fourteenth pact ❖ {like a lazarus}

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil is back! He's already spoken to Tenebrae, but he's been avoiding the rest of his group. He knows no one will buy his crappy excuse. Nor will they understand why he's alive again. He hopes Marta hasn't told anyone but Tenebrae, so that he can just say he got lost somewhere and be done with it.

He has yet to speak with Marta though - or his Plane friends - so here he is, bearing no gifts but himself, and fidgeting awkwardly at that.]

I... um...

Hi.

[He's so awesome. Look at that.]

Comments

[charmandsmiles.livejournal.com]

[Have a big Doctor hug, Emil!]

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[asdjkla;klasjkldfflds;df doctor hugs! Emil yips as he's hugged, then laughs and hugs back.]

H... hey.

[charmandsmiles.livejournal.com]

[the Doctor pulls back eventually, beaming] Hello yourself. You alright, relatively speaking?

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil clings a little too long, and it takes conscious effort on his part to let go of that jacket.]

Yeah. I'm... I'm fine. I think.

... you found out?

[charmandsmiles.livejournal.com]

[Oh Emil. The Doctor slings an arm around your shoulders -- you can cling all you like. He glances down at the question.] I saw. I'm sorry, I got there too late to stop him.

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[D'awww. In that case, Emil will go back to half-clinging.]

You shouldn't apologize for something like that. No one knew it was coming. It was probably my fault for making him mad in the first place, so - so it's okay.

[lamb_of_gold]

Emil.

[pactum.livejournal.com]

Mu -

[Guilt washes over him, nearly making him sick. Even if he wanted to pretend it was nothing he knows he couldn't.]

Mu... something happened.

[lamb_of_gold]

I know. I spoke with Marta. [And found the body, but eeeh, spare the gory details]

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[poor guy]

Is she okay? The Master didn't hurt anyone else, did he?

[lamb_of_gold]

She was unharmed.

The Master again? [This is at least the 2nd time he's killed someone Mu's liked...]

[savagestime.livejournal.com]

[The Master is sitting on a table, his legs crossing under him. His screwdriver in his hand, but he doesn't lift it.]

[He is looking at Emil... oddly. Head tilted. No smile, no frown. There is no cruelty or contrition either, just a peculiar, intense focus, like he is reading every part of Emil and isn't quite sure what to do with what he's found. It's a cold expression. Alien. Completely untouchable. And untranslatable at that.]

You're doing well.

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil freezes in place when he sees the Master. Fire and ice flow in his veins at the same time, and despite all his claims that he doesn't want revenge, his fists clench at his sides and he puts his hand on his sword.

To his credit, though, he manages not to stutter through the next part.]

What do you want? You've made fun of me ever since I got here. You laughed every time I screwed something up. And now you've taken my life.

You're stronger and smarter and you can kill me without a thought, but it's not gonna stop me. If you never leave me alone as long as I'm here, it's not gonna stop me.

[SO SUCK ON THAT.]

[savagestime.livejournal.com]

[The Master's expression doesn't change at all. Cold and alien and still untouched.]

[He stands up, puts his screwdriver away.]

I never tried to stop you. No reason to. No desire to. You're just... a human. More or less.

[And there it is, a flicker of - disinterest? boredom? not quite. It's something more, or something so much less, and he waves as he turns away.]

Bye, Hero.

[And then he vanishes into nothing.]

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil is so very, very confused. Was... he trying to be nice? It doesn't... make any sense. HE'S SO CONFUSED.]

... Bye.

[formervanguard.livejournal.com]

[And Marta comes running over the second she spots him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest. He's there -- he's really there -- and that means everything to her. Absolutely everything.]

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil sees her just in time to open his arms and catch her properly. He even does a little twirl and pulls her in close, savoring the moment, however bittersweet it is. Ironic that not too long ago he was the one jumping on her, clinging for dear life as he absorbed what he'd seen of her "death".]

M-Marta, Marta... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

[formervanguard.livejournal.com]

[She looks up at him, eyes filled with tears, and shakes her head.]

Don't be sorry, Emil. Don't. You're okay. I-... I'm okay. And... [She can't finish that thought. She wasn't even sure the thought had an end. She's just so happy he's there.]

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Looking into that terribly tearful gaze hurts him almost as much as it hurts her, but he can't look away. He's frozen where he is, until he works up the courage to brush a tear away from her cheek.]

No... no... I did something stupid and reckless, and that's...

[He hunches his shoulders and sighs, hugs her again.]

I won't let it happen again. Leaving you alone like that was - was unbearable.

[formervanguard.livejournal.com]

[She clings tightly to the front of his shirt when he hugs her again, letting her eyes slip closed as the last of her built-up tears fall.]

I was so scared... when I saw. I-I should have been able to do something! But I couldn't... I'm the one who should be sorry, not you! But you're back. You're here.

[There's so much more she wants to say... but how to say it?]

[boob-window.livejournal.com]

Hey, you're...Emil, right?

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[blinku]

Y... yeah, that's me. Is something wrong?

[boob-window.livejournal.com]

You tell me. How are you feeling?

{And her eyes light up--x-ray vision is cool like that. He seems all normal inside, though.}

[pactum.livejournal.com]

I-I'm okay. [He doesn't know his blood is weird yet, thank goodness - he'd be panicking like no one's business. The way her eyes light up is curious, and he tilts his head, as if that'll help him see what she's doing better.]

Just a little... um... surprised is all.

[What an understatement.]

[boob-window.livejournal.com]

No kidding. Everything looks alright inside, though.

{She smiles a little} I don't think we've met. I'm a...colleague of Booster's. Sort of. Name's Power Girl.