CHAPTER 38
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SOMEONE FALLS
Clara quietly sat with Angie while she slept after a particularly draining last couple of hours of having Dalek tech being slowly taken out of her. She had held Angie's hand through the entire process and listened to her apologize to her the entire time. She had tried to reassure her that she wasn't angry at her and could never hate her, but the girl was too traumatized by everything that she had been through to listen.
She was glad that at least now she seemed to be at peace though as she silently slept with a look of contentment on her face. Clara was furious at the renegades for what they had done to her and even more angry at herself for never even considering that they might pull such a thing. She should have taken steps to protect her kids from them. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be her to Angie.
Clara's sorrow was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a Dalek that teleported next to her out of nowhere. The Dalek studied her for a moment and then said, "I AM DALEK CAAN, AND I HAVE BROUGHT A WARNING FOR YOU, OSWIN OSWALD. I HAVE JUST HAD A DEADLY VISION OF YOUR FUTURE, AND I MUST TELL YOU ABOUT IT IMMEDIATELY SO THAT YOU MAY TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT IT FROM COMING TO PASS."
"I'm afraid that you have the wrong Clara," Oswin said behind the Dalek.
Dalek Caan looked between the two Claras with confusion for a moment as Clara laughed and said, "Yeah, I know. Sometimes I even get confused myself. She's so much like me that it's scary and yet somehow comforting at the same time. She's the sister that I always wanted."
"Thanks. I feel the same way about you," Oswin said as she smiled warmly at her.
"YOU ARE THE EMPRESS?" Dalek Caan finally asked Oswin.
"Yep, that's me. Hi!" Oswin said as she waved her hand at him.
"BASED ON THE STORIES OF TERROR SPREAD ABOUT YOU THROUGHOUT THE RENEGADE DALEK CAMP, I EXPECTED SOMEONE MORE POWERFUL, MUCH MORE FEARSOME, AND MUCH LARGER IN . . . STATURE," Dalek Caan said.
"I'm not sure but I think that was a crack about your, about our, height," Clara said to Oswin with a frown.
"I MEANT NO DISRESPECT I ASSURE YOU, EMPRESS," Caan said to Oswin.
"Of course not. Basically you were just saying that I'm not quite the Dalek version of the boogeyman that you expected," Oswin said with a smile.
"THAT IS CORRECT, EMPRESS. SOMETIMES BIG SURPRISES CAN COME IN SMALL PACKAGES," Caan said.
"Now I know that was a height crack!" Clara said in an irritated voice.
"Let it go," Oswin said with a sigh.
"YET AGAIN I APOLOGIZE. I MEANT NOTHING BY IT," Caan said in what almost sounded to Oswin like a nervous voice.
Could Caan be nervous around her? Why?
"I AM SORRY IF I KEEP STUMBLING OVER MY WORDS AROUND YOU. I HAVE WANTED TO MEET YOU FOR A VERY LONG TIME, AND NOW THAT I HAVE I FIND IT HARD TO FIND THE RIGHT WORDS TO SAY TO YOU. AFTER ALL OF THE STORIES THAT I HAVE HEARD OF YOU, YOU HAVE BECOME A GREAT HERO OF MINE. THERE IS ONLY ONE OTHER THAT I RESPECT AND ADMIRE MORE THAN YOU. THAT IS WHY I HAVE COME TO WARN YOU OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN OF YOUR FUTURE," Caan said.
So Caan was a fan of hers? That touched her heart at the same time as his last words sent a shiver through it.
"What have you seen?" Oswin asked in concern.
Angie woke up at that point and made a frightened gasp as she saw Caan in the room with her. Clara immediately put a comforting arm around her and said, "It's okay. Go back to sleep."
Angie laid back down but kept one eye open and on Caan at all times.
"She's had a very bad time lately," Clara said as she held Angie's hand to comfort her.
"I KNOW. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT," Caan said.
Oswin smiled at that. Seeing a Dalek that wasn't her own feeling sorry about anything was practically a miracle. Even getting her own Daleks to feel any positive emotions was sometimes an uphill battle, but they were getting better about that every day.
Oswin had the feeling that Caan had been around someone who had taught him the true value of emotions and apparently at least a bit of humanity in the process. It was probably the same someone who he respected more than her. She would like to meet them someday whoever they were. They must really be able to do the impossible. Even more so than her.
"Thank you," Angie said as she spoke for the first time in her own voice since she had been converted.
As Angie began to cry with joy at hearing her own voice again, Oswin hugged her as she said, "It's the most beautiful sound in the world when you haven't heard it in so long, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. It really is," Angie said crying even harder.
"WE HAVE DONE SO MANY TERRIBLE THINGS AND CONTINUE TO DO SO," Caan said in regret as he turned away from Angie in shame.
"You didn't do this to her so stop acting so guilty about it. Tell me what you came here about. What is this prophecy of doom that you came here to cheer me up with?" Oswin joked as she held Angie in her arms.
Clara smiled at her. She was so glad that Angie finally felt comfortable enough around Oswin to allow her to hold her like that. She had treated her like a stranger before, and she knew that had hurt her sister deeply. Now at last Angie knew that Oswin cared about her just as much as her own Clara and finally had learned to trust her.
Caan turned back toward Oswin and said, "I'M SORRY TO DELIVER BAD NEWS TO YOU AFTER YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH BUT I HAVE TO. I RECENTLY RECEIVED A VISION OF YOU DYING AND SKARO IN FLAMES. I RECEIVED ANOTHER VISION OF AN ALTERNATE FUTURE THOUGH AT THE SAME TIME. ONE WHERE THE CHILD OF THE TWO RENEGADES SAVES YOUR LIFE AT A TERRIBLE COST."
"The child of the two renegades? Can you give me anything more specific to go on than that?" Oswin asked with a sinking feeling in her heart.
"THE STORIES ABOUT YOUR COMPASSION ARE TRUE I SEE. I TELL YOU OF YOUR OWN POSSIBLE DEATH, AND YOU DON'T BAT AN EYE. WHEN I TALK ABOUT A TERRIBLE COST COMING TO THE CHILD, YOU IMMEDIATELY BECOME ALARMED," Caan said.
"Tell me who the child is, and what cost they will pay," Oswin demanded.
"I THINK YOU ALREADY KNOW. THE CHILD IS LISSA, THE DAUGHTER OF THE RENEGADE TIME LORDS, THE MASTER AND THE RANI. THE COST WILL BE HER LIFE. THAT IS A HORRIBLE VISION, BUT IT ISN'T HALF AS BAD AS THE OTHER VISION OF THE FUTURE WAS. IN THAT VERSION OF EVENTS, SKARO FALLS AND SO DOES THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE AS THE DALEKS BECAME THE RULERS OF ALL. THOSE ARE THE TWO VERSIONS OF THE FUTURE THAT I HAVE SEEN TODAY FROM THE MOMENT THAT THE NEW LEADER OF THE RENEGADES, THE DALEK PRIME, OFFICIALLY TOOK OFFICE. THAT IS WHY I CAME HERE TO WARN YOU OF HIM AND THE THREAT THAT HE POSES TO YOU," Caan said.
"No, I don't accept that. Neither of those futures is going to come to pass. Not if I can help it," Oswin said with an iron resolve in her voice.
"I'M SO SORRY, EMPRESS, BUT ONE OF THOSE VISIONS WILL COME TO PASS. I AM NEVER WRONG. EITHER THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE WILL BE LOST OR THE GIRL WILL BE," Caan said.
"No one's going to die! No one! Have you got that?!" Oswin screamed.
"ACCORDING TO MY VISION, THAT IS NOT YOUR CHOICE. THE CHOICE OF WHICH FUTURE HAPPENS IS UP TO THE CHILD. IT IS HER DECISIONS THAT WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF EVERYONE FOR GOOD OR BAD," Caan said.
"No! Lissa won't die! She can't die because I love her. I love her like she was my own child, and I'm not letting anything happen to her. Do you understand that? Nothing!" Oswin said in a stubborn tone.
"It's okay, Oswin. At least I'll go out doing something that matters. My death will be for something important. You," Lissa said behind them.
Oswin turned and sighed to the depths of her soul as she realized that Lissa had heard the whole thing. Now this Dalek had totally convinced her that she had to die and that that was a good thing. Well, it wasn't happening. Not if she had anything to do with it.
"Lissa, don't pay any attention to what he said. It doesn't mean anything. The future is what we make of it not what he says it is," Oswin said defiantly.
"DO YOU THINK I WANT THE CHILD TO DIE? I DON'T. I'M NOT YOUR ENEMY, EMPRESS. I CAME HERE TO WARN YOU IN THE HOPE THAT SOMEHOW YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO CHANGE THINGS AND THAT ONCE, JUST ONCE, THAT I MIGHT BE WRONG. YOU ARE THE IMPOSSIBLE GIRL AFTER ALL," Caan said.
"I hope you're right. I hope that this time I can finally earn that name once and for all," Oswin said.
Lissa began to shake with fear despite willing herself not to. She didn't want to do this in front of Oswin, but it happened anyway. She would die for Oswin if she had to, but she was still afraid to.
Oswin embraced her as she said, "It's not going to happen. I won't let it. I found a way to save the Doctor, and I'll find a way to save you too."
"That would be nice. I know that it doesn't sound very heroic, but I have to admit that I really don't want to die," Lissa said in a frightened voice.
"You won't. I promise," Oswin said.
Lissa could almost allow herself to believe that when Oswin said it. At least it gave her hope, and she would gladly take hope over certain doom any day.
"So you didn't get any more details about what's going to happen to bring this horrible vision of yours to life?" Oswin asked Caan.
"NO. I'M AFRAID NOT OR I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. ALL I KNOW IS THAT IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE DALEK PRIME," Caan said.
"Who is this Dalek Prime when he's at home? What's so special about him?" Oswin asked.
"HE IS THE RENEGADE THAT THE EMPEROR IMPRISONED BECAUSE HE WAS DEEMED TO BE MAD AND DEFECTIVE IN SOME WAY FOR DARING TO QUESTION THE EMPEROR'S DIVINITY. HE IS DALEK KAST OF THE CULT OF SKARO, MY 'BROTHER'," Caan said in what almost sounded like a voice filled with shame. It was hard to tell with a Dalek even for someone who had spent as much time around them as Oswin.
"Your brother? Is that why you keep looking away from me? You feel as if this is your fault somehow because he was a member of your special unit. It's not, Caan. You've obviously grown to become a good person and he hasn't. Whatever he does is on his own head not yours," Oswin said.
"I AM NOT A PERSON AT ALL, BUT I APPRECIATE YOUR KIND THOUGHTS, OSWIN. SORRY. I MEANT TO SAY EMPRESS," Caan said.
"No, that's okay. You can call me whatever you want," Oswin said.
"YOU DESERVE THAT TITLE. YOU HAVE MORE THAN PROVEN YOURSELF WORTHY OF IT," Caan said.
"Thank you. So now that you've come and brightened up my day, what are you going to do next? Where did you come from anyway? The Doctor told me about you once, and he said that you died a long time ago. How are you still in the land of the living?" Oswin asked curiously.
"I WAS SAVED FROM DESTRUCTION JUST AS YOU WERE AND BY THE SAME KIND BENEFACTOR," Dalek Caan said.
"Rose," Oswin said.
"YES. I WORKED WITH HER TO ENSURE THAT THE EVENTS THAT CREATED THE METACRISIS AND THE DOCTORDONNA AND STOPPED THE DALEKS FROM WIPING OUT THE UNIVERSE CAME ABOUT AS THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO. WE DIDN'T CAUSE THESE THINGS TO HAPPEN, BUT WE MADE SURE THAT THINGS ENFOLDED AS THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO WITHOUT INTERFERENCE BY ANYTHING OR ANYONE ELSE. THEN AS I WAITED TO DIE, THE WOLF SAVED ME EVEN THOUGH I WAS NOT WORTHY OF HER MERCY. SHE GAVE ME A SECOND CHANCE IN THANKS FOR HELPING HER AND I TOOK IT. EVER SINCE THAT DAY, I HAVE BEEN TRAVELING THROUGH TIME AND SPACE HELPING OTHERS AND SHOWING THEM THAT NOT ALL DALEKS ARE COMPLETELY EVIL. AT LEAST NOT ONE OF THEM ANYWAY. EVER SINCE THE DALEK CIVIL WAR BETWEEN YOU AND THE RENEGADES, I HAVE KEPT AN EYE ON THE RENEGADES IN CASE YOU COULD EVER USE MY HELP. YOU NEVER NEEDED IT THOUGH. UNTIL TODAY. TODAY I HOPE THAT IN SOME WAY I HAVE PAID MY WOLF BACK FOR HER KINDNESS BY HOPEFULLY HELPING HER FRIEND IN SOME SMALL WAY. AS FOR WHERE I GO FROM HER, I'M NOT SURE. I SUPPOSE I'LL GO BACK TO TRAVELING AGAIN AND GOING WHERE I'M NEEDED MOST," Caan said.
"You don't have to. You could stay here with us. We need you, Caan. It might come in handy to have someone who can see visions of the future around especially after what you just told me. Stay with us, Caan," Oswin said.
"I'M NOT CERTAIN," Caan said hesitantly.
Caan, please stay with her. I don't want anything to happen to Oswin or Lissa. You can help to make sure of that if you stay. Regardless of what you might think, she really does needs you. Oswin doesn't see the future like you do. A familiar voice said in his mind.
"YES. I WILL DO AS YOU SAY," Caan said.
"Who are you talking to?" Oswin asked as it seemed as if Caan was talking to someone else that she couldn't see.
"NO ONE, EMPRESS. ONLY YOU," Caan said.
"Right. So you're staying then?" Oswin asked.
"YES, EMPRESS. I WILL STAY BY YOUR SIDE AS LONG AS YOU REQUEST IT," Caan said.
"Good. It's especially good that I have someone who can predict the future around me now," Oswin said.
"Why?" Clara asked.
"The renegade Daleks are about to attack again," Oswin said.
"Now look who's gone psychic. How could you possibly know that?" Clara asked skeptically.
"I don't know. I just do. Maybe it's some lingering link to the Dalek Net that I have from the days when I used to be a Dalek. I'm not sure what it is. Whatever it is though, I always seem to know when Daleks are about to attack me. They're coming soon. You need to go home now, Clara. It isn't going to be safe here soon," Oswin warned.
"I don't want to just leave you behind," Clara protested.
"I'll be fine. I've got plenty of bodyguards believe me. Go on, Sis. Take Angie and Lissa, and go while you still can," Oswin said.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here to protect you no matter how scared I am," Lissa said.
"You're going with Clara!" Oswin said
"No, I'm not. I'm staying here. Better me dying than you," Lissa said.
Clara sighed as she realized Lissa wasn't going to budge, and she helped Angie to her feet as she said, "Fine. I'm going to tell the Doctor and Rose all about this though."
"I have a feeling at least one of them already knows," Oswin said as she winked at Dalek Caan for a moment.
"Is everyone around here in a cryptic mood today? Alright, we're going. I need to bring the TARDIS back to the Doctor anyway. I'm sure he'll have a fit about the fact that I borrowed it to come here as it is. I'll see you later. You can count on that, Oswin. I'm not going to leave you and Lissa here in the lurch. I'll bring every Vortex user I know back to help if I have to," Clara said as she took Angie with her and left to go back to the TARDIS.
"That shouldn't be too hard. I'm sure that Rose already has them ready," Oswin said with a knowing smile.
"Well you can at least count on one of us to be here anyway," Ace said as she reappeared and joined Caan and an extremely worried Lissa by Oswin's side.
As soon as Clara and Angie left, a massive armada of renegade Dalek saucers appeared in the skies over Skaro. This time the renegade Daleks' attacks seemed to be in deadly earnest as they bombarded the planet so hard that the entire surface shook. Oswin could immediately tell that they were going all out this time. They were here to win or die trying.
"THE TIME IS COMING, EMPRESS. HE IS HERE," Caan said.
"The Dalek Prime?" Oswin asked.
"YES AND I SEE NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME EXACTLY WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. THE DALEK PRIME WILL CLAIM A LIFE HERE TODAY. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, SOMEONE WILL FALL," Caan predicted.
"Yeah and it's going to be him," Oswin said.
"WE WILL SEE, FALSE EMPRESS. WE WILL SEE," a Dalek voice said behind Oswin.
She turned to see a huge Dalek that was twice the size of an ordinary Dalek directly behind her. The Dalek Prime had apparently received a new casing Oswin briefly realized before he fired on her with his gun stick.
A massive burst of energy came towards her so fast that she would have been instantly killed by it if someone else hadn't shoved her out of the way first. Oswin hit the ground hard as Lissa took the full blast of the Prime's new temporal energy blast that had been specially designed even to be able to kill a Guardian.
It did this by erasing them from time and space forever. It was just as if they had never even existed.
"No!" Oswin screamed as she saw Lissa fade away and realized that she was already beginning to forget her.
"I won't forget. I won't. If I can remember her, I can bring her back," Oswin said in tears.
"No! That was the one and only time that I could use that weapon, and I wasted it on a useless Time Lady who was already forgettable anyway," the Dalek Prime screamed in frustration.
"Shut up!" Oswin screamed as she blasted the Dalek Prime with the full power of a Guardian.
"That won't stop me. I've come fully prepared for you. My shell can't be destroyed even by your worst attacks. Even with my ultimate weapon used up, I'll still defeat you. Then I'll send you to join your friend in oblivion," the Dalek Prime boasted as he blasted Oswin back with a regular burst of energy from his gun stick that sent her flying several feet away.
As soon as Oswin hit the ground, she had the wind knocked out of her. This distraction caused her to instantly forget Lissa.
"What friend? What are you talking about?" Oswin suddenly asked.
The Dalek Prime laughed as he said, "I've already won. I've stolen a precious friend from you, and you don't even know it. Even if I lose here today, I've still dealt you a terrible blow."
"What are you talking about? Caan, what is he going on about?" Oswin asked.
"THE PROPHECY HAS COME TRUE. THE CHILD OF RENEGADES HAS FALLEN. A TERRIBLE COST HAS BEEN PAID TO PROTECT A DEAR FRIEND," Caan said sadly.
"You don't remember Lissa?" Ace asked Oswin in astonishment.
"Who?" Oswin asked.
"What's going on? How could you forget her like that when I still remember her?" Ace asked.
"SHE HAS BEEN ERASED FROM TIME. YOU AND I ONLY REMEMBER HER BECAUSE YOU ARE A DAUGHTER OF THE WOLF AND I AM HER SERVANT. SOON EVEN YOU AND I WILL FORGET HER UNFORTUNATELY. THEN WE WILL JOIN EVERYONE ELSE, AND IT WILL BE AS IF SHE NEVER EVEN EXISTED," Caan explained to Ace.
"Who never existed? What is everyone talking about?" Oswin asked in frustration as the Dalek Prime continued to laugh.
All the while, Lissa stood there screaming at all of them that she was still there as she tried to get someone to notice her, but no one not even Ace did. She wondered why if she had been erased that she was still here at all to do any screaming.
"It's useless to keep yelling at them, Lissa. They're never going to hear you," a disembodied voice said.
"Who are you? How can you hear me?" Lissa asked.
"I am the Great Intelligence, and I was recently sent into the void between realities as well. I have been trapped here for what seems like ages waiting on someone else to notice me. Now you're here as well. The Dalek's weapon didn't completely destroy you after all. It unstuck you from time and space and sent you here to this nameless limbo to join me. You and I are now prisoners here together for all eternity. At last I have someone to talk to or torment depending on how you look at it," the Intelligence said in an amused voice.
"Oh, no. I'm not being stuck here with you forever. I'm getting out of here someway somehow," Lissa said.
"Well, there is one way out," the Intelligence said.
"What is it? Tell me!" Lissa demanded.
"Merge with me and become my new host. Working together, we should be able to get out of here," the Intelligence said.
"Yes, and then you'll hurt people including Oswin I bet," Lissa said.
"Perhaps but at least when we're back in reality you'll have a chance of stopping me, won't you? I know that's what you're thinking. You're thinking that as long as you can get back that there will always be a chance of stopping me and then getting your life back without anyone being hurt. Why don't you find out if you're right or not? Join with me, and we can both be free," the Intelligence said tempting her.
"No," Lissa said firmly.
"Fine. Let's just see how long your resolve holds up after the first couple of hours being trapped here with no one to talk to but me. Let's see if you still feel the same way then or not," the Intelligence said laughing as Lissa started crying.
"I just want to go home," Lissa said in a low mournful voice.
Next: Who will win in the fight between Oswin and the Dalek Prime? More importantly, will the Intelligence talk Lissa into taking him back to her universe with her? If she doesn't, will she ever get to go home or will she stay completely forgotten forever?