//------------------------------// // Paulie // Story: The Doctor Whooves Chronicles Episode 3: The Monster in the Mirror // by Doctor Perseus //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Paulie Gaia, 1002 C.E. Derpy was speechless. She didn't know what to ask first. However, she quickly decided on one, simple question. "What...what are you?" Derpy asked. The monkey gave a quiet chuckle and sat down. "I guess it's true then. I've traveled through time," replied the monkey. "I'm guessing that you, Derpy, have yet to meet me." Derpy nodded in reply. This must be another one of those weird "out of order" friendships. Kinda like the one the Doctor and I have with Princess Luna, Derpy thought. She looked at the monkey and said, "No, but I guess that you've met me." "Yes. But, since you've yet to meet me, I guess introductions are in order. My name is Paulie. I'm a native of the planet Pariah." "So...you're an alien?" asked Lyra. "To you, yes, I'm an alien. By the way, who are you?" "Lyra." "Ah. Are you a friend of Derpy's?" Derpy and Lyra turned to look at each other. "We have a history," Derpy replied. "Paulie...perhaps you could tell Lyra and me about your captor?" "He's still weak...but not for long. I don't know how long it'll take for that barrier to hold up," Paulie replied. He looked at Derpy with a pair of concerned eyes. "Do you know how we came to be here?" "Your ship fell out of the sky. I can't say I know anything beyond that." "You stopped him, Derpy. You stopped him from destroying the Ark. You saved everyone on board." He uses those weird terms that the Doctor uses. I guess not everything in my universe has the same terms as the ones on my planet, Derpy thought. Derpy then asked, "What's this about an ark?" "I guess I shouldn't say too much as that lies in your future. I don't want to risk damaging the time stream. I've heard all about time travel and about how damaging it can be if something goes wrong. However, I will give you some of the details of how I ended up in this situation. I helped you defeat my captor-to-be; but, he took me down with him. He used his strength to capture me and forced me to help him find you again. He seeks revenge on you, Derpy. I didn't want to help him. I tried to destroy us both by entering straight into the time vortex but we somehow managed to survive the trip. Now, here we are. I have failed and now you're practically in his grasp." "We need to get out of here!" Lyra exclaimed as she stood up. Paulie put a finger to his lips. "Please, try to keep your voice down. I don't believe my captor knows that you two are on board yet. He doesn't even know what part of the ship I'm in. I think we'd all like to keep it that way." "Are you planning on ever getting out of here?! I'm not planning on staying in this room for the rest of my life!" "I don't plan on staying in here forever either. The reason I brought you two in here was to explain the situation to you before heading out. I didn't want to leave knowing that you'd probably stumble across my captor." "You could have done that without grabbing us like you did." "I know how people react when they see aliens for the first time. Trust me, I've been to plenty of planets to memorize the patterns. Would you have initially calmly listened to a green monkey with a spiked tail and four arms emerging from the dark?" Lyra fell silent. "No...I would have probably screamed," the unicorn admitted. "Exactly," said Paulie as he stood up. He slowly moved back into the darkness. Derpy heard the door to the room open a bit. "If we're going to go, we better go now." Paulie walked back into the circle of light and picked up the lantern. "We best leave while my captor is still weak and come up with a game plan as to how we are to go about defeating him." "What's his name?" Derpy asked suddenly. "Hmm?" "Your captor. You keep calling him my captor. He's got to have a name, doesn't he?" "Have you heard of the power in a name?" "Rings a bell." "Let's just say that my captor works like that as well. His name gives him power. I'd rather not allow him to heal any quicker." Paulie turned towards the darkness and then back to Derpy and Lyra. "Come. We best be quick." Derpy and Lyra began following Paulie to the door when, suddenly, the ship shook and a loud roar reverberated through the walls. "What the hay?!" exclaimed Lyra. "It can't be! Damn! Hurry! He's awake!" Paulie warned. The Doctor was careful as he made his way through the darkened halls of the spaceship. His only source of light was the beam of light emanating from his Sonic Screwdriver. Carrot Top and Bon-Bon were making sure to keep close behind him. "It's really quiet in here," said Bon-Bon. "Yes," said Carrot Top as she scratched her chin. "Maybe a bit too-" "Don't go there," the Doctor sighed. "This is no time to start doing horror clichés." "Sorry. It was too easy." "Yes. This is a bit too easy, isn't it?" "What's that supposed to mean?" asked Bon-Bon. "Think about it. This ship looks to be quite advanced and protected. I mean, it managed to survive a hell of a crash." "Yes...and?" asked Carrot Top. "So where's the security?" asked the Doctor in reply. "Security?" croaked Bon-Bon. "Yes, security. You know: cameras, laser beams, trip wires, booby traps, the works. A ship like this is bound to have a few security measurements." "I understood about maybe half of what you just said." "Give it time. You'll come to understand this stuff eventually." Just then, the Screwdriver began giving off an odd noise. "I think we're close to something." "Close to what?" asked Carrot Top. "I have no idea. Keep your guard up." The Doctor, Carrot Top, and Bon-Bon slowly continued down the hallway. The sound from the Screwdriver grew louder with each step. The three ponies soon found themselves being led towards a door at the end of the hallway. Technically, it was a pair of sliding doors that the Doctor assumed led to a much bigger room. "This ship seems bigger on the inside," said Bon-Bon. "It probably is," the Doctor replied as he aimed the Screwdriver at the doors. After a few, tense seconds, the doors slowly opened with a soft hiss. The Doctor braced himself as he stepped through the opening. The room beyond the doors was definitely big. It was pitch black but the Doctor could tell it was big from the echo that was produced from his footsteps, or hoofsteps as the Equestrians called them. "Do you hear that?!" whispered Carrot Top. The Doctor nodded. Reverberating through the room was a heavy, deep breathing. It sounded like it was coming from a great beast. "We should probably back out. My guess is that Derpy isn't in here," the Doctor whispered back to Carrot Top. "DERPY?!" boomed a sinister voice. The Doctor recognized the voice instantly. It was the same voice that he had heard during the crash. "AS IN DERPY HOOVES?!" A pair of red eyes appeared in the darkness. Carrot Top gasped and Bon-Bon stepped behind the Doctor. The Doctor readied the Screwdriver. The eyes looked at the Doctor. The next thing the Doctor heard was a cold chuckle. "Doctor...we meet again." "Sorry to tell ya, mate, but I don't believe we've met," said the Doctor firmly. "Then the monkey has fulfilled his purpose. He has taken me and my gateway through time. And if you're here, Doctor, then that means Derpy's here as well. Oh how I've waited many days and nights for this moment." "Whoever you are, you're most certainly not going to cause any harm to my friend!" "I may not be as powerful as I should normally be, but I can still find and take care of your friend as long as she's on this ship. And, to further satisfy my hunger, I shall destroy you, your little friends, and that blasted traitor Paulie." The creature's eyes began to grow brighter and angrier. "Who are you?!" Carrot Top asked suddenly. A cold laugh echoed through the room. "I am the ruler of realms. The destroyer of worlds. The master of fear and of the macabre. I am the the beast that all of my enemies fear! I am...THE JABBERWOCKY!" A loud roar suddenly exploded through the room. The ship began to shake all around them and the Jabberwocky began laughing like a maniac. "Let's get out of here!" cried Bon-Bon. "Wait a moment. Did you just say that you're the Jabberwocky? As in the Jabberwocky from Alice in...oh you've got to be kidding me!" exclaimed the Doctor. "DOCTOR!" cried a fearful and slightly annoyed Carrot Top as she grabbed onto the Doctor's suit and pulled him out of the room. "RUN! RUN! RUN ALL YOU LIKE! YOU SHALL NOT ESCAPE ME AGAIN!" laughed the Jabberwocky. The ship had suddenly flared to life. Random lights flickered in the darkness. Old speakers sent out static-filled signals. Electronic doors opened violently and slammed shut multiple times. "Hurry! This way!" cried Paulie as he led Derpy and Lyra through the dark and vibrating halls of the ship. As they turned a corner, a booming voice began coming out of the ship's speakers. "Hello, Derpy. You may not know me, but I certainly know you. You can either come quietly or things can get ugly. It's your choice," said the voice. "I think things have already gotten ugly," stated Lyra. "Keep moving!" urged Paulie. Derpy didn't hesitate to listen and continued to run. "Fine, we'll do this the hard way then," chuckled the voice. The lights in the hallway suddenly burst to life. Derpy was blinded for a few seconds. "Oh no! He's regaining control of the ship's security system!" Paulie gasped. Derpy yelped as Paulie grabbed onto one of her forelegs. "We're almost out. Run and don't look back!" Derpy yelped again as Paulie took off. She looked to see that the monkey was pulling Lyra along as well. She was impressed for Paulie ran pretty fast for a four-armed green monkey from another planet. As Derpy tried to regain her eyesight, she could make out the sounds of metal clicking and grinding. "Duck!" cried Lyra. Derpy did as she was told and not two seconds later something flew right over her head and collided with the opposite wall. Pretty soon, projectiles were flying throughout the hallway. "We're being shot at!" Derpy cried. "I've noticed," said Paulie. Derpy saw a nearby gun fire something towards her. She didn't have time to duck but the projectile was deflected by a green shield. Derpy turned to see that Lyra was protecting them with magical shields. "I need to thank Bon-Bon for encouraging me to take those spell classes," Lyra chuckled nervously. They rounded another bend and Derpy's eyes went wide. "Well, here's your chance," stated Derpy. Running from the opposite direction was none other than the Doctor, Carrot Top, and Bon-Bon. "Doctor?!" "Derpy!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Lyra!" cried Bon-Bon. "Bon-Bon!" cried Lyra. "A green, four-armed monkey?!" exclaimed Carrot Top. "More ponies?!" exclaimed Paulie. "We can catch up later! Everypony keep moving!" cried Derpy. The five ponies and the alien monkey converged and turned down a central hallway. Derpy looked ahead. A small lobby was situated at the end of the hallway and so was an open door. "The exit!" cried Bon-Bon. They made it out into the lobby and stormed towards the door. They were almost there when a gun popped out of the ceiling and fired. The gun was aimed at Derpy. Derpy had no time to move. The dart from the gun was about to hit her when Paulie quickly pushed her out of the way. The dart penetrated his chest and knocked him over. "Paulie!" cried Derpy. The Doctor, with great speed, aimed his Sonic Screwdriver at the gun, which proceeded to explode due to an electrical overload. Lyra proceeded to levitate the wounded Paulie into the air. "We need to help him!" cried Lyra. Suddenly, a screen turned on above the doorway. The screen was completely black except for two, red eyes. Derpy felt her heart stop. Those eyes. I saw those eyes staring at me in my subconscious and through the window at Moonbase One! How? What is this thing?! Derpy asked in thought. "Serves you right, traitor," chuckled the creature. "You cannot escape me forever, Derpy Hooves. Whether you come back here or not does not matter, for I will find you no matter what. You will never be safe from me, Derpy Hooves. Nopony who knows you will ever be safe. I will not rest. I will not sleep. I will simply wait and time will ultimately bring you to me." A cold laugh echoed through the ship as Derpy followed the others through the door. The Doctor was the last one out of the ship. He pointed the Screwdriver at the ship's engines. A shower of sparks shot into the air. "You're not going anywhere until further notice," said the Doctor as he turned away from the ship. The sky was a bright orange now and the sun was almost completely under the horizon. Derpy and the others had come to a stop a little ways into the trees. Lyra had placed the green monkey on the ground. "Doctor!" cried Derpy. "You've got to help him!" "Who is he?" asked Bon-Bon as the Doctor walked up to examine the monkey. "What is he?" asked Carrot Top. "His name's Paulie," said Lyra. "He's basically an alien monkey from the future." "Ah. Well that makes sense." The Doctor examined the wound closely and carefully removed the dart. "Is he going to be okay, Doctor?" Derpy asked as she walked up beside him. "I...I'm afraid not, Derpy," the Doctor replied with a sad look. "What?!" "This dart contains a very acidic poison." "Poison?!" "Yes. He doesn't have long now, maybe a couple hours at best." The Doctor stood up and turned to face the four mares. "We better get him back to the campsite. Let's make his last hours as comfortable as possible." "If I'm going to die...then I can at least give you all one last bit of help," Paulie coughed. Derpy knelt down next to him. "I could really use some water." "We'll get you some when we get back to camp," said Derpy. "Yes...once we're there and away from that ship...I'm going to tell you the Jabberwocky's greatest weakness."