realityshifted | 007 [And All Things Must End]

[Instead of stepping on to the Plane, Susan stumbles on to it. Her eyes are red and swollen with tears, though she isn’t crying now. She looks frightened and furious and more than a little shocked. The last few hours have been some of the most difficult of her life, but even she can’t believe the turn they seem to have taken.]

They can’t do this, they can’t!

[She wrings her hands together, anguished. She looks younger than she has for decades.]

I won’t leave him. I belong with Grandfather. They can’t separate us. I won’t …

[She pauses. A short time ago - or a long time ago, time is relative, after all - the Master told Susan that she only had to ask if she needed help.

She doesn't think she's ever needed it more.]

Master? Are you here? I ... oh, I don't know what to do! They've already sent Jamie and Zoe back to their own times. They haven't decided what to do with me. I won't leave him!

OOC: Now Susan has escaped from the onsen, it is time for 'The War Games' to come to a close. She's going to wish she'd stayed in the baths.

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[The Master is the still and unshakeable force that light cannot escape]

[To his credit, he doesn't smile]

I'm here, Susan.

They've found us.

It's the start of what was, for my universe, his exile, then. Has he been sent to Earth yet, or is it just the humans?

Just Zoe and Jamie.

How ... how many years will he have to spend there?

Too many years. I could never keep track of the dates. They do end the exile eventually, but...

So it might be centuries before I get to see him again. Unless they send me with him.

[She is still, at her hearts, the girl who tried to make a home in London in the 1960s. It could work now, even if it didn't then.]

If they do, they'll force a regeneration on you.

They ... but they can't! [A pause. Of course they can. They shouldn't, but that's a different matter entirely.]

Then I'll have to regenerate.

There's another way.

... what can I do?

[At the moment, she's willing to consider almost anything.]

You can let them take you back... and then you can leave. Your grandfather and I had come up with ways to sneak off the planet before we had even graduated. I'll tell you how. They know where to find your grandfather, but if I give you the know-how you'll be able to use the materials from the TARDIS you've stolen to fix up his.

You did?

[It wasn't a perfect plan - her grandfather could still get into trouble during his time on his own, and she might not even manage to escape - but it was the best that she could think of at the moment.]

Yes, I think ... yes, I could do that. I think it would work.

You will become exiled of your own choosing, you realize. You'll voluntarily become a renegade. Are you ready for that?

[Not really, no. But she doesn't have much of a choice.]

Yes.

When you're ready, then, I'll tell you what you need to get out.

[She nods.] I should go back and see my grandfather. [But she's going to give the Master a hug first, because she needs one and because she's rather grateful to him for all his help.] Thank you.

[He's surprised, as he often is when he doesn't start a hug, but he finds in him the ability to hold her in return]

How could I do anything else?

[he stands there, looking conflicted and concerned and furious and anguished; his voice is quiet, pained]

Susan...

this is the closest he's got to genuine emotion for some time, go you Susan]

[On any other occasion, she would have been pleased with that.]

Did this happen in your world as well?

[quietly] Yes. It's...one of the reasons - I thought they might catch up to me eventually.

I don't know what to do. [Her voice sounds rather small and desperate.] They ... I don't think they want to send me to Earth as well!

[softly] I won't let them take you from me. [reaches out to her]

[And she clings, in desperate need of a hug and some reassurance.]

I won't go. I won't.

[pulls her close, holding her tightly] I won't let them. Not you as well.

[She's happy, for want of a better word, to just hug him for a while. When she next speaks, her voice is very quiet.] What can I do?

[pulls back a bit, staring into her eyes] Don't let them separate you. Make them let us stay together.

The exile isn't – it isn't pleasant being stuck in one place, but that doesn't mean we won't have adventures, won't make a difference. UNIT is – difficult, at first, but we'll end up working quite well together. And eventually, we will travel again.

[his tone changes, then, becoming cooler, shrewder] Suggest that I tell them that while none of this is your fault, that you've been negatively influenced, tearing you away from me will only do further harm, make you more volatile, and our exile will be a learning experience we'll both benefit from.

I won't mind being in one place. [That was true. She felt almost at home on Earth, sometimes.] As long as I'm with you. That's were I belong.

... I'm not sure about that. I don't want to make them angrier with you.

[wry smile] I don’t think they could get any angrier at me, Susan. They already plan to execute me, if things are on a similar track. [shakes is head] Losing you…would be worse than that.

Execute you? [She trembles, visibly, at that.] Even if you lose me, I know we'll find each other again.

[gently grasps her shoulders; softly] After how long? With me stuck on Earth - and you, on Gallifrey?

... as long as it takes. [That was all she had to cling to at the moment.]

007 [And All Things Must End]

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