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Fic: A Good Day (or: The War in the Medusa Cascade). Epilogue.
And here you go. The very final part. (I should say something, but I don't know what. Except there will obviously be more stories.)
Previous parts here for anyone who is wanting to catch up:
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8
And Master post for the whole 'verse here.
Summary: "Why is it only ever the bad guys who have a proper plan?" The Master's son finally meets the Daleks. And he thought it a good day. (TSE/JE rewrite with Eleven and Clara and a host of extras.)
Setting: Future AU TSE/JE. (Set between Name of the Doctor and Day of the Doctor)
Spoilers: The Name of the Doctor (S7.13)
Rating: PG-13.
Characters: The Seeker (OC, the Master's son), Eleventh Doctor, Clara, the Master, Jack, River, Roda (OC), Davros, others.
Beta: The always lovely![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kathyh. (Any mistakes mine!)
Thank yous: Tothe_redjay for the loan of Roda.
Feedback: I am not too proud to beg...
Epilogue
September 2013, Coal Hill School
The school secretary caught her as she was leaving.
“Oh Miss Oswald,” she sing-songed, and Clara stopped and stuck her head around the door.
“Yes?”
“There was a young man asking after you this afternoon…”
Her eyes were sparkling with curiosity and news, and Clara knew there was no getting out of this.
“Was he wearing a purple coat?” she asked, and the secretary’s face practically lit up with delight.
(Clara tried not to sigh, knowing that within twentyfour hours the whole school would know…)
“Yes he was! Ever so charming, isn’t he? Where have you been keeping him? And a Doctor to boot! If he has any brothers, or cousins, or friends - do introduce me! And the eyes - such an unusual colour. Don’t think I’ve ever seen such vivid green eyes…”
“Green eyes,” Clara repeated slowly, feeling sudden dread. “It’s not… He’s just an acquaintance. Did he leave a message?”
The secretary looked like she didn’t believe a word.
“Yes, here you are. Looks like more than an ‘acquaintance’ to me…”
Clara tried not to sigh. The woman seemed to live for cramming insinuations into every line she spoke.
Taking the business card the secretary held out she made her excuses, not looking at it until she was outside, and walking away.
It turned out to be an actual business card.
Alexander Saxon, B.Sc., M.Sc., Sc.D.
Independent Researcher
If you wish to contact Mr Saxon,
please send an email to a.saxon@archangel.org
She frowned, and turned it over. On the back was a short scribbled note.
Biting her lip, she turned things over in her head. Had he come back already? Maybe he wanted to talk to the Doctor, but thought it might be better going through her… They’d not parted on particularly good terms.
She didn’t have any plans and it was a nice afternoon - without really meaning to, her feet turned her towards the cafe.
He was seated in a corner in one of the cosy sofas and reading a newspaper when she entered. Black shirt and trousers, but purple coat just like the secretary had said - more of a blazer really, and much darker than the Doctor’s. Above all he just looked... normal. Goodlooking, certainly, but not overly so. The Doctor’s dress code was eccentric, and the rest of them were all on the odd spectrum. But she’d never have suspected there to be anything odd about the Seeker if she hadn’t known he was an alien. He just… blended in.
He looked up when she closed the door, and smiled.
“You came!”
Feeling oddly self-conscious she walked over to his table, and took a seat on the armchair across from him.
“You’re back very soon. Or… is it a time travel thing and you’ve actually been gone for months?”
Folding the newspaper neatly and laying it down on the table he looked up at her with a puzzled look.
“Back? I’ve not left yet.”
“But…” She faltered. “You left that a hologram message. And the Doctor searched with all his instruments and your TARDIS was nowhere.”
Leaning back, he chuckled.
“I worked out how to go off grid when I was only twenty years old. And I’ve only gotten better since.”
“I - I don’t understand. Was it all a clever lie?”
He shook his head.
“I very much intend to go. But I’m not about to throw myself at parallel universes without a) knowing what I’m doing, b) being 100% sure I can get back and c) making absolutely sure that I don’t destroy the space-time fabric. And all that takes time. But as everyone knows I’m terribly clever, I’m perfectly happy to let them think I’ve gone already whilst I can work these things out in my own time. However, as my TARDIS is busy doing calculations right now, I thought I’d use the opportunity to take a break.”
He smiled at her, and her eyes narrowed.
“A break. For talking to me?”
“Indeed. What can I get you? Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cake? Just name it.”
He was too charming. That was the problem - it was entirely too easy to forget what had happened. (’Don’t trust the man in black’ a voice whispered at the back of her mind.) She shook her head.
“Just give me whatever message you want passing on, and I’ll be on my way.”
This time he was the one who looked surprised.
“What message? For whom?”
“For the Doctor? I’m presuming that’s why you want to see me.”
His face closed down.
“There is really nothing I would want to say to the Doctor right now. I asked you to come because I want to talk to you.”
“Oh. Me?”
The smile came back.
“You are ‘The Impossible Girl’. And I like impossible things best of all. Besides, the Doctor’s companions are usually… louder than you. You were so very quiet, I couldn’t help but notice.” A beat. “Besides...”
“Besides?”
He hesitated.
“I wanted to apologise, I guess. Not that it was my fault, really, but you ended up in the middle of family arguments that have been going for more than three hundred years. Longer, in some cases. No one should be exposed to that. Goodness knows I do my best to hide - as you can see - but sometimes there’s no escape and I have to face the music. And it’s basically an exercise in frustration, since nothing’s changed in all that time, except me, this once. But all the rest - the shouting, the death threats… Well, it’s not usually Roda doing the threatening, but otherwise it was all like being stuck in the same old time loop.”
A sigh, as he spread his hands, looking resigned.
“But it can’t be helped, although I wish the Doctor hadn’t been so upset - he always takes everything so personally. At least this should give them all slightly different arguments for the next three hundred years. But! This is a dull subject. I would like to know something about you. Who are you, Miss Oswald? You seem so very normal, how are you impossible?”
Why did he have to be so nice? If it hadn’t been for… well, what she’d seen with her own eyes, she’d have happily lowered her guard. But as it was… She leaned back to mirror his pose and studied him coolly.
“If I answer your questions, will you answer mine?”
He looked at her, almost as if hurt.
“I didn’t mean this as an interrogation, only to have a chat... Please, ask me anything. Although are you sure I can’t get you a drink?”
She acquiesced to a coffee, and tried to gather herself when he went off to order it.
(Who was he? She felt a little like she was walking on quicksand. Not that she was frightened as such, just... uncertain. Usually she was good at gauging people, but he’d kept tripping her up, to the point where she plain didn’t know what to think.)
So when he returned, she gratefully took the coffee, thoughtfully blew on it, and then launched her attack:
“So, are you seriously going to take over the universe?”
His cup stopped half-way to his mouth.
“You certainly don’t beat around the bush.”
Then - a slow, warm smile.
“I like it. I had a human girlfriend once, oh so very, very long ago, who was like that too - never hesitated to call me out on things. I can see why the Doctor likes you. But in answer to your question - yes, taking over the universe is the idea, although of course the universe is very very very large. I’ll start small, slowly work my way up, see how it goes. I’m only one man, I do have limits.”
Green eyes were watching her with perfect equanimity, as he lifted the cup to his mouth, taking a sip.
“But… why?” she replied. “None of it makes sense. You seem… so genuinely pleased, but everyone else is worried, and I just can’t get it to fit… What is it you can see? What do you know, that they don’t? You don’t seem like your father at all, in that way.”
He studied her carefully, and she wondered what was going through his mind. Eventually he tilted his head, having evidently come to some sort of conclusion.
“When I was growing up, I had two best friends,” he said, setting the cup down on the table and resting his elbows on his knees, fingers loosely intertwined.
“Josh and Jamie,” she replied. “Jack told me a little about them. The twins are their great grandchildren, right?”
He shook his head.
“Yes and no. Yes, Josh and Jamie are the twins’ great-grandparents, but Josh only met Jamie when we were at university. The little trio I’m talking about was myself, Josh and Matt - from when we were all four. Josh was gorgeous and charming, I was the genius, and Matt… was the straight man. Just a normal guy, most people thought, someone to balance out the oddness. Except he was very driven - he just didn’t flaunt it. Josh wanted to make the world beautiful, but Matt wanted to make it better. If you survive the Doctor, look out for him in a few decades’ time - he’ll be at the heart of all kinds of campaigns. When he found out what I was, he was forever telling me that I ought to do something. ‘Noblesse oblige’ was his refrain. But I was far too wary to even try - with a father like mine, I knew entirely too well how slippery a slope ‘good intentions’ could prove to be. Besides, how do you start? Politics is out, taking over by force is effective, but generally counterproductive, and mind control… Oh I could do that in my sleep, it’d be the easiest thing in the world, but I- I don’t ever want to see that again. However, there is another way - one I had never even thought of…”
A sudden smile, as bright as on the Crucible: “I’m a hero. I saved the universe. People will hand me power on a plate, yet hold me accountable. All I need to do is work out how to best go about it. Which is why I’m taking a break - I don’t want to rush into anything and get it wrong through impatience.”
He’d promised to answer her questions, but this was far more than she had expected.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
A shrug, as he picked up his cup again and leaned back.
“You seem like a good listener. And you were the only relatively calm one - apart from River, but then she generally stays out of the domestics. You seem like you would be willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. Everyone else knows me already, have long since made up their minds… You see, I much prefer show-don’t-tell, but in this case I’m in somewhat of a catch-22 situation. The only way I can prove that I’m not going to be an evil overlord is to be a good one - but that very thing is what they won’t let me do. Of course, my name doesn’t help - ‘Alexander the Great’ has unfortunate connotations. I’m not aiming to be like my namesake, more like… One of the good Roman emperors? Not changing everything, but working with existing systems, improving them. Like… um, what’s his name? Marcus Aurelius, that’s it! Do you know him?”
She stared at him, trying not to show how his words had affected her. Had he said it on purpose?
Green eyes studied her, and she couldn’t for the life of her have said if they were shrewd or curious.
“I... yes, I know of Marcus Aurelius,” she eventually said, feeling like he’d somehow pulled the rug from under her. Was he genuinely just wanting to talk to her, or was he somehow manipulating her? But why? He’d said he didn’t have a message for the Doctor, yet he had to know she’d pass this on.
“Are you OK?” he asked as she didn’t continue, and she tried smiling.
“Sure. But you didn’t really answer my question. I could tell the Doctor all this...”
He bit his lip, laughter almost spilling over:
“Are you trying to tell me you could stop me?”
Her eyes narrowed and she studied him coldly. He was laughing at her?
“I’m saying I don’t trust you.”
Still trying to curb his evident amusement, he shook his head.
“That’s a shame. I’m very trustworthy, and I lie far less than the Doctor. But go on Impossible Girl, impress me. What have you got? ‘Impossible Girl’ is too good a title to be just ornamental, but you’re nothing like my Jack. Besides, I saw you die. Well, your doppleganger, and the Doctor seemed to know what was happening, even mentioning a third one. Go on, you know you want to…”
Trying to gather herself, she grasped her coffee, taking a small sip.
“I’m not sure. There might be... spoilers?”
Green eyes sparkled.
“I’m excellent at keeping secrets.”
She probably shouldn’t - but there wasn’t anyone else that she could really tell about it. And it might just impress him enough to stop him laughing.
“Right, here goes - have you ever heard of Trenzalore?”
He shook his head, nonplussed.
“Doesn’t ring a bell, no. Planet or place or person?”
“Planet. It’s where the Doctor dies. Where he’s… buried.”
(Some time in the far, far future, she told herself. Not yet.)
The Seeker’s eyes widened, the laughter abruptly gone.
“Please tell me this isn’t a story about how the Doctor went to the one and only place he must never ever go?”
She nodded, and he took a deep breath, hands grasping his cup tightly.
“And he shouts at me! How could he be so completely reckless?”
“His friends were in danger!” she snapped back, but the Seeker just shook his head,
“This is exactly why my best friend is an immortal man. Mortal friends make you vulnerable. I learned the lesson when I was sixteen!” A beat. “Sorry. Nothing to do with you. Just… tell your story.”
She wanted to yell that friends didn’t make you vulnerable, they made you strong - but her story would prove that well enough, so she told of how she had been summoned by Vastra, and everything that followed. He listened silently, not interrupting until she explained how she had leapt into the Doctor’s time stream, at which point he sat forward, looking at her as if he’d never seen her before.
“You did what? How the hell are you still here?”
“The Doctor went in after me, got me back out.”
He blinked.
“You’re mad. As mad as each other. I… can’t even begin to… Actually I was wrong. You’re not like my girlfriend after all. She wasn’t crazy.”
Clara’s jaw almost dropped.
“And wanting to take over the universe is the sane option?”
“Comparatively - yes. A thousand times yes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very impressed. People like you - I could never do that.”
She studied him, and was reminded of her initial thought - how unassuming he looked, sitting across from her in a sofa in a cafe as if they were on date like the school secretary presumed. Somehow his very normality was more unsettling than the Doctor’s peculiarities.
“How do you look so… normal? It’s-”
She wasn’t sure how to continue, how to say ‘You want to take over the universe, how can you look… ordinary?’ Yet he did. And she suddenly realised why this had tripped her up when she had first entered the cafe. She had only seen him in the TARDIS, in the Crucible, in Torchwood - had even been to his planet. All extraordinary places, and he’d fitted in there perfectly. How could he fit here also?
Thankfully he got the gist of what she was trying to say, finishing his coffee and then replying.
“Here, it’s easy. This is where I grew up, I can play the part without even thinking about it.”
“Play the part?” she asked slowly, a pang of worry shooting through her, and he studied her calmly.
“I grew up the only Time Lord child in a world full of aliens. I learned to adapt pretty quickly. The Child of Two Worlds, remember?”
A sideways smile that was rather bitter.
“Well, it’s a nice title. In truth, I’m not a child of either. Gallifrey is obviously long gone, and Earth… I know I said that I had a home and family. Which I do - did - but it was never mine. I learned that soon enough. What year is it now? Twenty thirteen? I am currently... six years old. Just less than two years until-”
He stopped, abruptly looking down, and she couldn’t help prompting:
“Until?”
(Until he learned that he had no real home, her mind filled in… He had been eight years old? What had happened? Something caught in her throat at that. What had it been like for him growing up as an alien in a human world? He had 'learned to play the part', he’d said. But constantly pretending to be something he wasn’t couldn’t have been healthy...)
At that moment there was a faint buzzing sound, and he pulled out something that looked like a phone from his pocket.
“Oh, and that’s my alarm. All tests run, ready for take off.”
The momentary vulnerability had vanished completely. Instead he smiled.
“Thank you for giving me some of you time Clara Oswin Oswald.”
She stared, her question forgotten.
“How-”
(It was what the Doctor had called her when he first came to her door. But she’d only coined the ‘Oswin’ thing later... The pang of worry immediately slammed into overdrive.)
Tucking the gizmo back into his pocket he eyed her candidly, and for a second the look in his eyes was just like his father’s.
“Let me keep a few secrets. And don’t worry - I’ll keep yours also. And in that spirit... A little spoiler for you, that I stumbled upon. Well, I was looking for you, and found... this.”
Confused, she looked up at him as he got to his feet. Reaching into a different pocket he pulled out something small, before tossing it to her.
“This should explain it.”
Catching the object, she saw that it was a coin, about the size of a pound, but thinner and made from a greenish metal she didn’t recognise. On one side it featured an engraved tree, heavily stylised, surrounded by the words ‘Seek and ye shall find’. (There was a slight - miniscule - delay between reading and understanding, which she knew meant that a TARDIS was translating for her.)
Puzzled she turned it over, and was faced with a profile image of the Seeker, ‘Alexander the Great’ in scrolling script around the edges, along with a string of numbers.
Slowly letting the implications sink in she lifted her head; but he was already gone.
~The End~
Previous parts here for anyone who is wanting to catch up:
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8
And Master post for the whole 'verse here.
Summary: "Why is it only ever the bad guys who have a proper plan?" The Master's son finally meets the Daleks. And he thought it a good day. (TSE/JE rewrite with Eleven and Clara and a host of extras.)
Setting: Future AU TSE/JE. (Set between Name of the Doctor and Day of the Doctor)
Spoilers: The Name of the Doctor (S7.13)
Rating: PG-13.
Characters: The Seeker (OC, the Master's son), Eleventh Doctor, Clara, the Master, Jack, River, Roda (OC), Davros, others.
Beta: The always lovely
kathyh. (Any mistakes mine!)Thank yous: To
the_redjay for the loan of Roda.Feedback: I am not too proud to beg...
Epilogue
September 2013, Coal Hill School
The school secretary caught her as she was leaving.
“Oh Miss Oswald,” she sing-songed, and Clara stopped and stuck her head around the door.
“Yes?”
“There was a young man asking after you this afternoon…”
Her eyes were sparkling with curiosity and news, and Clara knew there was no getting out of this.
“Was he wearing a purple coat?” she asked, and the secretary’s face practically lit up with delight.
(Clara tried not to sigh, knowing that within twentyfour hours the whole school would know…)
“Yes he was! Ever so charming, isn’t he? Where have you been keeping him? And a Doctor to boot! If he has any brothers, or cousins, or friends - do introduce me! And the eyes - such an unusual colour. Don’t think I’ve ever seen such vivid green eyes…”
“Green eyes,” Clara repeated slowly, feeling sudden dread. “It’s not… He’s just an acquaintance. Did he leave a message?”
The secretary looked like she didn’t believe a word.
“Yes, here you are. Looks like more than an ‘acquaintance’ to me…”
Clara tried not to sigh. The woman seemed to live for cramming insinuations into every line she spoke.
Taking the business card the secretary held out she made her excuses, not looking at it until she was outside, and walking away.
It turned out to be an actual business card.
Independent Researcher
If you wish to contact Mr Saxon,
please send an email to a.saxon@archangel.org
She frowned, and turned it over. On the back was a short scribbled note.
Can I see you? If so, please come to the cafe round the corner, I’ll be waiting after you finish work.
S.
Biting her lip, she turned things over in her head. Had he come back already? Maybe he wanted to talk to the Doctor, but thought it might be better going through her… They’d not parted on particularly good terms.
She didn’t have any plans and it was a nice afternoon - without really meaning to, her feet turned her towards the cafe.
He was seated in a corner in one of the cosy sofas and reading a newspaper when she entered. Black shirt and trousers, but purple coat just like the secretary had said - more of a blazer really, and much darker than the Doctor’s. Above all he just looked... normal. Goodlooking, certainly, but not overly so. The Doctor’s dress code was eccentric, and the rest of them were all on the odd spectrum. But she’d never have suspected there to be anything odd about the Seeker if she hadn’t known he was an alien. He just… blended in.
He looked up when she closed the door, and smiled.
“You came!”
Feeling oddly self-conscious she walked over to his table, and took a seat on the armchair across from him.
“You’re back very soon. Or… is it a time travel thing and you’ve actually been gone for months?”
Folding the newspaper neatly and laying it down on the table he looked up at her with a puzzled look.
“Back? I’ve not left yet.”
“But…” She faltered. “You left that a hologram message. And the Doctor searched with all his instruments and your TARDIS was nowhere.”
Leaning back, he chuckled.
“I worked out how to go off grid when I was only twenty years old. And I’ve only gotten better since.”
“I - I don’t understand. Was it all a clever lie?”
He shook his head.
“I very much intend to go. But I’m not about to throw myself at parallel universes without a) knowing what I’m doing, b) being 100% sure I can get back and c) making absolutely sure that I don’t destroy the space-time fabric. And all that takes time. But as everyone knows I’m terribly clever, I’m perfectly happy to let them think I’ve gone already whilst I can work these things out in my own time. However, as my TARDIS is busy doing calculations right now, I thought I’d use the opportunity to take a break.”
He smiled at her, and her eyes narrowed.
“A break. For talking to me?”
“Indeed. What can I get you? Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cake? Just name it.”
He was too charming. That was the problem - it was entirely too easy to forget what had happened. (’Don’t trust the man in black’ a voice whispered at the back of her mind.) She shook her head.
“Just give me whatever message you want passing on, and I’ll be on my way.”
This time he was the one who looked surprised.
“What message? For whom?”
“For the Doctor? I’m presuming that’s why you want to see me.”
His face closed down.
“There is really nothing I would want to say to the Doctor right now. I asked you to come because I want to talk to you.”
“Oh. Me?”
The smile came back.
“You are ‘The Impossible Girl’. And I like impossible things best of all. Besides, the Doctor’s companions are usually… louder than you. You were so very quiet, I couldn’t help but notice.” A beat. “Besides...”
“Besides?”
He hesitated.
“I wanted to apologise, I guess. Not that it was my fault, really, but you ended up in the middle of family arguments that have been going for more than three hundred years. Longer, in some cases. No one should be exposed to that. Goodness knows I do my best to hide - as you can see - but sometimes there’s no escape and I have to face the music. And it’s basically an exercise in frustration, since nothing’s changed in all that time, except me, this once. But all the rest - the shouting, the death threats… Well, it’s not usually Roda doing the threatening, but otherwise it was all like being stuck in the same old time loop.”
A sigh, as he spread his hands, looking resigned.
“But it can’t be helped, although I wish the Doctor hadn’t been so upset - he always takes everything so personally. At least this should give them all slightly different arguments for the next three hundred years. But! This is a dull subject. I would like to know something about you. Who are you, Miss Oswald? You seem so very normal, how are you impossible?”
Why did he have to be so nice? If it hadn’t been for… well, what she’d seen with her own eyes, she’d have happily lowered her guard. But as it was… She leaned back to mirror his pose and studied him coolly.
“If I answer your questions, will you answer mine?”
He looked at her, almost as if hurt.
“I didn’t mean this as an interrogation, only to have a chat... Please, ask me anything. Although are you sure I can’t get you a drink?”
She acquiesced to a coffee, and tried to gather herself when he went off to order it.
(Who was he? She felt a little like she was walking on quicksand. Not that she was frightened as such, just... uncertain. Usually she was good at gauging people, but he’d kept tripping her up, to the point where she plain didn’t know what to think.)
So when he returned, she gratefully took the coffee, thoughtfully blew on it, and then launched her attack:
“So, are you seriously going to take over the universe?”
His cup stopped half-way to his mouth.
“You certainly don’t beat around the bush.”
Then - a slow, warm smile.
“I like it. I had a human girlfriend once, oh so very, very long ago, who was like that too - never hesitated to call me out on things. I can see why the Doctor likes you. But in answer to your question - yes, taking over the universe is the idea, although of course the universe is very very very large. I’ll start small, slowly work my way up, see how it goes. I’m only one man, I do have limits.”
Green eyes were watching her with perfect equanimity, as he lifted the cup to his mouth, taking a sip.
“But… why?” she replied. “None of it makes sense. You seem… so genuinely pleased, but everyone else is worried, and I just can’t get it to fit… What is it you can see? What do you know, that they don’t? You don’t seem like your father at all, in that way.”
He studied her carefully, and she wondered what was going through his mind. Eventually he tilted his head, having evidently come to some sort of conclusion.
“When I was growing up, I had two best friends,” he said, setting the cup down on the table and resting his elbows on his knees, fingers loosely intertwined.
“Josh and Jamie,” she replied. “Jack told me a little about them. The twins are their great grandchildren, right?”
He shook his head.
“Yes and no. Yes, Josh and Jamie are the twins’ great-grandparents, but Josh only met Jamie when we were at university. The little trio I’m talking about was myself, Josh and Matt - from when we were all four. Josh was gorgeous and charming, I was the genius, and Matt… was the straight man. Just a normal guy, most people thought, someone to balance out the oddness. Except he was very driven - he just didn’t flaunt it. Josh wanted to make the world beautiful, but Matt wanted to make it better. If you survive the Doctor, look out for him in a few decades’ time - he’ll be at the heart of all kinds of campaigns. When he found out what I was, he was forever telling me that I ought to do something. ‘Noblesse oblige’ was his refrain. But I was far too wary to even try - with a father like mine, I knew entirely too well how slippery a slope ‘good intentions’ could prove to be. Besides, how do you start? Politics is out, taking over by force is effective, but generally counterproductive, and mind control… Oh I could do that in my sleep, it’d be the easiest thing in the world, but I- I don’t ever want to see that again. However, there is another way - one I had never even thought of…”
A sudden smile, as bright as on the Crucible: “I’m a hero. I saved the universe. People will hand me power on a plate, yet hold me accountable. All I need to do is work out how to best go about it. Which is why I’m taking a break - I don’t want to rush into anything and get it wrong through impatience.”
He’d promised to answer her questions, but this was far more than she had expected.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
A shrug, as he picked up his cup again and leaned back.
“You seem like a good listener. And you were the only relatively calm one - apart from River, but then she generally stays out of the domestics. You seem like you would be willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. Everyone else knows me already, have long since made up their minds… You see, I much prefer show-don’t-tell, but in this case I’m in somewhat of a catch-22 situation. The only way I can prove that I’m not going to be an evil overlord is to be a good one - but that very thing is what they won’t let me do. Of course, my name doesn’t help - ‘Alexander the Great’ has unfortunate connotations. I’m not aiming to be like my namesake, more like… One of the good Roman emperors? Not changing everything, but working with existing systems, improving them. Like… um, what’s his name? Marcus Aurelius, that’s it! Do you know him?”
She stared at him, trying not to show how his words had affected her. Had he said it on purpose?
Green eyes studied her, and she couldn’t for the life of her have said if they were shrewd or curious.
“I... yes, I know of Marcus Aurelius,” she eventually said, feeling like he’d somehow pulled the rug from under her. Was he genuinely just wanting to talk to her, or was he somehow manipulating her? But why? He’d said he didn’t have a message for the Doctor, yet he had to know she’d pass this on.
“Are you OK?” he asked as she didn’t continue, and she tried smiling.
“Sure. But you didn’t really answer my question. I could tell the Doctor all this...”
He bit his lip, laughter almost spilling over:
“Are you trying to tell me you could stop me?”
Her eyes narrowed and she studied him coldly. He was laughing at her?
“I’m saying I don’t trust you.”
Still trying to curb his evident amusement, he shook his head.
“That’s a shame. I’m very trustworthy, and I lie far less than the Doctor. But go on Impossible Girl, impress me. What have you got? ‘Impossible Girl’ is too good a title to be just ornamental, but you’re nothing like my Jack. Besides, I saw you die. Well, your doppleganger, and the Doctor seemed to know what was happening, even mentioning a third one. Go on, you know you want to…”
Trying to gather herself, she grasped her coffee, taking a small sip.
“I’m not sure. There might be... spoilers?”
Green eyes sparkled.
“I’m excellent at keeping secrets.”
She probably shouldn’t - but there wasn’t anyone else that she could really tell about it. And it might just impress him enough to stop him laughing.
“Right, here goes - have you ever heard of Trenzalore?”
He shook his head, nonplussed.
“Doesn’t ring a bell, no. Planet or place or person?”
“Planet. It’s where the Doctor dies. Where he’s… buried.”
(Some time in the far, far future, she told herself. Not yet.)
The Seeker’s eyes widened, the laughter abruptly gone.
“Please tell me this isn’t a story about how the Doctor went to the one and only place he must never ever go?”
She nodded, and he took a deep breath, hands grasping his cup tightly.
“And he shouts at me! How could he be so completely reckless?”
“His friends were in danger!” she snapped back, but the Seeker just shook his head,
“This is exactly why my best friend is an immortal man. Mortal friends make you vulnerable. I learned the lesson when I was sixteen!” A beat. “Sorry. Nothing to do with you. Just… tell your story.”
She wanted to yell that friends didn’t make you vulnerable, they made you strong - but her story would prove that well enough, so she told of how she had been summoned by Vastra, and everything that followed. He listened silently, not interrupting until she explained how she had leapt into the Doctor’s time stream, at which point he sat forward, looking at her as if he’d never seen her before.
“You did what? How the hell are you still here?”
“The Doctor went in after me, got me back out.”
He blinked.
“You’re mad. As mad as each other. I… can’t even begin to… Actually I was wrong. You’re not like my girlfriend after all. She wasn’t crazy.”
Clara’s jaw almost dropped.
“And wanting to take over the universe is the sane option?”
“Comparatively - yes. A thousand times yes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very impressed. People like you - I could never do that.”
She studied him, and was reminded of her initial thought - how unassuming he looked, sitting across from her in a sofa in a cafe as if they were on date like the school secretary presumed. Somehow his very normality was more unsettling than the Doctor’s peculiarities.
“How do you look so… normal? It’s-”
She wasn’t sure how to continue, how to say ‘You want to take over the universe, how can you look… ordinary?’ Yet he did. And she suddenly realised why this had tripped her up when she had first entered the cafe. She had only seen him in the TARDIS, in the Crucible, in Torchwood - had even been to his planet. All extraordinary places, and he’d fitted in there perfectly. How could he fit here also?
Thankfully he got the gist of what she was trying to say, finishing his coffee and then replying.
“Here, it’s easy. This is where I grew up, I can play the part without even thinking about it.”
“Play the part?” she asked slowly, a pang of worry shooting through her, and he studied her calmly.
“I grew up the only Time Lord child in a world full of aliens. I learned to adapt pretty quickly. The Child of Two Worlds, remember?”
A sideways smile that was rather bitter.
“Well, it’s a nice title. In truth, I’m not a child of either. Gallifrey is obviously long gone, and Earth… I know I said that I had a home and family. Which I do - did - but it was never mine. I learned that soon enough. What year is it now? Twenty thirteen? I am currently... six years old. Just less than two years until-”
He stopped, abruptly looking down, and she couldn’t help prompting:
“Until?”
(Until he learned that he had no real home, her mind filled in… He had been eight years old? What had happened? Something caught in her throat at that. What had it been like for him growing up as an alien in a human world? He had 'learned to play the part', he’d said. But constantly pretending to be something he wasn’t couldn’t have been healthy...)
At that moment there was a faint buzzing sound, and he pulled out something that looked like a phone from his pocket.
“Oh, and that’s my alarm. All tests run, ready for take off.”
The momentary vulnerability had vanished completely. Instead he smiled.
“Thank you for giving me some of you time Clara Oswin Oswald.”
She stared, her question forgotten.
“How-”
(It was what the Doctor had called her when he first came to her door. But she’d only coined the ‘Oswin’ thing later... The pang of worry immediately slammed into overdrive.)
Tucking the gizmo back into his pocket he eyed her candidly, and for a second the look in his eyes was just like his father’s.
“Let me keep a few secrets. And don’t worry - I’ll keep yours also. And in that spirit... A little spoiler for you, that I stumbled upon. Well, I was looking for you, and found... this.”
Confused, she looked up at him as he got to his feet. Reaching into a different pocket he pulled out something small, before tossing it to her.
“This should explain it.”
Catching the object, she saw that it was a coin, about the size of a pound, but thinner and made from a greenish metal she didn’t recognise. On one side it featured an engraved tree, heavily stylised, surrounded by the words ‘Seek and ye shall find’. (There was a slight - miniscule - delay between reading and understanding, which she knew meant that a TARDIS was translating for her.)
Puzzled she turned it over, and was faced with a profile image of the Seeker, ‘Alexander the Great’ in scrolling script around the edges, along with a string of numbers.
Slowly letting the implications sink in she lifted her head; but he was already gone.
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It was interesting to see Clara's surprise about the Seeker looking so normal, blending in so perfectly with his surroundings, and also the contrast between his joyous reaction to her arrival and her own self-consciousness and wariness. I chuckled at everyone being so sure the Seeker was already gone when in fact he was just lying low and biding his time in peace—and of course, as always, he was so thorough and careful about what he was doing, wanting to do it all right. I also liked Clara questioning why he wanted to talk to her, being so on edge, finding him too charming and easy to trust yet remembering the warning she'd been given. Made sense that she would think it was about the Doctor, but the Seeker had nothing to say to him at the moment and it was indeed her he was interested in…
I liked his noticing how quiet she'd been and being intrigued by that—not the likes of Donna and Amy, no wonder he would notice the difference ;) I also enjoyed his apology to her and his opening up about what it was like usually like in his family, all those age-old conflicts and issues that no outsider should have to be exposed to. And instead of going on about all that stuff, he wanted to know about her, except Clara was still pretty wary… It was interesting to see how she needed to gather herself, she couldn't make up her mind about him and it unsettled her so—she isn't used to being so out of her depth… But she wouldn't let him see that, acting so bluntly honest and to the point instead. Loved how he compared her to Roda :D
Clara's reactions were very interesting, the way she tried to understand his POV, being so puzzled by the contrast between the others' extreme reactions and his reasonable attitude and certainty—she was the only one to ask what do you know that they don't? and it makes all the difference. And he was equally frank and open to her in return—explaining his intentions, his being aware of the hugeness of the task and wanting to take things one by one and do things right, going way back to some personal background to help her understand where he was coming from. The portrayal of Matt's unassuming, but very strong nature, and his influence on the Seeker, was pretty great—yet he was still wary because of his family history and personal history, his father, his awareness that good intentions could lead one astray so easily, his fear of repeating his mistakes with mind control too. Yet these events were the perfect opportunity, the perfect balance—and he could clearly see that, while still being so thorough and careful and purposeful as always…
So that was rather more than Clara had bargained for. ;) I like her asking why he was telling her so much, and his pointing out that she was a good listener, simply, and one that could hear him out without too many preconceived ideas. Also liked the River reference, how they both were the only ones to keep calm but for different reasons due to their personalities. Indeed all the others just couldn't leave him the benefit of the doubt in a situation like that, I like the way you showed the catch-22 in that and how his only way to prove them wrong was going through with what they were refusing in the first place. The Alexander the Great vs. Marcus Aurelius reference was genius—Clara falling off her chair, again ;)
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I know! Finally got there.
I really enjoyed that, it was great making it about Clara interacting alone with the Seeker—very interesting. Her impressions and confusion were fascinating.
I think she deserved a chance to shine!
I cracked up at the scene with the secretary XD That confusion between the Doctor and the Seeker was nice.
That was very deliberate - he's been mirroring his father throughout the story, so I wanted to make sure people knew he was always mirroring both (whilst just being himself).
I also smirked at the archangel.org address ;)
Oh that's old. ;)
It was interesting to see Clara's surprise about the Seeker looking so normal, blending in so perfectly with his surroundings, and also the contrast between his joyous reaction to her arrival and her own self-consciousness and wariness. I
These are fun things to play with. Before she was in his world. But now he's in hers... and he's fine. That's almost more worrying.
I chuckled at everyone being so sure the Seeker was already gone when in fact he was just lying low and biding his time in peace—and of course, as always, he was so thorough and careful about what he was doing, wanting to do it all right.
He's very good at playing people. And the twins were obviously happy to help him cover his tracks. ;)
I also liked Clara questioning why he wanted to talk to her, being so on edge, finding him too charming and easy to trust yet remembering the warning she'd been given.
They got on extremely well initially, and I think she still feels betrayed by that.
Made sense that she would think it was about the Doctor, but the Seeker had nothing to say to him at the moment and it was indeed her he was interested in…
Throws her rather. :)
I liked his noticing how quiet she'd been and being intrigued by that—not the likes of Donna and Amy, no wonder he would notice the difference ;)
This. Not that she can't be forceful, but...
I also enjoyed his apology to her and his opening up about what it was like usually like in his family, all those age-old conflicts and issues that no outsider should have to be exposed to.
It really was like a family argument, except with the whole universe at stake.
And instead of going on about all that stuff, he wanted to know about her, except Clara was still pretty wary… It was interesting to see how she needed to gather herself, she couldn't make up her mind about him and it unsettled her so—she isn't used to being so out of her depth… But she wouldn't let him see that, acting so bluntly honest and to the point instead.
Attack is the best form of defense! And she's good at being blunt when she has to.
Loved how he compared her to Roda :D
Oh no, that was Allison he was talking about. He and Roda haven't really argued much, if at all, until this point, when it's a complete break. Allison on the other hand... Well. ;)
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Yay you!
I think she deserved a chance to shine!
She definitely did.
That was very deliberate - he's been mirroring his father throughout the story, so I wanted to make sure people knew he was always mirroring both (whilst just being himself).
Very nice! ^_^
These are fun things to play with. Before she was in his world. But now he's in hers... and he's fine. That's almost more worrying.
It is—so unsettling!
He's very good at playing people. And the twins were obviously happy to help him cover his tracks. ;)
I can imagine ;)
They got on extremely well initially, and I think she still feels betrayed by that.
*nods* Makes sense…
Throws her rather. :)
Indeed.
This. Not that she can't be forceful, but...
Yeah, itʼs not as natural—itʼs when there is a big reason to put her foot down.
It really was like a family argument, except with the whole universe at stake.
Yes. XD
Attack is the best form of defense! And she's good at being blunt when she has to.
Go Clara!
Oh no, that was Allison he was talking about. He and Roda haven't really argued much, if at all, until this point, when it's a complete break. Allison on the other hand... Well. ;)
Oh right! Sorry for the confusion :)
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And this was another reason to use Clara - she had that outsider perspective.
And he was equally frank and open to her in return—explaining his intentions, his being aware of the hugeness of the task and wanting to take things one by one and do things right, going way back to some personal background to help her understand where he was coming from. The portrayal of Matt's unassuming, but very strong nature, and his influence on the Seeker, was pretty great
When you get to his earlier years, you'll see how very sharply he distances himself from any kind of direct involvement. 'Not my problem' is his refrain.
yet he was still wary because of his family history and personal history, his father, his awareness that good intentions could lead one astray so easily, his fear of repeating his mistakes with mind control too. Yet these events were the perfect opportunity, the perfect balance—and he could clearly see that, while still being so thorough and careful and purposeful as always…
And he is a lot older now, than he was. This makes a difference. He knows himself well enough to trust himself not to go off the rails.
So that was rather more than Clara had bargained for. ;)
Oh yes. *g*
I like her asking why he was telling her so much, and his pointing out that she was a good listener, simply, and one that could hear him out without too many preconceived ideas. Also liked the River reference, how they both were the only ones to keep calm but for different reasons due to their personalities.
He was very grateful for that...
Indeed all the others just couldn't leave him the benefit of the doubt in a situation like that, I like the way you showed the catch-22 in that and how his only way to prove them wrong was going through with what they were refusing in the first place.
He can always see the issues very clearly. And knows there's no way out of it. So he'll just do what he wants to, and not worry about stepping on people's toes.
The Alexander the Great vs. Marcus Aurelius reference was genius—Clara falling off her chair, again ;)
He is... tricksy.
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*nods*
When you get to his earlier years, you'll see how very sharply he distances himself from any kind of direct involvement. 'Not my problem' is his refrain.
Makes sense, and that must be quite interesting to see.
And he is a lot older now, than he was. This makes a difference. He knows himself well enough to trust himself not to go off the rails.
*nods*
He was very grateful for that...
You bet! Compared to the rest… ;)
He can always see the issues very clearly.
Lucidity ftw.
And knows there's no way out of it. So he'll just do what he wants to, and not worry about stepping on people's toes.
Thatʼs really the only way to get shit done XD
He is... tricksy.
You can say that again. XD
(Lovely new banner again!)
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Looking forward to your thoughts on the matter if/when you ever get there. :)
Thatʼs really the only way to get shit done XD
Indeed. And he likes to just get on with things. Endless discussions weary him.
(Lovely new banner again!)
Thank you. I was inspired. :)
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Must grit his teeth a lot =P
Thank you. I was inspired. :)
*thumbs up*
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