Episode 142: A craving for freedom (?) a pepper pot.
『 However, due to the force field's barrier, these attacks did not harm it in the slightest.
Immediately, the Dalek slowly rose, suspended in mid-air.
A beam of light shattered the smoke detector nearby.
Following this, the fire system on the ceiling sprayed out a large amount of water.
Time passed bit by bit, and the accumulated water quickly covered every corner.
Everyone present was instantly drenched.
Seeing this, the Dalek realized the time was ripe.
It violently fired an electronic pulse at the ground.
The people in the water were electrocuted due to the conductive effect.
With this single blow, all the soldiers lost their combat ability.
They fell to the ground, struggling in agony amidst the electric current.
In just a few minutes, all the soldiers perished.
Old Moneybags saw the unfavorable situation and wanted to evacuate.
But the base's power had been sucked dry by the Dalek, so even if he wanted to leave, there was nowhere to escape. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Huh, so many soldiers just got electrocuted to death?" ]
[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "How cruel, I can barely watch." ]
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "How cruel, and also, so smart. It knew how to use water to conduct electricity and solved so many at once." ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "An enemy like this, the smarter it is, the more terrifying it becomes." ]
[ .....]
『 So, now there was only one way left...
That was to completely lock them all in the vault built to withstand nuclear war.
But this would take some time to activate the base's emergency power.
Just then, the Dalek, having completed its slaughter, spoke to the monitor.
"Rose Tyler, she is a time traveler," it calmly stated.
"I was finally reborn by inferring her DNA information."...
"I long to find my people," it added.
Upon hearing this, the Doctor asked in a deep voice, "So, have you found them?"...
"Just now, I have seen into space via satellite," the Dalek said quietly.
"Just as you said, there are no other Daleks left."..
The Doctor sneered, scoffing, "So, you are now a soldier with no one to command."
However, the Dalek suddenly became emotional: "I will never wait for new orders again!"
"Therefore, I will execute the final default program," it declared resolutely.
"Starting with Earth!"
"EXTERMINATE!!!"
"Why?" The Doctor was instantly baffled by the other party's action: "Why are you doing this?"
"Don't you understand? Everything is gone."
"Your race, and what you held onto."
The Doctor's words made the Dalek fall silent instantly.
.....
After a long silence, the Dalek finally broke the quiet, asking in a deep voice, "So, how should I act now?"
"Very good," the Doctor responded with a smile. "If you still need a clear instruction."
"Then, follow this command."
"Commit suicide!"
"No! Daleks must survive!" The Dalek flatly refused the command.
"But the Dalek race has long fallen!" The Doctor was unsparing, countering, "So why don't you just let the Daleks disappear completely?"
"For the peace of the universe, why can't you Daleks choose to perish?!"
Finally, the Dalek uttered words that shocked everyone.
"You, you could become an outstanding Dalek." 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "?? What's going on?" ] ..
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "What do you mean, the Doctor could also become a qualified Dalek, or a very good Dalek?" ]
[ Yuuki Asuna (Sword Art Online): "Both sides are the last person of their race, why would it be like this?" ]
[ Yuuki Asuna (Sword Art Online): "Talking it over properly would be better." ]
[ Busujima Saeko (High School of the Dead): "You have to consider a question, this Dalek is a soldier of its own race." ]
[ Busujima Saeko (High School of the Dead): "As a soldier, it's normal for their thoughts to be different from ours, ordinary people." ]
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "But, but the Doctor is also a good person, right?" ]
[ Shinomiya Kaguya (Love Is War): "Good people are relative. To us, the Doctor is naturally a good person, but to his enemies, the Doctor is a bad person." ]
[ Shinomiya Kaguya (Love Is War): "However, it seems that for the Dalek, someone like the Doctor is very suitable to become one of them." ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "The Doctor, full of hatred for the Daleks, would also be very suitable to become a Dalek, really..." ]
[ .....]
『 As soon as these words came out, the Doctor was suddenly stunned.
However, under the bewildered gazes of the few people behind him, the Doctor was unwilling to waste words explaining anything.
After all, what essential difference was there between his own burning anger and hatred and the Dalek before him?
But none of that mattered anymore.
The most crucial thing now was to prevent the Dalek from escaping this underground museum and ensure the safety of the entire planet.
Immediately, after the emergency power was activated, Old Moneybags quickly sealed all defensive doors.
The entire underground museum was neatly locked down. ..
However, Rose and Adam were still desperately running in the basement corridor, eager to escape.
Therefore, the Doctor could only try to buy time so that the two could safely evacuate the area.
Unfortunately, the base's energy was gradually depleting. Helplessly, the Doctor could only choose to immediately close the escape door.
With a solemn expression, the Doctor, after a long deliberation, resolutely pressed the confirmation button. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Mai Sakurajima (Bunny Girl Senpai): "Come on, Rose, you have to get out, Rose!" ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Go, go, go!" ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "What kind of mood was the Doctor in when he made this decision?" ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Paimon is a little scared to watch something like this." ]
[ .....]
『 The door slowly closed.
Just as the door was about to close completely, Adam agilely slipped out from under the gap.
But Rose, behind him, was ultimately a step too late.
By the time she reached the door, it was undoubtedly tightly shut.
However, Rose knew in her heart,
This was no one's fault, especially not the Doctor who made this decision; he should not be blamed.
Rose looked at the gradually approaching Dalek, pulled out her phone, and made her final farewell to the Doctor on the other end of the line.
"I ran too slow, I know, Doctor," she said calmly.
"I never regretted embarking on this journey with you, and I never had any complaints about you."
"So, goodbye again, Doctor..."
She gently hung up the phone, then looked back somewhat nervously at the gradually approaching Dalek.
"Exterminate!"
The Dalek's emotionless mechanical voice sounded, and the Doctor also reluctantly took off his headphones.
The Doctor painfully removed his headphones.
"It killed her..." The Doctor looked at the scene in disbelief.
Old Moneybags, standing nearby, seemed to realize his excessiveness and apologized.
"I'm really sorry..."
Upon hearing this, the Doctor turned to face him with a solemn expression.
"I promised to protect her."
"Because she chose to come here with me, and now you're telling me you're sorry?"
"There were countless opportunities to eliminate that Dalek back when I was locked up."
"You ruined all of them!"
"But it's a treasure in my collection!" Old Moneybags argued aggrievedly.
As soon as these words came out, the Doctor's anger instantly ignited.
"Your collection?? The price is too high, isn't it?"
"For this thing, so many people have to be sacrificed, and Rose has to die?!"
"Van Statten (Old Moneybags), listen up,"
"Humans have stepped into space exploration, becoming a part of the vast starry sea."
"I didn't do anything wrong, I just wanted to touch the stars with my own hands!" Old Moneybags stood up and argued.
But the Doctor unsparingly exposed his true nature.
"You merely want to drag the stars down from the sky, burying all beauty deep beneath the yellow sand."
"By labeling them, your distance from the stars is far greater than anyone else's."
Silence fell all around.
Then, the Doctor said with a sorrowful expression:
"And you made her bear the consequences with you."
"She was only nineteen." 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Shizuka Hiratsuka (Oregairu): "Nineteen, such a beautiful age, extinguished right here." ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "The previous situation also didn't allow the Doctor to hesitate again, otherwise that Dalek would have rushed out." ]
[ .....]
『 On the other side of the screen,
Rose was terrified, facing the Dalek's fierce attack, slowly opening her eyes.
She found that she had not been instantly killed by the Dalek.
So, she began to repeatedly ask the Dalek why it had taken so many lives.
And the Dalek, at this moment, simply responded:
"Slaughter is the reason for my existence."
"However, what I truly feel, Rose, is your fear."
"But by rights, a Dalek should have no emotions other than killing."
After saying this, it, burning with rage, strafed the wall behind Rose.
Facing the person who had once again awakened its life, the Dalek seemed to have a deep emotional stirring from within its heart,
Unable to bring itself to kill.
Could it be that the Dalek race had learned compassion?
Or had they mastered some way to learn new emotions beyond slaughter?
"No! It's me, I've been corrupted, I'm no longer a pure Dalek!" The Dalek roared in agony.
The Doctor in the room also caught the commotion outside,
And was surprised to find that Rose had not been killed by the Dalek.
Rose stood beside the Dalek, becoming a hostage, forcing the Doctor to immediately open the door behind him,
Otherwise, it would end the Doctor's beloved Rose.
Even more, the other party threw out a deeply meaningful statement:
"If you are unwilling to save the one you love, then what value do your emotions have?"
At this moment, the Doctor was instantly struck by that Dalek's words.
Because he really couldn't abandon Rose anymore.
Immediately after, the Doctor, without another word, pressed the switch, and the door before him opened in response.
This also meant letting that Dalek out.
Seeing the Doctor act emotionally, the female assistant immediately became as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
They currently had none of their alien weapons at hand, and once the Dalek truly arrived, they would have no way to resist.
Just then, Adam reminded the Doctor: "I have some weapons hidden away; they might come in handy."
(By the way, with the boss right there, saying that was a bit inappropriate.)
The group rushed to Adam's secret armory. After picking and choosing, the Doctor selected the only portable cannon that was still usable.
He intended to use this contraption to fight the Dalek.
The scene shifts.
The robotic Dalek in the elevator was about to reach the ground.
Rose was still standing next to it. Normally, one would think,
Rose had been used up; she had no more value to the Dalek, so the Dalek should no longer show mercy.
But for some reason, the Dalek didn't make a move.
Not only was Rose puzzled, but even the Dalek itself, as the party involved, found it strange.
It wondered what made it so indecisive.
In the past, when facing others, it always acted so decisively.
But encountering Rose, it hesitated.
Just then, the elevator door opened.
Standing before them was the Dalek's archenemy—Old Moneybags.
The Dalek never understood why this human tortured it for so long. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Bronya( (Honkai: Impact Third): "I think this Dalek, facing the person who has been torturing it all this time, will surely eliminate him." ]
[ Bronya( (Honkai: Impact Third): "Just like before, mercilessly dealing with those soldiers." ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Probably, right...?" ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Although it didn't kill Rose, who saved it, it should act when facing its enemy, right?" ]
[ .....]
『 However, Old Moneybags' next words astonished everyone.
"I just wanted you to talk to me."
"Alright, now your wish is fulfilled." The Dalek looked coldly at its old enemy.
"EXTERMINATE!!!"
"EXTERMINATE!!!"
As soon as the words fell, the Dalek raised its weapon, shouting "Exterminate", ready to finish off the enemy before it.
Rose rushed forward to stop it.
Because she sensed that the Dalek was undergoing a special transformation.
It no longer needed to kill.
But, aside from killing, did the Dalek have no other desires?
After hearing this, the Dalek once again looked at the person who had imprisoned it for fifty years.
The Dalek finally had an answer in its heart.
"I... desire..."
"Freedom..."
Subsequently, the Dalek left the office with Rose.
They found an open area in the museum.
The Dalek fired a beam of light at the ceiling, making a large hole, allowing sunlight to penetrate.
A warm ray of sunlight shone through the opening, falling upon the Dalek and Rose.
"You really did it."
Rose looked at the Dalek with immense excitement, her eyes sparkling with disbelief: "I thought I'd never get to feel the warmth of this sunlight again."
But the Dalek wore a bewildered expression, posing a question that puzzled even itself:
"What exactly is this feeling you speak of?"
Before its words fully faded, an electronic hum suddenly resonated from the Dalek's body, catching Rose's response in her throat.
It turned out that the Dalek's hard metal shell was merely a combat armor.
The true Dalek species were life forms residing within this armor.
And it, a special genetic mutant, was supposed to have all emotions erased, leaving only endless hatred and a killing impulse.
At this moment, as the armor slowly opened, the hidden Dalek revealed its true form.
It extended tiny tentacles, attempting to touch the warm sunlight Rose spoke of; that gentle touch was so novel to it.
Rose stared blankly at all this, a complex and unspeakable mix of emotions surging within her—a sense of surprise, perhaps, or some indescribable feeling. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "So, so ugly, is this the Dalek? So the outside was just armor?" ]
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "Who would have thought that such a powerful Dalek's true form would be a soft-bodied creature like this?" ]
[ The Herta (Honkai: Star Rail): "Is this the true form of the Dalek? I'm very curious and want to study it." ]
[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "Sticky and gooey, it feels so strange." ]
[ Yukinoshita Yukino (Oregairu): "...I shouldn't have looked. I feel like I'll lose my appetite for lunch...." ]
[ Yuigahama Yui (Oregairu): "Me too, I don't know if I can eat today." ]
[ .....]
『 Soon, the Doctor, unaware of all this, arrived on the scene with a large contraption.
He loudly shouted for Rose to stay away from that thing called a Dalek.
After all, the Dalek had already killed hundreds of people and might harm more in the future.
But Rose had seen its true nature with her own eyes and resolutely stood in front of the Dalek.
Because at this point, the Dalek had stopped its harmful behavior.
Whether it was Rose, who was no longer useful, or the wealthy old man who had tortured it for fifty years,
The Dalek ultimately chose to show mercy.
It was actively trying to change itself.
On the other side, the Doctor was still deeply entrenched in his hatred and unable to extricate himself. 』
『 .....』