Gallifrey, present-day

Braxiatel didn't tell this to Jenny, of course.

He summarized, as he always did. In his own way.

"Many on the Collection blamed me for the carnage they came across, as the result of the War," Braxiatel summarized. "Their anger was… understandable. And, I'll admit, they suspected that I was using the Collection to set some great plan into motion. But…"

He trailed off.

Thinking back to Bernice Summerfield and the way she'd blown up at him, over the war. To Bev Tarrent, who'd practically accused him of starting the war for his own nefarious purposes.

Of Haus, the gardener, who'd said, "So this is what it was all for. All your lies and deceit… just to save a race that have done this to the universe."

"…but Evadaius," said Braxiatel, "was different."

Jenny tilted her head to the side.

Her stare demanding he go on.

"I had a plan," Braxiatel said. "A way to end the war. A way to save Gallifrey. And that weapon… was how to start it."

Jenny raised her eyebrows.

"Not to destroy planets," Braxiatel hurried to explain. He shook his head. "No, no. The technology within that weapon was focused on a particular set of biological imperatives. Reconfigured correctly… it could, quite literally, tap into a person's timeline. Allowing brief contact with every moment of one's past… across every alternative."

Jenny's eyes widened.

As she worked it out.

"You sent yourself the message," Jenny said. "When you were eight."

"Yes."

"And… even afterwards…?"

"I continued to defy the First Law of Time," Braxiatel confirmed. "I had always been able to contact my other selves. But until I discovered that machine on Evadaius… I never quite understood how."

Jenny said nothing for a very long time.

Then… in a low voice… "Do the other Time Lords know?"

"No."

Jenny nodded.

"And since the War ended, I've been mostly unable to continue the practice," said Braxiatel. "It's… odd, having to operate without constant contact with yourself across time. It took some getting used to, at first."

"Why are you telling me?" Jenny asked.

"Because… it's time someone knew the truth," said Braxiatel. "About why I did it. And what I was trying to achieve."

The Braxiatel Collection

There had been other Braxiatels in this universe.

Not merely past versions of himself, but actual other Braxiatels from alternate timelines, that had somehow been shuffled into the mix. This was mostly due to an unfortunate and very confusing set of events involving himself, the Axis. Although it didn't help that alternate Braxiatel had been fracturing his own timeline, left, right, and center.

Bernice never let him forget about the alternate Braxiatel.

"Defend the Collection from Daleks?!" Benny shouted. "I remember the last time you decided to 'defend' this Collection. You nearly turned my husband into a Cyberman!"

Braxiatel had no memory of ever doing this.

But the information, as always, was useful.

"That wasn't me," Braxiatel reminded her. "That was an alternate Braxiatel. I never knew Jason Cane."

Of course, the alternate-Braxiatel had done more than simply try to turn Jason into a Cyberman. Whatever changes the alternate-Braxiatel had made to the Collection, following its initial invasion by Daleks long ago, were now effectively concealing him from the Daleks in the Time War.

And, of course, considering how the Dalek technology had changed from that point to this, there's only one way that the alternate-Braxiatel could know enough to do that.

"You've just been invaded by Daleks," Braxiatel communicated to his other-self, at the precise point in time after the Axis invasion and the Dalek plot had been defeated. "Take this as a warning. The Collection is vulnerable. And if you don't find a way to protect it, we'll never be able to save Gallifrey."

The current Braxiatel ended his communication with a run-down of specs and data, all sent to his alternate-self. Essentially, it was everything he'd need to make sure the Daleks wouldn't invade the Collection during the Time War.

Gallifrey, present-day

"I was never planning to get involved in the war at all," Braxiatel told Jenny. "The Collection was safe from the Daleks. I was able to scavenge what I needed from the worlds that had been destroyed. And the longer I stayed out of the battles, the more certain I could be that, when I finally stepped in, I would ultimately win."

"You were staying out of the war," Jenny guessed, "because you had a plan to end it."

"I had a plan to save both Gallifrey and the Time Lords," Braxiatel told her. "That's why I defied the First Law of Time! That's why I continually came to the aid of my former selves. For the sake of my people!"

Jenny thought this over.

Carefully.

"But that's not what Romana says," she put in. With a sideways smile.

Braxiatel couldn't meet her eyes.

"Those artifacts you dug up, on those destroyed worlds," Jenny guessed. "At least some of them were Dalek weapons, weren't they? Or battle plans. Or things to give the Time Lords an advantage."

"The Daleks and their allies were carefully monitoring any trace of TARDIS or vortex travel," said Braxiatel. "But an archaeological expedition from an academic institute, using traditional space travel… didn't register as a threat. We could get away with it."

"And you knew exactly where to dig and what the Time Lords wanted," Jenny continued to guess, thinking through everything she'd learned, "because someone dropped by and told you. Over and over again."

Braxiatel met Jenny's eyes.

"Romana?" Jenny said.

"Romana," Braxiatel agreed.

The Braxiatel Collection

The sound of a materializing TARDIS was the first sign Braxiatel ever got that she was coming. And he considered himself lucky that no one else on the Collection had ever heard it. Or they'd be certain he was involved in the Time War.

Braxiatel drew the blinds to his study, as the TARDIS fully materialized.

And Romana stepped out the door.

"Did you find it?" she asked, nearly breathless. She looked exhausted, her eyes sunken, her hair tangled. There were traces of a nasty gash on her forehead, which Braxiatel had not seen the last time she'd arrived.

Braxiatel removed a painting from the wall. Unlocked the safe, behind it.

And drew out the small Dalek device he'd unearthed from one of their battlegrounds. "As you requested, my Lady."

Romana was across the office in seconds, snatching the device out of his hands and examining it. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Perfect. Exactly what we needed."

"And I suppose you require something else, as well?" Braxiatel asked.

Romana secured the Dalek device in a stasis field, and tucked it away inside her TARDIS. In its place, she brought out a four-dimensional star-map. And unfolded it along Braxiatel's desk.

"Yurgel 7," Romana said, pointing to it. "We received intelligence that the Daleks were concealing something, there. Four days ago, we arrived… to find the planet utterly annihilated."

"The temporal trace on the map implies the planet's destruction took place long ago," Braxiatel pointed out. "I don't see what I might contribute to…"

"The planet was disintegrated into fragments of rock and debris," Romana cut in. "The biggest bit of debris collided with a planet in your star system, some twelve thousand years ago." She pointed to the symbol of it, on her map. "An excavation should be trivial. And I'll set up a distraction for the Daleks, while your team gets on with it."

Braxiatel nodded.

As Romana rolled up her map, tucking it away inside her robes.

"Has there been any success?" Braxiatel asked. Not sure he wanted to hear the answer. "Have you pushed the Daleks back at all?"

"We've been doing our best," Romana replied. "But they're persistent. Clever. We need every advantage we can get." Then, almost as an after-thought… "The Doctor has joined the war."

That made Braxiatel do a double-take.

"You mean he hadn't been part of it, before?" Braxiatel asked. "From his exploits, battling the Daleks across time through all his various lives, I assumed he'd been one of the first to volunteer."

"If you tell him he has a chance to be clever and go on an adventure, he'll battle the Daleks every time," said Romana. "But call it a 'war', and remind him that he might have to follow the orders of the Time Lord High Council…"

"Ah," said Braxiatel. "I see."

Romana gave a dry laugh. "Not that he's any more cooperative, now that he's officially joined us," she put in. "He refuses to respond to 'Doctor' anymore. He told me all this rubbish about the name being a duty and an oath that he's broken… but I think it's just an excuse so he can ignore the High Council when they say, 'Doctor, do this', or 'Doctor, do that'."

"He's always been a firm believer in doing things his own way," Braxiatel replied. "And in speaking out for what he feels is right. That's what made him have to steal a TARDIS and flee Gallifrey in the first place."

"But he will help," Romana insisted. "I'm certain of it."

"Against the Daleks?" Braxiatel nodded. "Yes. I believe he will."

Romana turned, officiously. Striding back towards her TARDIS. "I've set up a false vortex trail," she said. "The Daleks won't realize I've been here. No one will." She paused, in the threshold of her ship. Glanced back over her shoulder, at Braxiatel.

Their eyes met.

"Thank you," Romana said.

Then left.

Gallifrey, present-day

"She told me when your father first joined the war," said Braxiatel. "And… kept me abreast of those who'd died."

"Like your friends," Jenny muttered. "Or her friends."

"If you ask the Lady Romana, she insists she has no friends," said Braxiatel. "Only… colleagues and associates."

"Rubbish," said Jenny. "She's Dad's friend. Dad used to talk about her all the time."

Braxiatel simply shrugged.

Didn't reply to this.

"When Ace disappeared," Braxiatel continued, with his story, "that was… difficult. One of the archaeologists on the Collection — Bernice Summerfield — had been a close acquaintance of hers. I had to break the news."

The Braxiatel Collection

Braxiatel had to duck the ceramic plate flying through the air — so that it struck the wall behind him, instead of his head.

"Bernice, I insist, I had nothing to do with…!" Braxiatel tried.

"No, you never do!" Benny shouted. "You and your people. You think you're like gods, able to play around with us little people and make us do your dirty work!"

She grabbed up another plate from her cupboard, and hurled it at him.

Braxiatel tried to work out some way to get to the door and escape Benny's wrath.

"I've seen wars against the Daleks, before!" Benny shouted. "I've seen them kill with no mercy! I've had to live in the aftermath of their attacks. But even in the worst Dalek invasion — there's never been this kind of devastation! Not until your people got involved!"

"Bernice — Benny!" Braxiatel tried to explain.

"The Daleks were retreating, Braxiatel!" Benny shouted. "You said your people had won the battle! But, oh, no, that wasn't enough for you! You had to make sure Davros was dead!"

She grabbed another plate from the cupboard.

And flung it at him.

The plate smashing into the far wall, as Braxiatel jumped out of the way.

"And did you send a Time Lord in?" Benny continued. "No! You sent in Ace! A child!"

"She was scarcely a child, when…" Braxiatel tried.

But gave it up, when Benny started screaming at him. As it soon became perfectly clear she wasn't listening.

"She had nothing to do with your war, Brax!" Benny screamed. "She was an innocent Earth-kid! From the 1980's!" She reached for more plates, but found none. "She should never have even been involved!"

"I was told she volunteered," Braxiatel said. "And she had been studying on Gallifrey for some time. She knew she had a duty to…"

Benny grabbed the nearest breakable object at hand, to throw at him. "And therefore, she was expendable?!" She raised it over her head.

"No, wait, Benny!" Braxiatel protested, edging towards the door. "That's twelfth century glassware from the Argolene Court."

Benny paused. Looking down at the wine glass she'd picked up.

And Braxiatel made a mad dash for the door.

"This isn't…" Then she looked up. And noticed Braxiatel bolting out the door. "Why you…! Irving Braxiatel, you get back here right now!"

He shoved the door closed.

And retreated back to his study. Wondering if he was in more danger here, facing down Bernice Summerfield, than his own people were out there against the Daleks.

"He didn't start the war," said Peter. "In fact, he's been staying out of it. Refusing to fight."

Adrien growled. "But I bet he has an angle on it."

Peter shot his dad a weary stare. "Don't be so melodramatic, Dad. He's not the same Braxiatel who ruined all our lives. That was an alternate-Braxiatel."

"Same Braxiatel or not," said Bev, "this Braxiatel is definitely planning something. And he's using the Collection to do it." She flexed her cybernetic arm. The real one had been lost while fleeing the Collection, years before, when the alternate-Braxiatel had tried to kill her. "Your mum thinks he's purposely placing you and the rest of us in danger, simply so he can collect weapons from the Time War and use them in some master-plan."

"Mum can think whatever she wants," Peter retorted. "It doesn't make it true."

"I also think that," said Bev. "And so does your dad."

Adrien growled, in affirmation.

"If he's not joining in the Time War, it's for a reason," said Bev. "And I doubt it's because he's a conscientious objector."