eastbound | audio { un: hide-and-seek }

[ Clara isn't sure how long it is before she feels capable of having a conversation, one where she's able to coherently explain her interaction with the Child. She's been sitting with her thoughts, turning over every level in her mind, all the things she saw and felt. By the time the Doctor had found her on Level Three, she'd already been through enough to hide in a dark room, uncharacteristically unsure of what to do. They'd wound up getting to the top of the tower together, he'd seen her through the sickness, but he'd gone back for others. That had left her alone to talk with the Child when he appeared without a sound by her side. Now, it's time to share what she's learned.

She may be feeling up to conversation, but not enough for video, and after this, only enough to text. When she begins, her voice is already hoarse, rough around the edges. ]

Right, jumping straight to it this time 'round. I had an interesting conversation with the Child. The kid in the fox mask. He said some things I'm sharing so we can talk them out or whatever we need to do. This may be a coincidence since I dunno know what the tower was or wasn't manipulating at that point, but anytime he stood with his umbrella over me, I felt better, less like I was sick. I also still have it, the umbrella. He left it.

[ She'd tried to give it back to him, and he'd let her have it without saying anything about it. ]

Alright, I'll get to it because we're all exhausted. The conversation started when he told me I 'wouldn't like what I see' and followed that hit up with 'seeing the undead isn't the same as knowing what's happening.' I guess he knows about the dragon eyes and what they do. I asked him who could help us know what we need to understand the rest, but his only suggestion was to ask his parents. He mentioned his father knows everything. Lots of kids think that, though.

Third fact of fun: fox-face told me his father could help anyone except me. And I dunno if he meant me specifically or all of us? Because he finished that bit up by saying he—as in himself—'made things sick' but didn't mean to and he's sorry. The kid also referred to a 'him' and 'he' a lot. Mentioned if 'he' were here, 'he' would know why we were sick. I'm assuming the father is the same 'him,' but it was never clear. Could be two totally separate beings.

[ But here's where things get even more interesting. ]

Next, kid says he was in Serthica after a ship dropped him off to play with the dragons. He seemed pretty excited about the idea that said dragons were big enough to eat 'him.' Still dunno if that's different from dad.

[ Now for the real dick move: ]

The Child said he was playing with me, with us. I think I guilted him into admitting we're his toys, just playthings. The dollhouse built just for him with us as the living dolls. Then he was gone. Not before saying he was glad to have us as toys.

[ Clara rubs a hand over her face, sighing audibly. ]

Other fine details include: he doesn't know how to keep us from getting sick, he doesn't understand why we get sick or how to stop us from dying (so he claims), and he blamed me or...us, I guess, for coming to a place where the sickness is. He insisted he was a good kid who only came to play with dragons.

[ By the time she's done, she's satisfied she hasn't missed anything — hopes so at least. ]

That's all I know. Or at least it's all I can remember. Was a long day, but I don't have to tell you lot that. Hopefully, this helps with something.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

yeah it's just really sad. i wish i knew how to help him. i know we're kind of passing through on our way home, but can we really leave it like this?

all these people are suffering even if they don't always know it. it's not like they have superheroes to save them. they just have us.

I dunno. I have no idea if we can help him, or if he's even really a little boy. Could be something worse wrapped up a like little boy burrito.

Maybe we have to be their heroes if we can. And maybe we can't, but who else is gonna try?

yeah i guess that's possible too. this place is legit like a horror movie. why not have a fake creepy child kid to torture people??

but, that's where my head is at too. good is not a thing you are, it's a thing you do or at least that's what someone really wise told me once. i can't think of anything better than fighting to save people. just have to figure out the how part now.

[ Kamala's too good for Serthica, truly. ]

There was a suggestion we could possibly find someone with the ability to mute his power, or at least press pause on it long enough to contain the child.

Others want to outright kill him, but I feel like on the list of options, that should be at the bottom.

okay so the first option is actually really smart. we need science people. do we have science people??

because we don't need to become punisher 2.0. he goes around killing people who do bad things back home fyi. it's super not okay.

A vigilante? Like Batman, but with murder.

[ Sounds like chaos and one wrong move away from being an awful situation. ]

Your world have a lot of people like that?

yeahhhh pretty much. most of the stories about him are from back when i was little, but it was all really Not Good.

we have a lot of heroes tbh. you know people who fight off alien invasions, evil robots, save the galaxy from unspeakable evil, etc. punisher is like one bad apple we should avoid being like at all costs. we should be like the avengers. they save the day no matter how hopeless and awful everything is. that's why they're the best.

You know what? I think the Doctor must be a proper superhero then. We don't have any of that in my version of Earth. Which sounds absolutely chaotic, by the way.

Every alien invasion, every threat to the planet, he's the one that's saved us. Over and over again. No one even knows it. Most people have no clue he exists at all. He's a fairytale who keeps the Bogeyman away, unless he picks you to run with him, saving planets all over time and space.

[ That was a completely biased wall of text, especially on this tiny device, but she shoots off one more. ]

Don't tell him that though, he'll never, ever let anyone call him a hero of any sort. Brush right past it like you didn't say a thing.

[ She knows why, and that's why he is one. Always running toward the danger, when everyone else runs away, never saying anything about it, never asking for anything in return. ]

oh pure chaos. no argument here!

but yess!! that makes him more heroic tbh. it was kind of hard for us to miss the avengers since most of them have those super bright costumes, but still!! it's so cool he doesn't take credit for any of that cool stuff he does.

give him a hug sometimes. He likes that, probably the best way to acknowledge it.

[ She knows, no matter what they say here over the network—which she knows he can see—there isn't a bone in him that needs glory. At least, not this version of him. The Doctor's told her in very vague bits and snippets that once he was vain and once he thought he should be known.

As long as Clara's known him, their wins have been celebrated together, never boasting, just proud of one another. ]

There's something to it, watching people go on about their lives, never knowing how close it was to all being...gone. Or different in an instant.

[ She thinks of the Daleks and Cybermen, always waiting to destroy or upgrade respectively, their mechanical eyes on Earth. And always the Doctor is listening. ]

i do give fantastic hugs. ;)

[The rest hits way too close to home. That's basically been most of her life at this point. She's lived through aliens invading, robots trying to destroy the world, and half the galaxy disappearing and coming back. There's more to come. In typical Kamala fashion she finds the brighter side to it.]

yeah that's probably all people who fight that stuff feel. it's cool you guys keep at it anyways.

audio { un: hide-and-seek }

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