And They Bravely Ran Away, Away [closed for now]

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Éibhleann's psychic presence gave the impression of looking from her daughter to the Meddler and back, and then of grinning slyly. ::Oh, a few times,:: she agreed. ::Four times,:: she added. The impression of a sly grin became almost predatory. ::Well, on four occasions.::

Sisi grinned as Robin's face turned pumpkin, worsened by her mothers laughter ringing through the gestalt. She closed her eyes for a moment, she had longed to hear that laughter for years now, ever since her mother had died. She once again remembered when she was five, running over the hills giggling with her beautiful mother on her heels.

::Just four occasions? I lost count after fifty, mother.::

She joined her mother in laughter before Robin changed the subject stoically, a smirk still on her face.

::Yes, well, Sidhe can turn to pure energy, I can use that to enter their TARDIS through the communication ports. And then, well. For my name is the Dreamweaver, I shall sing them a song and inspire them never to cross me again.::

[The Meddler]

She joined her mother in laughter before Robin changed the subject stoically, a smirk still on her face.

Rod and Eye, he wanted to wipe that smirk off her face. But the top three ways that came to mind immediately leaked into the gestalt, fueling Éibhleann's mirth.

::Oh, aye. That would certainly work. And that. And... have the two of you actually tried that one yet?::

On the other hand, he was beginning to understand why humans found "mother-in-law" jokes so amusing...

::Can we focus here?:: he demanded. ::There is a TARDIS of unknown type demanding our surrender.::

::Yes, well, Sidhe can turn to pure energy, I can use that to enter their TARDIS through the communication ports. And then, well. For my name is the Dreamweaver, I shall sing them a song and inspire them never to cross me again.::

He joined the gestalt in thinking about it. ::I'm going to go on record as saying that I absolutely hate (fear) the idea. But that's because you make me feel absurdly overprotective, my love (Sisilaya)(Dreamweaver).::

::But it is technically sound.:: the gestalt concluded.

The Meddler opened his eyes. "Tonks?"

"Yes, Lord Robin?"

"Do we still have a hailing frequency open to the other TARDIS?"

"Of course, my Lord."

::Ready yourself, Dreamweaver(Sisilaya). Here is the wavelength you will need to heterodyne yourself to.:: He fed the data into the gestalt.

"Let me speak to them, Tonks."

Tonks sighed. "If I must, my Lord. But they are dreadful conversationalists..."

"...are now within 22 years of your TARDIS, and will be within firing range within 7 more. This is your final warning..."

"Gentlemen!" he interrupted, "Allow me to introduce myself: I am the Meddler."

That got the pause he expected - there wasn't a TARDIS flying that didn't know the titles of the Deca. But the response? Not what he expected.

"Don't be absurd. My Lord the Meddler is well known to be the Master of the Orrey of Vertumnus. End this nonsense and identify yourself."

The Meddler smiled, thin and humorless. "If you insist I am not the Meddler, then you may call me the Grandfather Paradox."

"You lie!"

"Sir, I am no longer interested in your opinion or in this conversation. I maintain this channel of communications only because my Lady the Dreamweaver wishes it."

He looked at the Dreamweaver, forcing a smile to a face creased with worry. "My Lady..? Would you care to sing for them?"

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Robin's discomfort deserved him a small snicker from her but indeed he was right. They had to get to the point. She gave her suggestion of distracting them by herself. It was the easiest way really, even though Robin didn't seem to agree her mother and the TARDIS hushed him immediately.

::I'm going to go on record as saying that I absolutely hate (fear) the idea. But that's because you make me feel absurdly overprotective, my love (Sisilaya)(Dreamweaver).::

::But it is technically sound.:: the gestalt concluded.

::It is, you remember that trick with the plums well enough Robin. We can hold them back as pawns till the time suits us and I will activate the energy I placed dormant in them::

They came to an agreement and they all retracted from the TARDIS gestalt, Robin taking his place by the communicators.

She smirked at him as he talked to them, she looked at him one final time before she dropped her glamour, completely, enough to give him a flash of a headache before her energy disappeared into the communication port of the TARDIS.

The fact they left their communication ports so wide open was pathetic, really. It took her no time to leak in through them, following this new TARDIS gestalt to the communication room. Even though the TARDIS realised something was entering it's gestalt, it was young, much younger then her goddess and all it took was the feeling of mischief and the gestalt passed her through.

::Thank you:: she ghosted and made her way to the main control pillar.

"My Lady..? Would you care to sing for them?"

And with that, the voices of at least a 200 head choir boomed through the main control room.

// Meror abit squalidus //

The figure of a woman was standing on the controls, her body weightless as her hair played about her like she was in a storm. Green eyes were aglow, casting a green reflection over her eyelashes and cheeks. The woman was beautiful, painfully so. So was her rage.

The sound was coming from her. But it wasn't a single voice, the voices of hundreds of people came forth from her, distorted into space so it came from several directions.

// Amor adit calidus //

And as the song carried on,

// Superat velocius,
Qui non amat ocius //

Her hands rose, the wind whipping about her angrily and spreading throughout the gestalt.

The song had something woven into it, ancient Sidhe magic. A way of manipulation tone and sound vibration to a point where it caused severe hallucinations to those who heard it, their ears giving through false information to the brains. It worked like a heavy type of opium, leaving one in a stupor of intense awe, fear and indescribable need at the same time.

// Florent omnes arbores.
Dulce canunt volucres //

Before them materialised from golden energy a single plum, one before each person that had tried to cross her.

// Revirescunt frutices.
Congaudete, iuvenes //

[The Meddler]

The Meddler watched, feeling helpless, as the Dreamweaver converted herself fully into energy and broadcast herself to the other TARDIS.

::She'll be fine, Robin,:: Éibhleann assured him, and he could taste the agreement of the TARDIS mind as well.

He drummed the fingers of his right hand on the console for a moment, then began modifying the course. "Moorg?" he called out through the intraship communications systems, "Report to the main console room, with the rest of the marines."

The pitch and volume of the time rotor altered as the TARDIS began to slow.

---

The mind of the other TARDIS was extremely young as a TARDIS reckons such things, and comparatively weak as well. It lacked a defined personality - a clear sign that the ego buffers had been purged regularly. As a result, it was no match for the Dreamweaver's intrusion.

The crew gaped in stunned shock as she manifested before them, and as voices and music began to play - first from the communications panel and then from the very walls of the austere control room. One of the Time Lords - more experienced than the others - attempted to cut the signal and close the bandwith channel.

But it was too late.

Entranced by the psychic power in the song and the direct manipulation of the electricity in their brains, all they could do was stare in fascination at the singer and the song. As the plums materialized, they reached out with one accord and took the fruit.

As one, without understanding why they did it, they bit into the golden fruit.

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Her glowing eyes hooded as the men surrounding her were consuming the plum without even thinking twice. The energy soon went down to their stomachs where it travelled into the body. Shortly, their eyes gave a golden glow before it died down again, the energy settling down into their nerve system. There, it remained dormant, blending in with the rest of the body till it would be wakened again by her command.

And would render them in a state they were in now.

// Florent omnes arbores.
Dulce canunt volucres //

Her lips stopped moving while the song carried on, coming from everywhere. The tempest within the main control room kept on going as she came down from the console, or more glided down from it. She narrowed her eyes as she watched the plum juice run down the men's chin, they had eaten it up like it was the most exquisite delicacy they had ever tasted, the song leaving a glassy look in their eyes.

Her eyes narrowed, the wind picked up even more as her coppery hair whipped about her face. She wasn't done with them, not yet, they'd be sorry for threatening her Meddler.
And so, her eyes became completely absorbed by the green light coming from them, her lips parted in song again, changing it as she one by one touched the men's foreheads fleetingly. Putting them all to sleep instantly by touch.

// Revirescunt frutices.
Congaudete, iuvenes //

And as they one by one went down, consumed by the sleep cast on them, they were were cast in a world of nightmares that she wouldn't wake from for the next 24 hours. Some of them started twitching already, moaning as they were faced by their own demons.

And they would remember on name the most vividly. The Dreamweaver.

They would think twice about crossing her again.

With that she turned to energy again and flew straight into the gestalt, whispering to it to set course back to where it came from. After, she left the TARDIS through the communication port, the short time in open space leaving her flittering like a Sidhe in dance.

Soon enough she emerged from the Meddler's TARDIS communication ports again. She hopped down from the control panel after she had fully gotten her glamour back in place again.

"I don't think they'll cross you again" She said softly.

[The Meddler]

The Meddler watched as the impossible TARDIS changed course and accellerated away. There was no way he could catch it - not even if he poured all of the ship's eccess power into the engines. He would burn the Time Rotor out before he even matched them.

And then he smiled. There was, after all, more than one way to feed a jhereg. The fingers of his right hand flew over the console panel, setting a tracer ray to the distinctive patter of the Dreamweaver's energies.

As he did, he checked the signal strength of the communications beam. Still ample, still strong. She would meet no difficulty returning.

Soon enough she emerged from the Meddler's TARDIS communication ports again. She hopped down from the control panel after she had fully gotten her glamour back in place again.

"I don't think they'll cross you again" She said softly.

He disengaged from the gestalt. "I dare say they won't," he grinned. "Whoever they are." And then, overcome with emotion, he seized her in a hug. For long seconds he couldn't speak - all he could do was hold her, and reassure himself that she was back. "I'm... I'm being foolish," he finally said. "That was easily within your capabilites." He gave her a weak little smile. "But I was worried. Does that even make sense?"

Just then, Moorg and the other goblins entered the console room. "Your Highnesses!" he said grandly, dropping to one knee and bowing low, "We await your pleasure."

The other goblins bowed or saluted as struck their fancies. "Yes!" cried one. "We go!" "Stabbing!" "Loot!" "Yeah, loot!"

He shook his head. "Change of plans, gentlemen."

Moorg looked up, startled. "How? A change of plans?"

The other goblins sounded disappointed. "But... but..." "No loot?" "No stabbing?"

"We shall not be boarding them after all - my Lady the Dreamweaver has, instead, routed them on her own." The Meddler paused for a second, then added, "Draw a rum allotment anyway."

The goblins cheered and dashed from the room, chanting "Rum! Rum!" as they went. Moorg rose, bowed again, and followed.

The Meddler turned his attention back to the Dreamweaver. "Now," he said with a smile, "I believe we were discussing a celebration..?" He kissed her, rather thoroughly, then stepped back and pulled the heavy platinum ring from his left hand. "Here," he said, offering it to her. "I had hoped to free her first, but... well... I'm an idiot. So why don't you celebrate our engagement by telling your mother all about it, and I'll get us back on course.

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

He disengaged from the gestalt. "I dare say they won't," he grinned. "Whoever they are."

Before she could even answer, she was suddenly pulled to Robin as his arms wrapped around her in a tight hug. A laugh came from her as she returned the hug, pressing her lips against his cheek in a welcoming kiss. It took a while before his hold on her eased, just a tiny bit.

"I'm... I'm being foolish," he finally said. "That was easily within your capabilities." He gave her a weak little smile. "But I was worried. Does that even make sense?"

"Now you know how I felt when you went into the Time War, love." She said with a smile. Just then, Moorg entered with entourage and asked (well, more cheered really) for them to loot. Somehow, she found it very adorable how a young goblin kept talking about stabbing like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. She smirked.

He shook his head. "Change of plans, gentlemen."

Moorg looked up, startled. "How? A change of plans?"

The other goblins sounded disappointed. "But... but..." "No loot?" "No stabbing?"

"We shall not be boarding them after all - my Lady the Dreamweaver has, instead, routed them on her own." The Meddler paused for a second, then added, "Draw a rum allotment anyway."

"I figured they were more useful alive, really. I fed them Fae food, so we'll be able to track them and use them as emergency allies or distraction should we need them." She chuckled softly as the goblins left for the room chanting for rum this time.

"Now," he said with a smile, "I believe we were discussing a celebration..?"

Before she could answer she was being well and thoroughly snogged, her glamour slipping for a moment as she consumed herself into the kiss, her arms coming up around his neck. She didn't completely let go of him as he stepped back, taking the ring of before handing it to her. She smiled but shook her head.

"I'd like to have it for the time being, so I can well.. catch up with ma. I've missed her so much." Her finger ghosted over the platinum ring. "But I think you better wear it, it.. suits you. You have a greater chance of getting her out of that ring then I do. Besides, I don't think having my mother knowing everything I do 24/7 is a fantastic idea" She said with a laugh before she pulled Robin close again, claiming his lips for another kiss.

"Now, about celebration.." She murmured against his lips, a mischievous grin on hers.

[The Meddler]

"Now you know how I felt when you went into the Time War, love." She said with a smile.

He managed a smile back. "I suppose so, yes. But at least this trip didn't end with an unexpected home invasion by your in-laws."

A pause.

"Actually, I don't know who we'd consider your in-laws to be. Maybe my Aunts and Uncle, but I can't really see them masterminding a forced invasion of a TARDIS in flight." He considered that. "Even if they had survived the War."

Another pause.

"Maybe the Doctor and the Master? They were in the same class at the Academy. They might count. But I'm rambling, aren't I?" He kissed her, then smiled against her lips. "I thought you had planned to be more proactive about stopping that?"

He took a moment to break it to his goblin "marines" that they weren't boarding anyone, and made it up to them with booze.

"I figured they were more useful alive, really. I fed them Fae food, so we'll be able to track them and use them as emergency allies or distraction should we need them." She chuckled softly as the goblins left for the room chanting for rum this time.

"Yes. And we'll want to follow them, and soon." He looked at the console, watching it passively track the other TARDIS. "That shouldn't exist. It can't exist. And there it was, big as life and three times as enigmatic, and I really want to see where it came from."

The temptation to pursue the ship immediately was strong, and resisted only by reminding himself that they had planned a celebration. And then by kissing his Lady quite thoroughly. That grounded his thoughts quite nicely, reminding him to give her the ring with her mother in it.

"I'd like to have it for the time being, so I can well.. catch up with ma. I've missed her so much." Her finger ghosted over the platinum ring. "But I think you better wear it, it.. suits you. You have a greater chance of getting her out of that ring then I do. Besides, I don't think having my mother knowing everything I do 24/7 is a fantastic idea" She said with a laugh before she pulled Robin close again, claiming his lips for another kiss.

He was about to respond, when she silenced him quite thoroughly. And enthusiastically.

Not that he really struggled to get the words out, mind you. He seemed quite enthusiastic about being silenced, really.

"Now, about celebration.." She murmured against his lips, a mischievous grin on hers.

He grinned back. "One moment," he said, then turned his head. "Tonks?"

"Yes, my Lord?"

He handed the ring to Tonks. "Take care of Lady Éibhleann for the moment."

"I shall, my Lord," the brownie (for lack of a better name) said, bowing and slipping the ring over his thumb. "She shall not lack for company in your absence."

With a single smooth motion, the Meddler scooped the Dreamweaver up in his arms. "There are times," he murmured into her ear as he carried her from the console room, "that I don't think having your mother know everything I do 24/7 is a good idea, either..."

---

Eighteen hours later...

Sitting on the bed like a tailor, the Meddler brooded.

Not because of the events of the past several hours. Those had been delightful, even if they had been somewhat exhausting as well. Even the recuperative powers of a Time Lord could reach their limits after all.

Although the omelet break had helped restore their energy. Once he'd convinced her that the cheese he was using was intended to smell like that. ("Rhinoswine milk," he'd insisted. "Quite a pungent odor, I'll agree, but the taste is quite sophisticated once you've peeled the rind off.")

The talk of their future, idle conversation about children and where the wedding would take place and so forth, had been restorative as well. Although after a while, he'd had to be distracted from his precognative trance and attempts to begin working out the probabilities of when and where the children would be born, and how many there would be.

A man in love he might be, but he was still the Meddler.

No, none of this was why he brooded. He brooded because their destination always brought this black mood on him. Because it was the one thing in the universe that could humble him, still the mad rush of thoughts and plans in his head, ground him in the present and in his mission.

He hated their destination. Hated it, and feared it, and needed it.

He could feel the changing pitch of the Time Rotor in his bones. Feel the Dreamweaver watching him - she hadn't been asleep, he knew that.

"We're almost there," he said, heavily. "There's something... something I need to show you."

He rose and began to dress. "Something I need you to see. So you'll understand." He spun his tie around his throat, knotting it into a perfect half-Windsor. "So you understand why I'm the Meddler."

Just then he looked very old and very tired, as if the weight of his years were pressing down on him.

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

She chuckled against softly against his skin, her lips leaving little open kisses against his cheek as he handed the ring to Tonks, watching the brownie leave with it to give them some privacy. She laughed when he suddenly swept her off her feet and held her in quite a gentlemanly fashion, keeping her arms tight around his neck.

"There are times," he murmured into her ear as he carried her from the console room, "that I don't think having your mother know everything I do 24/7 is a good idea, either..."

"I knew there was a sensible person deep down there somewhere" She murmured in response, nuzzling his the hairline in his neck as he carried her off to.. Danu knows where they'd end up now.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He had actually tired her to a point that she had fallen asleep for a little while, after which they had a talk of the future. She was surprised he was so open about it, she had taken him for the child to detest even the idea of children, he still saw himself as an abomination after all. Yet, perhaps he knew how important it was to most women.

Still, with the memory fresh of the Specialist and the destiny of her children, she wasn't sure if was such a bright plan. They were time creatures after all, and she did not want her own children to end up as pawns of some uncertain depressing fate. The wedding would have been Tara, but due to Robin's current problems with the court they had decided to keep it small and in the TARDIS. She had suggested that perhaps King Midhir could hand fasten them, they had both taken a liking to the redhead Sidhe.

But when she now looked at the bare back of the Meddler, she saw him sitting there in a tailors sit while brooding she sighed softly and gathered the sheet to cover herself as she came up behind him, resting her cheek against his back as she leaned against him.

"We're almost there," he said, heavily. "There's something... something I need to show you."

She looked at the back of him as he slipped from her grasp to get dressed, her touch lingering on him as he avoided her eyes again. He always seemed to do this after they had been talking of the future. As if he felt guilt, and she had no idea how to get it out of his skull to stop doing that.

"Something I need you to see. So you'll understand." He spun his tie around his throat, knotting it into a perfect half-Windsor. "So you understand why I'm the Meddler."

She looked up at him, still bare beneath the sheets as he was almost dressed. She took a while to look at him, the expression on her face neutral.

"Are you doing this to give me insight to the man I love, or in the hope I'll see you for the abomination you think you are?"

When was he going to realize who she was and what things she had done? She may have her mothers looks and personality, but she had her father's ruthlessness. Many of her enemies had met unfortunate deaths. She by no means had clean hands and neither did he. She wondered when he would realize that it would take quite a bit more to get her to see him as a monster, as the abomination he thought he was.

She made no move to leave the bed before he answered her, or by Danu he'd have to drag her from it.

[The Meddler]

She looked up at him, still bare beneath the sheets as he was almost dressed. She took a while to look at him, the expression on her face neutral.

"Are you doing this to give me insight to the man I love, or in the hope I'll see you for the abomination you think you are?"

He stood for a second, silent. "The man," he said softly, his shoulders slumping.

Slowly, he sat down and took her hands in his. "I'm not going to tell you what you're about to see, Sisilaya," he finally said, meeting her eyes. "But it is what made me the Meddler. More than anything else - more than my Initiation, more than the burning of the Vortex in my brain, more than the manipulation by the High Council - what is out there created me."

As he spoke, emotions like a black fog pierced by searchlights leaked through the psionic circuits in his hands. Resolve. Dread. Duty. Love. Fear. Resolve. Fatigue. Sorrow. Cold. Unending duty. Resolve.

"Once you've seen it, seen what's outside," he said, "I will answer any and every question you have. But I want you to see it first." He forced a smile that his emotions clearly didn't feel. "Please. Humor me."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Her green eyes took his in as his hands closed over hers, her hands gently squeezing his in comfort.

"I'm not going to tell you what you're about to see, Sisilaya," he finally said, meeting her eyes. "But it is what made me the Meddler. More than anything else - more than my Initiation, more than the burning of the Vortex in my brain, more than the manipulation by the High Council - what is out there created me."

At that same time she felt his emotions coming off him through the psionic circuit in his hands, so many emotions leaking into her, a mix of positive and negative. She sighed and eventually pulled him close, placing a single warm kiss on his lips. She couldn't stand the cold coming off him.

"Show me, I will follow" She whispered against his lips, pulling back as glamour slid over her body. She couldn't be bothered to get dressed so the sight of a long flowing green dress was on her, glimmering with the sight of the most expensive silk. It was all an illusion after all.

"Once you've seen it, seen what's outside," he said, "I will answer any and every question you have. But I want you to see it first." He forced a smile that his emotions clearly didn't feel. "Please. Humor me."

She got up from the bed and on her feet, pulling him up with her, them still holding hands.

"Then show me, Robin." She couldn't bare to see the smile that didn't reach his eyes, she knew him better then that. She gave his hand another squeeze, but this time like she was trying to hold onto him tighter. Afraid to let go.

"I doubt it will be the disaster of when I looked into the Schism." She said with a lopsided smile, trying to lighten the mood.

[The Meddler]

She got up from the bed and on her feet, pulling him up with her, them still holding hands.

"Then show me, Robin." She gave his hand another squeeze, but this time like she was trying to hold onto him tighter. Afraid to let go.

Wordlessly, unable to trust himself to speak, he squeezed her hand back.

"I doubt it will be the disaster of when I looked into the Schism." She said with a lopsided smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well," he said in a falsely light tone, "I didn't explode, the last time I came here."

---

He stood at the environmental station of the console, making adjustments. "I've extended the TARDIS' environmental fields beyond the ship. We can go about a half kilometer, and then she won't let us go farther." He looked up. "I doubt we'll want to."

He walked around the console, picked up his cane, and flipped a switch. The door opened, revealing utter blackness beyond. "Are you ready?" he asked, taking her hand.

---

Outside the TARDIS there seemed to be... nothing. No light, no sound, and the environmental fields supporting them made it impossible to tell if there was any ground beneath them. But staring into the blackness, slowly, a dim reddish light could be seen radiating from a swollen disc that covered half the sky. It barely illuminated anything, providing just enough light to allow the viewer to differentiate between sky and terrain.

The Meddler raised his cane, and the TARDIS radiated a brilliant amber light. Glowing, it appeared to be nothing more than a large, infinitely-faceted sphere.

The light washed across the blackness, revealing drifts of blue-white snow. Here and there could be seen stone constructions - buildings perhaps, built to no Earthly architectural ideals - half buried by the snow. Large sculptures of crystal, resembling viruses designed by Escher, jutted from the drifts in places. Some stood upright, others lay on one side.

There was no motion anywhere.

The Meddler looked around, face impassive, thoughts roiling as he clung to the Dreamweaver's hand. "And now you've seen it," he said, quietly. "The end of everything."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

His words prepared her for something awful, something hostile where nothing could live. Where everything perished painfully. Why was he bringing her here?

What she did find when he took her hand and lead her out to the darkness, was an utter void. And it was as anticlimactic as it could be. Yet, it took a while to realise, for her to feel beyond the protective field of the TARDIS.

There was nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Sidhe had the ability to shift their appearance according to their surroundings, but in this case it caused her glamour to shift, adapt to it's environment. She could feel how the fabric of her glamoured dress grew coarse and stiff, the curls of her hair starting to hang limply around her face. Her skin was starting to lose it's glow to make place for pale haze.

Her eyes were still ever blazing though.

Her hand slipped from his, her arm suddenly feeling heavy as she took up the world around her when the TARDIS lighted their surroundings. Her breath caught in her throat.

"And now you've seen it," he said, quietly. "The end of everything."

"There.. there's nothing" She whispered "The end of everything" She whispered his worlds.

She looked back to Robin, the once beautiful women he had said to marry only a small 18 hours ago now looked awfully plain with her limp curls of dull coppery red framing her face and hanging down her back, her dress unflattering and now in an intelligible shade of grey. Someone you would forget the moment your mind moved on.

Her head tilted.

"The beginning of everything. There is no such thing as an end, just a new beginning we may not want to see."

Her bare toes curled into the snow.

[The Meddler]

He crouched down, examining one of the crystal sculptures, a look of sorrow on his face. "I'm sorry," he said to it, "I still haven't succeeded."

"There.. there's nothing" She whispered "The end of everything" She whispered his worlds.

He nodded as he rose. "This is the universe, 110 trillion years after the Prime Event." He looked at her, huddled into herself against the darkness, and took her in his arms. "That faint red thing there was the last sun to burn. It consumed its hydrogen reserves about a billion years ago, around the time that life arose on this planet."

The Meddler gestured to the sculptures. "Them."

He paused, groping for words. "I was so young, when I came out here the first time. A brash young chronal engineer, who'd managed to keep his role in the coup hidden from the High Council. I was testing the limits, going far beyond the limits of our domains."

He fell silent again, the memories playing in his mind. "I listened to their dying songs, Sisilaya. The songs they sang, pleading with their dying sun to live as it exhausted its helium reserves and collapsed into a white dwarf."

Another pause. "The last star in the universe, now just a cooling mass of carbon and oxygen. The last life-bearing world in the universe, now just a frozen rock covered with nitrogen snow. The last sentience in the universe, snuffed out without even understanding why."

He pointed at one of the crystalline corpses. "They're why I'm the Meddler, Sisilaya. Because if I can tamper enough, if I can change and alter and advance enough, maybe they - maybe everyone - will find a way to escape this."

"The beginning of everything. There is no such thing as an end, just a new beginning we may not want to see."

He smiled at her words. "It's a nice thought."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

His arms around her returned some of the warmth in her and her skin took on a healthier shade, her dress turning to a fabric of simple cotton. She leaned her head back against his shoulder, taking in the sights around her once more. She had never been able to look directly at the sun, no creature barely could but this sun more looked like a night light then anything else. Even the moon on earth created more light from it's reflection.

She closed her eyes as he told his story, how he got here, what goals he had set out to do. How young he had been. How he still willed for his goal to come to fruition.

He pointed at one of the crystalline corpses. "They're why I'm the Meddler, Sisilaya. Because if I can tamper enough, if I can change and alter and advance enough, maybe they - maybe everyone - will find a way to escape this."

"The beginning of everything. There is no such thing as an end, just a new beginning we may not want to see." She responded, her toes curling into the snow.

He smiled at her words. "It's a nice thought."

"It is," She replied after a pause. "I.. I may be young, I know so little of this world but what I do know is that I feel. As a Sidhe you know death is an inevitable part of life, without death there is no life. Perhaps this universe should die first to make space for something new or so it can finally rest, something we cannot understand and something we might never be able to be part of."

Her hand came over his resting on her abdomen, it was cold.

"So what is it that fears you, my Meddler? The end of all time and space, or the end of us living in it? You can meddle all you wish my love, and I would love every moment of it. But you'll just be buying them more time, because in the end this will always be what is waiting for us. Humans have a very true saying, Death is a patient man."

She smiled, then.

"But extra time too could mean the difference between life or no live, civilisation or no civilisations."