Torchwood 1944: The New Lords of Time

[The Meddler]

(OOC: Also open by invite only. But also a "flashback scene" for the contemporary Torchwood's New Lords of Time thread.)

News item from the Belfast Telegraph, 19 December 1944.

Explosion Drives Four Families From Homes
Faulty Gas Pipes Blamed, No Injuries Reported

Residents of downtown Belfast were startled by an explosion from within Number 32 Carlisle Road. The blast was contained to the basement of Number 32, but authorities evacuated homes on the block for several hours while officers from the Ministry of Defense and the Belfast Police investigated. The explosion was eventually determined to have been caused by a leak in the home's gas lines.

"We have no reason to suspect foul play," announced Detective Inspector Ryan Cuinn. "This was an accident, and we are glad nobody was harmed."

The explosion was reported by Miss Celia Sionach-Goodall, co-curator of the private Museum of Human Antiquity, who heard the explosion when she was entering her home with her two children...

---

That was the official story. The reality was several kilos of German plastic explosives, enough to destroy their home and possibly the home to either side.

The reality was that the Geheimnisgruppe-Schutzstaffel had been active in northern Ireland for weeks, and that Torchwood and the Ministry of Defense had been hunting them, and that only a few faulty blasting caps had saved their lives.

And that was why, three days later, Robert Goodall was grinding his heel into a man's shoulder, spurting dark, fresh blood onto the moonlit snow.

"No, Fritz," he snarled. "You entered this country under a false identity, in civilian clothing. Even if you and yours hadn't tried to murder my wife and children, you still wouldn't have any rights under the Geneva Convention."

He stomped hard, eliciting a scream of pain from the man, then kicked him hard to roll him on his stomach. "So let me tell you what your options are, Fritz."

He knelt on the man's kidney and roughly handcuffed him, hands behind his back. "If you tell me something useful, before I stuff you in the boot of my car, then I'll turn you over to the Ministry. And then you'll be taken to a nice, warm interrogation cell, and you'll answer the rest of our questions. And then, if you're lucky, we'll just hang you as a spy."

The German started to say something, and Robert drove the muzzle of his .45 into the man's shoulder wound. The words choked off in a shriek of agony. "I'm not done," Robert snarled.

He stood up, and jerked the man to his knees by the handcuffs. "If you don't tell me something by the time I stuff you in the boot of my car, I'm going to take you home instead. And I'm going to tell my wife that Christmas came early, and I got her one of the Germans she's been wanting."

He began dragging the man towards the car. "And my wife has had blood in her eye, ever since she heard the explosion while carrying she was carrying Morgaine into the house, and realized that you and yours tried to murder her children."

Spinning, he kicked the man in the teeth. There was a crunch, and blood and fragments of broken teeth flew. "Our children, you Nazi filth!"

He began dragging again. "And you will make her Christmas. We'll find babysitters for the kids, and drive out somewhere secluded. I'll build a fire, and we'll drink some wine, and then she'll work three days of fear and frustration and rage out on you."

The German smacked into the gravel as Robert dropped him. Extracting the keys from his coat, he unlocked the boot. "And she's Irish, boyo. And you threatened her children. And she's got files."

He jerked the man back to his feet. "Last chance," he grinned.

---

Three hours later...

"Celia, love, I'm home!"

He hung his hat and coat in the hall, then turned in time to catch four-year-old Ken as the boy shrieked "Daddy!" and jumped on him. Then he scooped up his twin sister Morgaine, who giggled and kissed him wetly on the cheek, and carried them into the living room.

It wasn't their home. The explosion had been relatively small, but it had still been enough to cause extensive damage to the townhouse. So, for the moment, they were using the guest apartment at the Institute - the one they usually saved for visitors.

"We've got one of them," he said, kissing his wife - and if it wasn't as passionate as it might have been when they were first married, it wasn't for lack of trying. But balancing a child in each arm can make passion difficult. Particularly when they start giggling.

I might not have ever seen her, seen any of them, again... he thought. He shivered, and hugged the children tighter for a moment.

"Captain Nelson has him right now, over at the office. Before I handed him over, he told me they were trying to get the 'Box' files. They've been seeing something similar, recently, all over Europe."

He set the children down, and held Celia close. For a moment, he was content to listen to her breathe and feel her in his arms. "So I was thinking: we could see of Moira will watch the terrors tonight, and we can go on down and watch Nelson explain the facts of life to our prisoner."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

"Celia, love, I'm home!"

A smile lit the woman's face at the sound of her husbands voice, his deep baritone voice ringing through the apartment. Ever since the incident with the ill placed bomb (thank god the Geheimnisgruppe-Schutzstaffel seemed to be morons when it came to their missions, which they made up for in sheer numbers) she had been having a foul taste in her mouth. The war had been going on for a good four years now and the most horrendous had been the Belfast Blitz three years ago. The Torchwood institute had narrowly escaped being burned to the ground. That night they had spent the night in an evacuation tent on the countryside close to Belfast with two barely yearlings in their arms.

Ever since that Blitz her own fire had been fuelled, and she had worked against the Geheimnisgruppe-Schutzstaffel more viciously then ever before.

That explosion to their home had been the drop that made the bucket overflow.

Now, she wanted blood.

So when her beloved husband, holding their two most gorgeous children came in and told her they had caught one of them, her face lid with a mix of a sinister grin and a look like a child who had just found their favourite Christmas present under the Christmas tree.

They kissed then, and she wanted to pour her joy into that kiss, but this time the giggling of their two young children. She smiled and gave them both a good kiss too, eliciting a giggle from Morgaine and an indignant squeak from Kenneth (who she would secretly call by his Gaelic second name), Morgaine giggling at her brothers expense. They both looked like mixed mirrors of their parents, Kenneth having his mothers wavy red hair and freckled cheeks with his father's dark eyes while his sister had a fair skin, auburn hair and bright green eyes. They were both the most lovely children in the world, well to her anyway.

"Captain Nelson has him right now, over at the office. Before I handed him over, he told me they were trying to get the 'Box' files. They've been seeing something similar, recently, all over Europe."

He set the children down, and held Celia close. For a moment, he was content to listen to her breathe and feel her in his arms. "So I was thinking: we could see of Moira will watch the terrors tonight, and we can go on down and watch Nelson explain the facts of life to our prisoner."

She loved when he held her close, her green eyes looking up into his dark ones as they swayed. She too, closed her eyes for a moment, happy in his arms with their two children close. Well, two..

"That's wonderful, love. And a fantastic way to celebrate. Nothing better to celebrate a new life by taking a harmful one away from this planet"

She let the question hang.

"Yes Robin, I'm pregnant again, I had a Bufo test done two days ago, it came back positive in the mail today." She said softly, a small smile gracing her lips.

"So yes, celebrating seems excellent. I'm sure Moira will be saint enough to watch our lovely terrors for tonight. Though, do allow me to put my mask back in place before we leave, I am simply not frightening enough to my tastes like this." She grinned, she had come to refer to her extensive make up as a mask, because that's what it was. Robert had expressed in the beginning of their marriage how beautiful she was without it, and to honour him she decided to show her real face, but only when they weren't working.

[The Meddler]

"That's wonderful, love. And a fantastic way to celebrate. Nothing better to celebrate a new life by taking a harmful one away from this planet"

It took a second for her words to register. "New life...?" Robert looked down at her (not that far - she wasn't short, after all). "You mean... you don't... I mean..."

"Yes Robin, I'm pregnant again, I had a Bufo test done two days ago, it came back positive in the mail today." She said softly, a small smile gracing her lips.

He made an inarticulate whoop of joy, spun her in his arms, and kissed her thoroughly. This time, the giggling of the twins didn't dampen his enthusiasm. "That's... that's wonderful!" He kissed her again. "We'll have to wire my parents in the morning, let them know."

"Let them know what, daddy?" Ken asked.

Morgaine rolled her eyes at her brother. "Mommy's having a baby, dummy."

"You're the dummy!"

"No, you are!"

Robert leaned his forehead against Celia's, and smiled as the twins quarreled. "Are you sure we can't get a second opinion?" he joked.

Then he looked at the children. "Ken? Morgaine?"

"She started it!"

"He started it!"

"Come here and give us hugs." He knelt down and picked them back up. "Yes, you're going to have a new brother or sister." He handed them off to Celia, laughing at their enthusiasm. "Now. Your mom and I have to go to work tonight, and you're going to stay with Aunt Moira. And you're going to be good, right?"

"Yes, daddy," they chorused.

"And tomorrow, we'll go out and celebrate. So you two think about what you want to do, all right?"

"So yes, celebrating seems excellent. I'm sure Moira will be saint enough to watch our lovely terrors for tonight. Though, do allow me to put my mask back in place before we leave, I am simply not frightening enough to my tastes like this." She grinned.

"I don't know about that," he grinned back. "I sort of put the fear of an angry Irish mother in his shriveled black heart. By now, you could probably show up dressed for an evening out, and he'd still wet himself in terror."

He kissed her again. The evening seemed to demand it, really. "But go put your mask on, and I'll ring Moira and get the terrors packed."

---

Moira - "Auntie Moira" to the twins - had been delighted to keep the children. And at the news that they had captured one of the SS-G that had attacked them, although that had been a much more feral excitement.

She was everyone's favorite aunt, really. A plump, grey-haired widow in her sixties - her husband had died in the Great War, and she'd never remarried - with a kindly disposition and a no-nonsense attitude. Sometimes, regardless of what the Table of Organization said, Robert had the feeling that Moira actually ran the Belfast Office and just let Celia sign the paperwork.

"Ah! There's me wee precious babies," she gushed, opening the door fully. "Gi'e yuir Auntie Moira a kiss, loves."

It was discreet, but Robert noticed the sawed-off 12-gauge on the inside of the door. A number of people had, over the years, made the serious (and occasionally fatal) mistake of taking her kindliness for foolishness.

The twins shrieked with laughter as she scooped them up and smooched them loudly on the cheeks. "An' Robert an' Celia. Will ye be comin' in fer a moment? I've just now put a kettle on the boil, an' it's certain I am that yuir prisoner will keep a touch longer."

"I'm afraid we can't," Robert said sadly. "Duty, and all that rot."

"Will ye be back tonight, then?"

A shrug. "I don't know. It really depends on how long we're there."

"Well," she said, folding each of them in cheery hugs in turn, "Don't worry yuirselves over the twins, I'll keep 'em happy an' safe 'till ye get back."

---

581 Firmount
Antrim Road
Belfast, Northern Ireland
December 22, 1944

The Offices of the Ministry of War was a three-story brick building, blackout curtains drawn, surrounded by a tall wrought-iron fence. The khaki-uniformed men at the guardhouse were especially alert that night, thoroughly examining both Robert's and Celia's warrant cards - the MI-5 ones they had been officially operating under since the start of the war, not the Torchwood ones - before letting them in.

Captain Joshua Nelson met them at the door. "Robert! Celia!" he said, shaking hands all around. "Glad you could come on down."

He led them past the security checkpoints, and down into the basement. "We've been working on the German agent for a while now, but he's a tough nut to crack." A heavy security door slammed shut behind them. "And officially, we don't use extraordinary means of interrogation, so I'm a little reluctant to play that card until I have to."

They entered a small room, dominated by a large window. On the other side, a blonde man wearing only trousers and a bloody bandage on his shoulder sat handcuffed to a metal chair. Blinding lights shone in his face, and men in the shadows were asking questions.

"These SS-G fanatics are really your line of expetise," Captain Nelson added. "Any suggestions?"

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

The kiss had been wonderful, so had whirling around in his arms been. She could hear their children bicker in the background, then giggle. She just smiled. When they scooped them up, telling them they were going to have another baby brother or sister she was delighted by their reactions.

"Aunty Moira will spoil you rotten, just as you;d love it" She quipped after Robert with a grin. Both Ken and Morgaine cheered.

"So yes, celebrating seems excellent. I'm sure Moira will be saint enough to watch our lovely terrors for tonight. Though, do allow me to put my mask back in place before we leave, I am simply not frightening enough to my tastes like this." She grinned.

"I don't know about that," he grinned back. "I sort of put the fear of an angry Irish mother in his shriveled black heart. By now, you could probably show up dressed for an evening out, and he'd still wet himself in terror."

A slow smile spread on her face. "Hold my heart and never, ever let it go you wonderful man!" She gave him a good kiss and with that turned around to do her elaborate make up routine again.

She had decided for a lip colour matching blood.

_______________________________________

"Ah! There's me wee precious babies," she gushed, opening the door fully. "Gi'e yuir Auntie Moira a kiss, loves."

Celia gave the elder woman a quick hug as they entered, when mommy had emerged from the bathroom she had transformed from the caring mother back to the Torchwood boss. Kenneth had looked weirded, Morgaine had look inspired. She had given Robert another good kiss again, not caring her lipstick gave off on his lips.

"Thank you for watching the two, Moira. We owe you." She was not surprised any more by the sawed-off 12-gauge, they had been here many times before. To the twins, heavy artillery was becoming normal. She wasn't sure if she actually liked that part and she wondered if their work field really went well with having a family.

She didn't really say much as Robert and Moira conversed, it was clear to see she was trying to keep her emotions down. Celia always went quiet when she was trying to control her inner turmoil.

Really, she was murderous. But she wouldn't show that in front of her children. She didn't want them to see their mother that way.

And so, they left with her giving Moira one last thankful look.

________________________________


22nd of December, what a perfect Yule gift.
She had kept her face straight at they were thoroughly checked as they got in the building. Soon enough, Captain Joshua Nelson had found them and she forced a smile onto her face. They were coming closer to the German and she was like a bloodhound smelling blood.

"We've been working on the German agent for a while now, but he's a tough nut to crack." A heavy security door slammed shut behind them. "And officially, we don't use extraordinary means of interrogation, so I'm a little reluctant to play that card until I have to."

They entered a small room, dominated by a large window. On the other side, a blonde man wearing only trousers and a bloody bandage on his shoulder sat handcuffed to a metal chair. Blinding lights shone in his face, and men in the shadows were asking questions.

"These SS-G fanatics are really your line of expetise," Captain Nelson added. "Any suggestions?"

Her heels clicked ominously on the floor as the followed the captain, her stride strong, her back straight.

"Captain, with all due respect. We've been trying to get a hang of one of these for a while now. You didn't see the state of Doctor Frobenius when we found him in his home six years ago, we did. He was bleeding from every orifice in his body and more. You should have cut straight to the heavy interrogation. Nothing else will phase these people I'm afraid."

Her jaw clenched. They were getting close.

"Leave me alone with the man for two hours, tops. I'll require a set of needles, a hallow needle and some insulation wire with an electrical power source."

Her eyes met Roberts, they had turned a darker shade of green.

"I'll make him talk."

[The Meddler]

"Leave me alone with the man for two hours, tops. I'll require a set of needles, a hallow needle and some insulation wire with an electrical power source."

Her eyes met Roberts, they had turned a darker shade of green.

"I'll make him talk."

Robert hated this part. He was a killer, true - quite capable of killing without hesitation or remorse, when it was required. But torture was something else, something that sickened him. And this wasn't the first time they'd had to resort to it, and he hated even more what it did to Celia. Hated the nightmares that would stalk her and the haunted look in her eyes.

Hated the fear he felt that, someday, that look wouldn't be there.

"This is quite irregular," Captain Nelson started to protest.

"We'll make it an order, then," Robert said softly, staring at the man in the chair.

Captain Nelson swallowed. "Are you that certain..?"

"Yes."

"Very well, then."

Robert took his wife in his arms as the Captain left. "Just... just promise me," he said, softly. "Promise me you'll stop, once you have the information." He tightened his grip. "I want him to suffer, too. But don't be him."

(OOC: Go ahead and make up what he reveals. I have no specific plans.)

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Celia's eyes remained stone while the Captain tried to talk them out of it. She avoided his gaze, she was having trouble enough trying to keep her anger down. It was like she could smell the man near.

Then, her husbands arms were around her and she snapped out of it, green eyes looking up into those dark ones.

"Just... just promise me," he said, softly. "Promise me you'll stop, once you have the information." He tightened his grip. "I want him to suffer, too. But don't be him."

"Robert I.."She sighed "The wire, hallow needle and power source is to make sure he doesn't die. I'm not going to lower myself to their level. But I'll make sure none of them will attempt to harm my children again, and he will know that for the rest of his life"

And with that, she hesitantly slid out of his arms after leaving a final peck to his lips. Walking over to the door that held the arrested man.

She shut the door firmly behind her.

The supplies were waiting for her next to the door. Her eyes were on the man before her.

He wasn't even unattractive, how quaint.

It started out by how he wouldn't talk. How her children deserved to burn for their parent's meddling in the affairs of the Geheimnisgruppe-Schutzstaffel.

Before the man could continue, a needle was driven up under his nail bed. She decided to leave it there while the man's arms were tied to the chair. That would remember him to mind his mouth from hence on. She took a seat from him across the table, crossing her legs.

"Now, we can make this easy or I can enjoy inflicting fear on you in every way possible. Your choice"

Of course he had resisted, she had counted on it. A grin spread over her face. She stood up and walked around to the man's back languidly. With a quick flick of her wrist she tapped something at the back of the man's neck.

His chest had been paralyses, he couldn't breath.

Panic spread through the man's eyes, Celia sat on the table next to him.

"I'm an expert at pressure points interrogation, did I mention that? Are you willing to talk now?" She asked sweetly as the man's head started turning red. He shook his head at first, but after roughly thirty second and him slowly turning blue he finally nodded frantically.

With a simple tap to his neck, well placed mind you he was gasping for breath again.

"Now, explain to me why you decided to blow up our house with our children" She sneered.

"The Blue Box" The man gasped.

She narrowed her eyes. Those bloody blue box files again. Jack Harkness had slipped from their grasp, he had trusted them as little as he had trusted Torchwood London.

"What is it about those blue box files? What is in them?"

The man looked at her defiantly, his lips tightly sealed. His eyes showed a mixture of fear and hatred. Perfect she thought. She leaned back with her hand on the table, her other trailing over over a muscle in his shoulder.

"If I press this spot hard enough you'll lose your bowel control.. how would you like to sit in your own feces for the rest of the day?" She asked lowly. Then, her finger trailed over the inside of his arm "Or this one.. when I stop your heart"

It had taken 90 minutes in total when suddenly she came over the intercom at Robert who she knew was waiting outside. Outside screams had been heard, but the man sitting there looked unaffected aside from the fact he was bathing in his own sweat and a look of intense fear in his eyes.

"Robert, you might want to come in and hear this" She called.

She sat back, her eyes narrowed. She had a sudden headache at what the man had told her.

[The Meddler]

"Robert I.."She sighed "The wire, hallow needle and power source is to make sure he doesn't die. I'm not going to lower myself to their level. But I'll make sure none of them will attempt to harm my children again, and he will know that for the rest of his life"

"We," he replied, holding her close. "We'll make sure of that."

And with that, she hesitantly slid out of his arms after leaving a final peck to his lips. Walking over to the door that held the arrested man.

She shut the door firmly behind her.

Grimly, he pulled a chair near the door and sat down to watch.

---

An hour and a half later, he was simultaneously less and more horrified than he had expected. He knew she'd been studying a lot from some fairly exotic books recently, but he'd never seen anything quite like that. All she did was touch the German, and he was suddenly screaming, or unable to scream, or bathed in sweat with his eyes bulging.

It was incredible to watch.

Finally, she seemed satisfied. He watched her approach the intercom.

"Robert, you might want to come in and hear this" She called.

He opened the door and entered, taking notice of the tension that showed in her expression and in her neck. Any other time, he'd already be giving her a massage. BUt not in here - she needed to maintain a position of strength in front of the prisoner.

"What is it, Celia?"

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

She watched as Robert entered, taking a seat on the side of the table next to the tied up German.

"What is it, Celia?"

"I find this hard to believe, but you're more of the expert on extra terrestrial life. Now them, my Geheimnisgruppe-Schutzstaffel, tell this gentle fellow what you just told me. Or I'll stop your heart, for real this time."

The German man look at her terrified, a sliver of courage was still there, but the fatigue and fear was clearly shown on his face. he spoke up, with a thick German accent.

"The Blye Box Files contain the files of a space ship that has been showing up around the world since the dawning of history. It's been shown on ancient sketches, Van Gogh has painted it, it keeps reoccurring time and time through history. We believe it is a time machine, with which we could direct the outcome of this war, which we will!"

He bit his tongue from the furious look the Irish hellcat gave him.

"The same word keep reoccurring. Time Lord and tardis. We are still not sure what it means. We take this Time Lord must be the maker of this time machine. We try to find out where he came from, the Scepter of Atlantis was one of the.. keys.."

He heaved, and Celia was pinching the bridge of her nose.

Every time she heard those words. Time Lord and Tardis, her head swelled up in ache. Were they words of power?

"What do you think, Robin?"

She didn't even realize she was using his nickname she rarely used.

[The Meddler]

He listened to the German's explanation, frowning slightly.

Time machine...

Time Lord...

Tardis...

Those were words that nagged at him, like something he'd read once but couldn't call to mind.

"What do you think, Robin?"

"I think," he said slowly, choosing his words, "that it matches up pretty well with the Institute's research. Hell, Queen Victoria established the Institute thanks to a 'Blue Box' incident - the 1879 Torchwood Estate Werewolf, involving a Doctor James McCrimmon. Then there's Queen Elizabeth's 1562 Edict of Banishment, proclaiming a sorcerer known as 'the Doctor' an enemy of the state."

Tardis...

He paused, thinking. "There are others. The Cathedral of the Blessed Physician, a 14th Century church with the Physician's sacred blue traveling box. Certain references made by Richard the Lionhearted's Privy Secretary to a wandering Doctor who aided attempts to make peace with Saladin. Every time this particular 'Doctor' shows up, there's a magic box that he travels in."

Time Lord...

"So I think Fritz here is telling the truth. Or, at least, what he thinks the truth is." He gave the German a hard stare. "Did he happen to tell you where the rest of his buddies are?"

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Her green eyes were set on Robert as he explained what she already knew, he knew too.

"I read the files from Queen Elizabeth, very interesting indeed. I would have written this off as a faerytale, were it not for the fact this 'Doctor' and his time machine have just too many official historical documents on his name. And no living being can live as long as that. But that's not all our Fritz here has to say, there's more."

The german man started swearing at her in German, but her pointed heel came down on the German's foot without mercy, with deadly precision straight into his pressure point. he screamed out and swore even more then, but from pain this time.

"Weeell?" She said slowly.

"The... there have been more accounts. More then just this 'Doctor', even though he is the most dominant. In France, secret diaries from Jean D'Arc were found, where she describes an account with four futuristic beings, where another time machine appears. This time, she calls this man 'The Meddler'."

Celia's eyes widened, why was that name so familiar? She looked at Robert, her eyes searching his.

[The Meddler]

"The... there have been more accounts. More then just this 'Doctor', even though he is the most dominant. In France, secret diaries from Jean D'Arc were found, where she describes an account with four futuristic beings, where another time machine appears. This time, she calls this man 'The Meddler'."

Celia's eyes widened, why was that name so familiar? She looked at Robert, her eyes searching his.

There was a look of shock in Robert's eyes. "Meddler..?"

It took all of his self-control not to react further. Instead, he rose - slightly shakily - and turned towards the door. "Let's... let's talk outside," he said. "Let Captain Nelson and his interrogators have a turn at Fritz. We still need to know where the rest of his filth are."

Meddler.

Unnoticed, the fine engraving on his platinum ring began to glow with a bluish witchlight.

[The Master]

Elsewhere...

"My lord."

"Yes?"

"We have just detected a trace signature of operational Gallifreyan technology, almost exactly 68 years ago."

"What sort?"

"It appears consistent with a Chameleon Keystone."

"Send a squad to investigate. I want all of the renegades brought in."

"As you command."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

Celia's eyes on turned more worriedly as she saw Robert go pale, shaking even. He was already turning towards the door when she got off the table to walk to his side.

"Let's... let's talk outside," he said. "Let Captain Nelson and his interrogators have a turn at Fritz. We still need to know where the rest of his filth are."

She did not understand, but she followed him regardless. Once they were outside and the door shut tight behind them she took him by the elbow, pulling him back to face her. Her hand came to his cheek, gently caressing it.

"Robert, what's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost.."

She searched his eyes.

".. did you know this Meddler?"

[The Meddler]

"Robert, what's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost.."

She searched his eyes.

".. did you know this Meddler?"

"No," he said, shaking his head to emphasize the word. "Well, not that 'Meddler'. I mean, the Bedouin called me Al'mu'tafil - the Meddler - but..."

He took a deep breath, feeling his hands start to shake. "I... I..."

Sitting down, he massaged his forehead and tried again. "After all those years giving you hell about your dreams and visions and such, this will sound stupid. But 'Meddler'... it's a name I have dreams about."

He started to shake, not knowing why. "The dreams are different every time. But we're in a castle, or maybe a cathedral. And we're running from something." His voice was tense, hoarse. "And I'm him. I'm this Meddler. And it's like I know, know that if I ever find out who he is..."

He looked up, eyes haunted. "If I find out who he is, I'll die."

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

She had never seen her husband in such emotional distress, taking a set across from him as he sat down. She took his shaking hands in hers, clasping them comfortingly.

"After all those years giving you hell about your dreams and visions and such, this will sound stupid. But 'Meddler'... it's a name I have dreams about."

"The dreams are different every time. But we're in a castle, or maybe a cathedral. And we're running from something." His voice was tense, hoarse. "And I'm him. I'm this Meddler. And it's like I know, know that if I ever find out who he is..."

He looked up, eyes haunted. "If I find out who he is, I'll die."

Her eyes widened at that and she looked slightly taken back. Her lips moved, but it took a while before she found her words. "I know what you mean, I've been having them too for the past 6 years. Ever since our trip to Italy. Only I see them from this woman's point of view, I.. I don't know what it means.. I guessed she was I at a past life. She.. she calls herself the Dreamweaver.."

She took his hands and placed them over her heart, not caring that several were staring at them she pressed her lips to his.

"I won't ever let you go, Robin."