Am I Part of the Cure

[redlightgreenlight]

Characters: Valdis and some open
Date: All of July
Location: Throughout Keeliai
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: In headers


May had been a complete and utter mess. Between the anonymous accusations, the failings of her plan regarding them, her own foolishness and the cultist attack, Valdis couldn’t seem to pull the pieces back together. It was extraordinarily grating to feel so out of control. She still didn’t have her position back at the KPD, so she filled her time teaching at the Dojo, reading and rereading books and wandering the streets at night. Sleeping was difficult, not for nightmares, but she felt too restless. There was too much to do in the aftermath of the Cultist attacks, and she had no idea where to start. Useless, was the word. June hadn’t been much better, but at least there had been a sense of calm and healing, no matter how false the calm seemed.

Comments

[redlightgreenlight]

[Valdis smirked. Legends were many, even on her world. Who knew how many of them were true and which were not?]

I have now. Not that I could tell you the story.

[wellhello]

Well, I guess I should fix that, shouldn't I?

[There's a sort of brightness to him, an even more confident slant to his posture as he gets ready to tell. It was obvious to him who was still on his mind, despite himself, but he'd run with it.]

Now, in this distant little corner of the universe there was this planet called Gallifrey. It was supposed to be a gorgeous place, all red and gold and shining, with a fantastic citadel covered by a protective dome, like a high end snow globe.

[Jack gestured as he spoke, shaping the dome in the air and illustrating the domes. It was a little more description than he'd had most of his life, but Rose had gotten the Doctor to talk - just a little - in that way only she could, and he'd been lucky enough to listen.]

Now, there's more to it than that of course. Because these guys? They were some of the first people to develop time travel, and they got good. But they also got a little high and mighty. 'Time Lord' isn't a name anyone else gave them. But they could see, supposedly, the way things were supposed to go, and if anyone else tried to change things up in the timestream, they'd be there to stop it. To keep things like paradoxes from happening. The thing is, other than this, they got this strict non-interference policy. They wouldn't help you out any other way, barely even interacted with anyone off their planet - or outside of their bubble, actually. They became the self-declared wise observers of time and the universe and everything in it.

[Jack waited a moment to take a breath, to let the background set in.]

Now, there was one Time Lord who wasn't so fond of that idea, who thought the rest of them were stodgy old buzzards and wanted to see the universe first-hand. [If there's a modicum of fondness slipping into his voice, he's trying his best to hide it.] So he stole one of their time ships and...off he went. The other Time Lords...they didn't like that very much.

[He shrugs, like he can't imagine why not.]

So this rogue Time Lord would get into trouble, zip around time and space sticking his nose into everyone's business, and overall be against everything they stood for. They caught him, at one point. Wiped his companions' memories and sent them back to where they were from. And then they killed him. But the Time Lords, they're a little like cats. They want attention on their own terms, are up for a little adoration, and they've got more than one life. When you kill a Time Lord, they just...change. Come back as a completely different person - looks, personality, favorite foods - but they've still got the same memories. The same heart, soul, however you want to put it.

[Jack looks pensive for a moment, still, for now, very much enjoying the telling of the story. He takes a sip of his tea and only makes a little of a face when it turns out to be cold. Ah well.]

But I guess, before I go into the Time War, I have to tell you about the Daleks.

[redlightgreenlight]

[As credit to her years of practice, there is no indication that Valdis isn't actively listening to his story. He seems to be enjoying the opportunity to talk, so she'll let him]

Oh, please do.

[wellhello]

[There's something bitter added to Jack's voice as he continues, even if his expression is still spot on.]

Okay. Well, you remember earlier when I mentioned evil? That's the Daleks. The Daleks want pretty much nothing more than to eradicate all other life in the universe. In fact, that's the only thing they want. The only emotion they've got is hate. Even killed their own creator.

They're a plague that sweeps it's way across the universe, these fleshy things that look like someone stepped on a squid, permanently attached to what's practically a tank. Near impossible to actually take down, though you can do it with a big enough gun.

[He could personally attest to that.]

This Last Great Time War? It was between the Daleks and the Time Lords. But I guess you're probably wondering why the race that mastered time travel can't just, say, go wipe them out before they existed. Before they could do any more damage, before they could exterminate the billions they would go on to.

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[The bitterness is evident, even if his expression didn't change. This was getting interesting now.]

Perhaps not as much as you might think. To alter the timeline that significantly could cause all sorts of unforeseen problems. There's a reason that time is supposed to flow only in one direction.

[wellhello]

[Jack raised an eyebrow at that, his smile present but thin.]

Okay, little miss butterfly effect. Typically you'd be right, but remember - you're talking about the guys who think it's their job to keep time on the straight and narrow. They're sensitive to it - hell if half the stories are right they can see those ripples. They prevented paradoxes.

[Was the past tense almost a hint? Maybe. Jack broke eye contact only briefly to meet their waitress's eyes and hold a finger to request a refill. The taste of the tea had been retroactively growing on him and he could use a warm cup. That handled he turned back to Valdis.]

But I guess it's going to come as a shock to you that someone did try. That vagabond I told you about? Someone sent him. He'd run into the Daleks before. Stopped them a couple of times, he knew precisely what they could do. They sent him back to their conception. Skaro, this hellhole of a planet. The entire Dalek race, incubating, just waiting to be given the tools of destruction. All he had to do was cross a pair of wires, they were in his hands...

[Jack leaned back, shrugging lightly and crossed his arms over his chest. It was hard to tell if there was any judgment in his expression, but there didn't seem to be. Just a thread of something that might've been a fond fatigue.]

He couldn't do it. They were intelligent, sentient creatures, and it would've been genocide. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. So he left, and in the own time the Daleks took to the stars as well.

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[Valdis arched a brow at the 'Little miss Butterfly effect' comment. In her opinion, no one should mess with time.]

Not really a shock. Many races have a superiority complex. They think they know better. What does surprise me is that, even knowing everything he knew, he didn't do it. That was foolish, and, apparently, sealed the fate of his people.

[She wouldn't have hesitated. Now anyway. Before regaining her soul, she might have given the Daleks the tools they needed to wreak such havoc upon the galaxy. Though such a race might have challenged even the Hounds eventually.]

[wellhello]

[A lot of people shared that opinion, but the thing was someone would always be doing it. There were plenty of other ways to mess up the universe anyway. There were right ways and wrong ways to do that kind of thing.]

Sealed the fates of a lot more than just his people, too. Thing is, the- [And here Jack cut himself off just for a moment.] guy wasn't a soldier, orders or no.

[Jack sighed, but slipped a smile back on that didn't remotely match the content of his words.]

Nothing happened for a while, that guy had a few more run-ins with the Daleks, practically became part of their mythology, and the Daleks... one way or another they got some access to time travel themselves.

I don't know a lot about the war. [He didn't think enough alcohol existed to get the Doctor drunk enough to talk about it at length, and most of the parties involved were, well... dead.]

The Time Lords finally got into the fight when the Daleks came for them. It spread... over time and space, countless worlds caught in the crossfire.

It came down to one moment. To one movement. Someone wiped out both sides, their worlds - total, total annihilation. Two races just...gone in the blink of an eye like they'd never even been there. The events were locked - one of those things that can't be changed.

One [Jack helped up a demonstrative finger.] survivor. The guy who'd pressed the button.

[Jack accepted the hot tea gratefully, taking a drink of it almost immediately. That wasn't the entire story, of course, but that was the better story for now. Now wasn't the time for the story of the ones who fell through the cracks. But he looked at her from the corner of his eye, eyebrow raised just a hair as if to hint.]

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[All's well that ends well, she supposed. And good riddance. Those who messed with the natural order deserved their fates.]

This will sound cruel, but perhaps that was for the best. Playing God isn't generally recommended, especially for those who think they can.

[Though she wondered if the guy who pushed the button was the same one who hadn't when he had had the chance before.]

What made the man change his mind? or was if someone else?

[She noticed the raised eyebrow, but she would ignore it...for now.]

[wellhello]

I wasn't involved, obviously since I'm sitting here. And I mean hey - I wouldn't have gotten one of my jobs if they were still around. Doesn't mean it wasn't a lot of death.

[But then everyone died, eventually, didn't they? Just not quite like that.

Jack had been wondering if she would guess it was the same man, and even if she didn't seem one hundred percent certain it made him smirk.]

I didn't ask. My guess? He felt responsible, or maybe they were already set to lose. The damage being done was exponential. Maybe he just wanted it all to stop.

But, right. [His smile is sudden and disarming. This was an interview wasn't it? Or did I already pass with flying colors? [His tone there is obviously joking.] I'm up for forgetting about that and swapping legends and whatever else you'd like, instead.

[redlightgreenlight]

People walk many different paths in life. Each one unique enough that no two are the same. The only fate that all share is death.

[It was their time, in other words. Nothing was eternal, not even her immortality.]

He was responsible, he didn't do as ordered until it was too late.

[Valdis smirked in reply to his smile. He seemed to now want a legend from her world. She supposed she could tell him one.]

There is a legend in my world, but you will never hear the humans speak of it. It exists only in the tales of the Angels and Demons.