A/N: Okay, first of all, this contains spoilers for the episode Time After Time part 1. So if you haven't seen the episode and don't want to get spoiled, don't read it.
Secondly, it also contains slash of the Jack/Rai nature. That's pretty much it as far as the warnings go.
This is dedicated to Charlotte/crazyinmind :D Sorry it's not very long; I seem to have lost the ability to write anything of a decent length. Oh well. Please read and review and all that fun stuff :D;
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"You know… in that alternate future, you were good."
Jack didn't open his eyes. Laying on a grassy hill, the wind rippling his t-shirt and the sky an endless expanse of blue above him, it was a pleasant enough day. It was a moment before he spoke. "Don't start, Rai."
Raimundo rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. Feeling an intense gaze on him, Jack opened an eye a crack and took in Raimundo's serious expression. He sighed. They'd had conversations like this before, and they were always the same. He took his arms out from behind his head and sat up.
"But-" Jack held out a hand to silence Raimundo, who frowned.
Jack stared moodily out into the distance. A few strands of red hair escaped his goggles and blew about his face. He grinned suddenly, bitterly. "And I guess you forgot what happened in the other future, huh?" He turned his head to face Raimundo, who was now hugging his knees, hair falling forward and hiding his eyes. "I killed you, Rai." Jack's voice was quiet.
There was silence, except for the rustling of the breeze through the grass. The memory was still fresh, still painful in both their minds. Raimundo, elderly, clad in a filthy, ragged prison suit, sprawled on the floor under the massive robot foot, ready to crush at any moment. Jack remembered the defiant hatred in the Brazilian's eyes as they had stared at each other. He remembered looking down at the frail form from his high position, almost as if he were on a pedestal up on the shoulders of his huge robot. He remembered the rush of exhilaration he had felt upon giving the order to stamp, to crush, to kill… The delight of ultimate power on seeing Raimundo obscured from sight, obliterated from the world beneath the expanse of copper. Thinking about it made him feel sick, but still, he couldn't shake the feeling of excitement, knowing that at that moment, he had been all-powerful, had gained complete control, had played God…
Jack forced himself back to reality, trying to push the memory aside. Dwelling on it would only make things get weird. He gave an awkward cough. "There's a reason why things are the way they are. You've seen what happens when things are different… it might not go how you want. So if you want me good, forget it. I'm staying on the side of evil and that's not changing." With that, he lay back down and closed his eyes. He hadn't meant it to come out as harshly as that, but damn, he had started to sound way too sensitive. He didn't notice Raimundo's hurt look as the other boy got to his feet.
Raimundo thrust his hands into his pockets and began to walk away. "You're gonna have to chose one day, Jack. It's either the world, or me."
Jack made no response, didn't even make any outward sign of having heard him. He knew Raimundo was right, but one day wasn't yet. Right now, he didn't want to think about that. He went back to enjoying the sun on his face.
