![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Fic: Dating the Cleverest Boy in the World. Chapter 24. (Interlude featuring the End of the World)
The scene in this chapter has been in my head - and 'Dakota' has been their song - for so long that I can't remember a time when it wasn't. (Seriously, it ties directly into chapter 5!) I didn't expect it to end up this lyrical, but am very happy it did.
Fic index here if anyone wants to catch up, or just follow the tags. Also on AO3 and The Teaspoon.
Summary: Allison had always thought that university would be an adventure. But she'd not imagined that she'd end up dating Harold Saxon's son.
Setting: Autumn 2028/year 5 billion
Characters (this chapter): the Seeker.
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1100 words approx.
Feedback: I'm totally not too proud to beg.
Chapter 24
(Interlude featuring the End of the World)
‘Earth Death in 5 minutes.’
He was sitting sideways in the open door of his spacecraft, the beat hovering on the edge of his consciousness (one-two-three-four-dum-da-da-dum-dum-da-da-dum), proving oddly soothing in ways he hadn’t expected... His very own little Archangel Network, a tiny cocoon hiding him - the very first modification he’d fitted once his ship had been returned to him.
(They’d wired the secret tracker into the vortex manipulator itself he eventually discovered, and it had taken him weeks to undo it, as he had to make sure it still appeared to be functioning - he was never going to be followed again.)
So he cloaked himself, safe from being found by the present, and protecting the past from sensing what it mustn’t. (Spoilers could undo his very existence...)
And the subtle beat hummed on - no reason modifying what he knew worked.
‘Earth Death in 4 minutes’
Below him Earth was laid out, glowing like an unholy red jewel against the soft, indifferent darkness.
(These truths we hold to be self-evident: Everything ends, and everything dies.)
His childhood home... And yet never his. Close, but never closer. One of them, but not.
Born out of time, far above the dirt of the common people, there was no place he could point to as his origin - a child from a paradox, who shouldn’t exist, born to rule an empire that never was.
(The last child of a dead people; his first companions monsters from the end of time - future ghosts killing the present, running from the cold and the dark and the end of all things. But no one could run forever.)
‘Earth Death in 3 minutes’
But his human life was a lie too, a carefully constructed reality of half-truths and pretence and sleights-of-hand.
Yet he had existed in between the two realities for so long he wasn’t even sure who he was now; lying such a part of him that telling the truth had been like a head-rush, a strange new pleasure that he had indulged in to his own downfall - not holding back, not measuring things but flooding her until she drowned... Never remembering the most basic of lessons:
And yet... How could he uphold those ideals? He was the son of renegades and liars, legends and terrors, their names sealed into the stars for eternity, trailing death in their wake.
Could there ever have been a half-way? It was all or nothing...
‘Earth Death in 2 minutes’
Because he had always known the truth could break them, a conversation from long ago echoing in his mind, from back when things had first fractured...
Unveiling what he was had only dazzled her for a moment (a single golden day) - all the truths he’d so carefully tried to keep out of the way tearing them apart as he’d foreseen - as she had sensed even back then...
Worst of all there was no one else to blame. He had made his choice three years ago - deliberately, eyes open, fully aware of the price he’d have to pay. Had wanted the lie, grasping it with both hands, extending it for as long as he could - balancing on the edge of reveal for so long that the act had almost become a part of him, the twin realities of his life always in his sight.
In return he’d had three years, and one perfect day.
Which was more than he’d expected.
So why did it feel so sudden?
‘Earth Death in 1 minute’
Maybe it was the pain... He hadn’t anticipated it to be so all-consuming. Like being frozen; the loss making it near impossible to even breathe, the very core of him cast into cold fire.
Maybe this is what dying feels like, he thought dully. Except dying brought with it rebirth - and here there was only loss and destruction.
Which had brought him to the end of the world.
Somewhere on the other side of the condemned planet the Doctor and Rose were running around the way heroes did, saving the lives of people onboard Platform One. Beautiful, long-lost Rose Tyler, the Valiant Child who had died in battle, only 19 here, two years younger than-
And Jack... His very own forever Jack.
But there was no one watching the death of Earth.
Except him.
‘Planet explodes in 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1’
He never looked away as the planet shattered from the inside out; burning, fragmenting - destroyed. His ship shook lightly as the blast waves hit, the silence of space somehow more deafening than any noise, swallowing him in its emptiness.
Rocks and dust all that was left.
‘So small, isn’t it?’ his father had said, the first time he had seen Earth, not even an hour old. ‘Such a small kingdom. But don’t worry little prince, soon enough we’ll have more worthy subjects to rule over. And maybe a castle... what do you think, does a castle sound nice?’
But he didn’t want castles or kingdoms. He wanted her. And now she was gone.
There was a fragment of a song in his mind, playing against the beat of the artificial drums...
You made me feel like the one
Made me feel like the one
The one
You made me feel like the one
Made me feel like the one
The one
But he wasn’t, and never had been.
“Goodbye,” he whispered, before eventually turning away.
(She would be OK. She was human, had friends and family - good people, people wholly different from him. Babushka had said she’d be loved by a good man... Yes, she would be fine, in the end. She had a whole new life waiting, every door in the world open to her (he’d made sure of that), and she had the brains and drive to make all her dreams come true.)
But he needed something else. Something to dull the incessant, ever-present, constant pain. Something like... oblivion.
Chapter 25.
Fic index here if anyone wants to catch up, or just follow the tags. Also on AO3 and The Teaspoon.
Summary: Allison had always thought that university would be an adventure. But she'd not imagined that she'd end up dating Harold Saxon's son.
Setting: Autumn 2028/year 5 billion
Characters (this chapter): the Seeker.
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1100 words approx.
Feedback: I'm totally not too proud to beg.
Chapter 24
(Interlude featuring the End of the World)
‘Earth Death in 5 minutes.’
He was sitting sideways in the open door of his spacecraft, the beat hovering on the edge of his consciousness (one-two-three-four-dum-da-da-dum-dum-da-da-dum), proving oddly soothing in ways he hadn’t expected... His very own little Archangel Network, a tiny cocoon hiding him - the very first modification he’d fitted once his ship had been returned to him.
(They’d wired the secret tracker into the vortex manipulator itself he eventually discovered, and it had taken him weeks to undo it, as he had to make sure it still appeared to be functioning - he was never going to be followed again.)
So he cloaked himself, safe from being found by the present, and protecting the past from sensing what it mustn’t. (Spoilers could undo his very existence...)
And the subtle beat hummed on - no reason modifying what he knew worked.
‘Earth Death in 4 minutes’
Below him Earth was laid out, glowing like an unholy red jewel against the soft, indifferent darkness.
(These truths we hold to be self-evident: Everything ends, and everything dies.)
His childhood home... And yet never his. Close, but never closer. One of them, but not.
Born out of time, far above the dirt of the common people, there was no place he could point to as his origin - a child from a paradox, who shouldn’t exist, born to rule an empire that never was.
(The last child of a dead people; his first companions monsters from the end of time - future ghosts killing the present, running from the cold and the dark and the end of all things. But no one could run forever.)
‘Earth Death in 3 minutes’
But his human life was a lie too, a carefully constructed reality of half-truths and pretence and sleights-of-hand.
Yet he had existed in between the two realities for so long he wasn’t even sure who he was now; lying such a part of him that telling the truth had been like a head-rush, a strange new pleasure that he had indulged in to his own downfall - not holding back, not measuring things but flooding her until she drowned... Never remembering the most basic of lessons:
I will to the end of my days, with justice and with honour temper my actions and my thoughts.
And yet... How could he uphold those ideals? He was the son of renegades and liars, legends and terrors, their names sealed into the stars for eternity, trailing death in their wake.
Could there ever have been a half-way? It was all or nothing...
‘Earth Death in 2 minutes’
Because he had always known the truth could break them, a conversation from long ago echoing in his mind, from back when things had first fractured...
“Told you that you wouldn’t leave because I got in your way...”
“Who says I’m leaving?” she had asked, and he’d shaken his head.
“I’m not changing. I can’t change. Not in any way that would satisfy you at least... Can you accept that? Accept me?”
Unveiling what he was had only dazzled her for a moment (a single golden day) - all the truths he’d so carefully tried to keep out of the way tearing them apart as he’d foreseen - as she had sensed even back then...
“I think I can finally see how you resemble your father.”
Worst of all there was no one else to blame. He had made his choice three years ago - deliberately, eyes open, fully aware of the price he’d have to pay. Had wanted the lie, grasping it with both hands, extending it for as long as he could - balancing on the edge of reveal for so long that the act had almost become a part of him, the twin realities of his life always in his sight.
In return he’d had three years, and one perfect day.
Which was more than he’d expected.
So why did it feel so sudden?
‘Earth Death in 1 minute’
Maybe it was the pain... He hadn’t anticipated it to be so all-consuming. Like being frozen; the loss making it near impossible to even breathe, the very core of him cast into cold fire.
Maybe this is what dying feels like, he thought dully. Except dying brought with it rebirth - and here there was only loss and destruction.
Which had brought him to the end of the world.
Somewhere on the other side of the condemned planet the Doctor and Rose were running around the way heroes did, saving the lives of people onboard Platform One. Beautiful, long-lost Rose Tyler, the Valiant Child who had died in battle, only 19 here, two years younger than-
And Jack... His very own forever Jack.
But there was no one watching the death of Earth.
Except him.
‘Planet explodes in 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1’
He never looked away as the planet shattered from the inside out; burning, fragmenting - destroyed. His ship shook lightly as the blast waves hit, the silence of space somehow more deafening than any noise, swallowing him in its emptiness.
Rocks and dust all that was left.
‘So small, isn’t it?’ his father had said, the first time he had seen Earth, not even an hour old. ‘Such a small kingdom. But don’t worry little prince, soon enough we’ll have more worthy subjects to rule over. And maybe a castle... what do you think, does a castle sound nice?’
But he didn’t want castles or kingdoms. He wanted her. And now she was gone.
There was a fragment of a song in his mind, playing against the beat of the artificial drums...
Made me feel like the one
The one
You made me feel like the one
Made me feel like the one
The one
But he wasn’t, and never had been.
“Goodbye,” he whispered, before eventually turning away.
(She would be OK. She was human, had friends and family - good people, people wholly different from him. Babushka had said she’d be loved by a good man... Yes, she would be fine, in the end. She had a whole new life waiting, every door in the world open to her (he’d made sure of that), and she had the brains and drive to make all her dreams come true.)
But he needed something else. Something to dull the incessant, ever-present, constant pain. Something like... oblivion.
Chapter 25.
no subject
Oh, Alex.....
You're killing me here woman, killing me with the angst and the angst and the angst. I'll just be over here eagerly waiting for more.
no subject
Like I said before, I'm understanding Joss & Rusty. This stuff's addictive.
<3