched around inside, collecting various canned foods.
Just as she was about to leave, she had another unexpected gain.
Next, the braided girl walked to the door and gave a signal.
Then she returned to the living room and began to busy herself.
Before long, the homeless children from the surrounding streets all ran over.
Seeing the dinner the homeowners had left behind, they couldn't wait to start eating. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Is it really appropriate to eat other people's food like this?" ]
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "So pitiful," ]
[ .....]
『 The children there savored every bite, treasuring the food that was so scarce and precious.
However, when it was a certain child's turn, a mature man's voice, not belonging to a child, spoke out.
Hearing this voice, all the children were startled and stood up.
Only the braided girl, Nancy, seemed the most composed, and she told everyone to sit back down.
Because in her view, if this gentleman, the Doctor, really wanted to do something, he would have acted already; there was no need to wait until now.
Despite this, the children couldn't help but feel a little afraid.
"Are you the police?" one child asked.
"No, oh." The Doctor shook his head and said, "Besides, even if I were the police, what could I do to you?"
"Would I arrest all of you just because you were hungry?" At these words, the children's tension gradually eased, and they returned to the feast before them.
However, Nancy was puzzled in her heart, not understanding why the Doctor was here.
After all, the Doctor didn't look like someone who would go hungry.
Actually,....
The Doctor had only accidentally discovered this group of children and wanted to ask them, since they often hung around on the streets, if they had seen any metal barrels fall from the sky recently.
As he spoke, the Doctor roughly drew a picture in his notebook.
Nancy's face suddenly changed upon hearing this; it seemed she knew something about it.... 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Shizuka Hiratsuka (Oregairu): "Looking at her, she should know a little something, right?" ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "Earlier, she also warned the Doctor about the phone problem." ]
[ .....]
『 But right at this moment, A voice calling from outside suddenly interrupted them.
"Mummy?"
It was that same voice the Doctor was familiar with earlier—the boy looking for his mother. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "What's going on? Why did the voice from the other end of the phone suddenly appear at the door?" ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "No, he didn't follow them here, did he?" ]
[ Shinomiya Kaguya (Love Is War): "It's inexplicably creepy." ]
[ .....]
『 But this time, Nancy became extremely nervous upon hearing the voice.
She quickly got up and rushed to the door where the sound came from, tightly locking the front door, which had been half-open.
Then she urged the children present to quickly leave this place.
All the homeless children were unusually obedient, following Nancy's instructions, and left the dinner table they had so hard-won.
The Doctor was also utterly confused, not understanding why Nancy was so nervous, seeing as it was just a little boy outside the door.
Besides, the child looked like a homeless person, too.
The Doctor noticed a peculiar scar on the small hand that reached through the letterbox slot.
"Don't let him touch you!" Nancy threw a glass cup from behind, chasing the little boy's hand away.
"What happens if I get touched?" the Doctor asked curiously.
"You'll turn into that thing too," Nancy said nervously.
"Turn into what?" The Doctor still wanted to press for answers.
But Nancy clearly didn't want to say more and turned to leave.
The Doctor, however, continued to ask unhurriedly: "Nancy, turn into what?"
At this moment, the telephone beside the Doctor rang again.
Nancy told him that the little boy outside was causing all this mischief.
Not only that, but everything that could make a sound began repeating the same phrase continuously.
"Mummy!"
"Mummy!"
"Mummy!"
....in. 』
『 .....』