westwhere | event log » closed starters

[ She at least has the energy to talk, but he can't see any visible improvements in the time she's been sitting out here. One would think it's a perfect time to get answers from her, if he wants to be heartless. ]

Clearly. [ He looks back at the entrance to the room that's been quiet since they left it. ] None of us should be here. We have an illusion of choice, but ultimately we've been pulled along towards this place since the beginning. They've been using us and we've been letting them.

[ And because you're never too old for a lecture, he turns to her and adds: ]

I understand that there's an adjustment if you're used to being invincible, but now's the time to be a little less reckless. Don't you think?

( She's well too old for a lecture, but his attempt makes her laugh. If he knew her better, he'd know the futility of expecting her to be more careful. )

I'm not leaving here either way.

( There's no anger or disappointment, only the casualness she seems to favor. )

If we're letting them use us, is it really an illusion of choice? Because I know something about not having a choice.

( She tips her head to the side, watching him. )

I wasn't the only one in that room. What were you doing there?

[ Those are some interesting word choices, and Five narrows his eyes at her as she immediately tries to turn it around on him. There's a couple of very key differences to what he was doing there and what she did. And one annoying similarity. ]

Aside from saving you? [ He could say he went in just for that reason, but she seems with it enough to see through that. ] Maybe I wanted to see how close our versions of Hell are. The difference is that I had a way out. At least until the seal breaks and we're all in the same boat.

The fact is that we're screwed, no matter what choices we make. It's only up to you if you want to be around long enough to see how it ends.

( The slightest of mock gasps. ) And I thought you didn't like me.

I would have made my own way out. Eventually. ( Ignoring for the moment that she still isn't sure if she has the energy to stand under her own power. But she does feel better, for whatever that's worth, even if she still looks dreadful. ) You know, sweetie, I don't think we're that different.

How do you think it's going to end?

( Is she avoiding the quite obvious point? Maybe. But open honesty suits her only so well. )

[ He smiles, if only because he doesn't like anyone. Obviously, with how he's made no effort to help her back up. But he's not the psychopath that people assume he is. He was actually working pretty hard to save the world and everyone in it, prior to several spectacular failures.

Then he laughs in a way that completely negates the good nature he was just demonstrating. ]

If history proves anything, it'll end in a big ball of fire. [ The moon exploding, nuclear holocaust, and whatever the hell is waiting in the future. ] Your Doctor seemed to think the apocalypse might be a fixed point. I thought that was bullshit, but four times has to be a record.

He does have an annoying habit of being right about that sort of thing.

( And there's genuine annoyance in her voice, despite her affection for the man. She understands time as well as he does, but she's always been more compelled to fight against it. )

So if everything's going to end, why should my recklessness bother you?

( Something about Five reminds her of herself. She'd gotten the same impression the first time they'd spoken. She still doesn't trust him. But she doesn't dislike him. )

[ His mouth twitches. She’s a strange one to be focused on why, but maybe it isn't entirely unfounded to question his motives. It isn't like he'd been expecting gratitude. Aside from basic human decency, he had no reason to step in.

It does bother him though. He's been afflicted by magic far too many times, and it's jarring to watch it happen to someone else. ]

If you were that eager to be done with it, all you had to do was ask. [ Hard to tell when he’s kidding with the look on his face, so better not to press it. ] It’s ending, but it is possible to slow it down. I needed more time.

I doubt you intended to sacrifice yourself for the cause. There are better ways.

( She gives a brief, considering hum. )

I'm not the sacrificing type.

( But just ask her how she died. If she thought it would make any difference, she'd sacrifice herself in a heartbeat, if only to keep someone else from doing it. But she'll never be as selfless as the Doctor or as ready to champion any hopeless cause, and current appearances aside, she doesn't actually have a death wish. )

But I'll keep that in mind.

( Maybe like recognizes like or maybe she's reading too much into it, but strangely, she does think he'd near the top of her list if she did intend any grand sacrifices and was looking for insurance. )

We always want more time, sweetie, but Time doesn't play by our rules. The Doctor doesn't have the market cornered on understanding that. ( In fact, she'd say, for a time lord, he still has a lot to learn about time. ) Explain it to me.

[ Five might have respected her choice if she'd had more of a reason for doing something stupid. He's not entirely convinced it was blind curiosity, but he can't figure out what else it could be.

He allows the 'sweetie' to pass with a frown, distracted by the fact that she could be dying and probably desperate for answers. From the way she's talking, she might even understand what he's about to imply. ]

If I knew what caused the seal to start breaking in the first place, I'd have a frame of reference. [ He pauses for a second or two, in case she miraculously stumbled on something useful, then continues. ] It's a long shot, but if I can rely on math I've already done, I could go back and stop it.

I was just hoping it wouldn't come to that.

( Sorry. Nothing useful here.

But she is terribly curious. )

I see.

Is this what you do, then? Chase any potential apocalypse, hoping you'll find the key to preventing one of your own? I'll spare you a lecture on paradoxes. How did your apocalypse start, originally?

[ Five wasn't expecting to be called out, and for a moment he wonders if she knows about the world-ending paradox that's waiting on him. It reminds him that he needs to watch what he says, even if she's in this state. ]

Originally. [ He flexes his jaw and the edge of a headache pulses in his temple. ] The moon exploded.

I'm not chasing the apocalypse. If anything, it's chasing me.

Well that would do it.

( She isn't without sympathy, but what good would her pity do him? )

If you're so sure you aren't chasing it, sweetie, why go looking into the gates of hell?

( But she doesn't really give him time to answer that. )

Maybe it wasn't an apocalypse, but I know all about fixed points, disordered timelines. When every choice you think you've made is part of someone else's plan. You'll go mad trying to stop it this way.

[ Five doesn't do well with pity, so her reaction is as good as any, even as he tenses his shoulders in an attempt to shrug off the pain in his temple. She makes a valid argument, if not for the fact that this particular fixed point means the end of everything. What is he supposed to do?

If everything she says is true, all of her experience screwing with timelines isn't paying off. He can relate. ]

I'd say I'm open to suggestions, but I see where that led you.

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