Post MoM AU, general post

[use_everything]

And then one day, it was over.

The memory of how it happened was hazy. Perhaps it was as simple as being ported out, perhaps there was a great experiment, bringing together physicists, chemists, alchemists and scientists to get something WORKING. But like the memories of that time, that other dimension, singular events come and go, like a dream, or an age past.

From the very start, however, there were changes.

Comments

[dendarii]

[ So many times. And there had been other near misses too, with Miles turning into a bird or shrinking to avoid a bully, and having to be found by Bothari later. Not to mention the telepathy... He muses on that last part for a moment. ]

I spend more time off world. The headaches are horrible sometimes. I don't understand how you and Gregor did it all those years.

[use_everything]

I think Gregor had the worst of it, honestly. A good third of the District Counts would rather eat nothing but horseshit for the rest of their lives than swear an honest oath to me. Thank God.

[The worst of which had ended when he'd stepped down... holding only his entire District. Gregor was not so fortunate.]

[dendarii]

[ Miles winces instantly in realization of the impact that would have. Hell, he'd seen it years and years ago. Gregor confined to bed for the first few days... ]

He's held up since then. Not quite the same, I think. But this - [ He gestures vaguely at the ship ] - all still happened.

[use_everything]

It did.

[That was a bloody tangle. As much as he knew it was going to happen, he'd still failed to prevent it. Further, preventing it could have been a much worse outcome. It boils down to a fervent, if not entirely intentional Thank you for finding him. crossing amidst a phantom pang of a pinched nerve of having two of his children in danger.]

[dendarii]

[ Miles' breath catches at that unspoken, accidental statement. For a moment, he has to bow his head with the weight of it. ]

Of course. I - I couldn't do anything else. When I realized that the link was stronger because I was in the next cell...

[ It had been all forward momentum from there. ]

[use_everything]

[There's surprise that doesn't show on the old man's face, diffuse over the line. It had been ages since he'd had anything this open... he forgot how easy it was to slip.

And how nice it was to be understood, and to understand.

He sets his elbows on the back of the chair he's astride.]

No, you really wouldn't. Even without knowing... Ah.

Have you talked to him yet? [Has he remembered as well?]

[dendarii]

[ He can't help the faint echo of surprise on his end as well. Even with all his memories, it's still startling to feel the emotions beneath his father's stony face. He has to remind himself that Da feels that all the time, not just when the link is open. ]

No, not yet. And I'm not sure. I was sort of distracted by... [ Well, everything coming back at once. He still feel a sense of static in his head. ] I'll talk to him after he's done with politics.

[ There's an anticipatory warmth underlying that particular thought. And an undercutting throb of nervousness too. If Gregor doesn't remember, that's going to be painful to endure. ]

[use_everything]

[He nods at that. The idea that Cordelia would not have remembered at the same time he did... Their last subject of discussion hasn't quite removed that ache of an unnecessary pain or the relief that it never came to pass.]

Good luck. [It's heartfelt.

A beat.]

However your discussions turn out... let us know. Lady Vorpatril has been apprised of a number of possibilities.

[dendarii]

[ The mention of Alys prompts widened eyes and a note of surprise. (And a well-timed distraction; he really doesn't want to think about Gregor not remembering him.) ]

She has? ... How did she find out? Who else knows?

[ Although, on second thought ... maybe it's not such a big surprise. Alys would b completely necessary to any level of secrecy. ]

[use_everything]

She was told. [There's an image there, perfectly clear despite it having been two decades ago... a much younger Alys sitting across the table, sipping tea and watching with knowing, calculating eyes and a very polite smile.] It was a necessity of politics and society to manage.

And your grandfather was the only other, beyond the few you know.

[dendarii]

[ That image doesn't surprise him in the slightest. He feels a pang of sympathy for his father in having to deal with that...

But the mention of Piotr stops him cold. Here, again, he's beset by two different sets of memories. Not so different in tone - his relationship with the old man had come out much the same - but the specifics vary significantly. Piotr had been instrumental in helping his grandson survive on multiple levels. Including a healthy paranoia of using his powers in front of anyone else. ]

Ah. Gran'da ... I forgot for a moment. Having two timelines in my head is giving me a headache.

[use_everything]

I will count that as an advantage to such an early point... That does not sound easy in the slightest.

[dendarii]

It's a little ...

[ He finds it difficult to put the feeling into words. They're both his memory. Completely his, neither of them false. But the divergences are significant enough that he has difficulty remembering which one is "his" and which one belongs to his alternate. ]

... It's going to take a while, I think. Keeping track of which events happened and which ones didn't.

[use_everything]

... Simon Illyan may be of some substantial aid there. Should you wish.

[dendarii]

Simon? [ It takes him a moment for the explanation to come to mind. ] Because of his chip?

[use_everything]

[He nods.] Because of it, the dissonance between two paths and memory sets was quite stark.

[dendarii]

Ah ... I can only imagine. But if he's managed it, I expect I can do no less.

[use_everything]

It's not a challenge, boy. It's an aid.

[dendarii]

[ Miles winces slightly at that. He's still damn stubborn about accepting help, thanks Piotr. ]

I'll be fine. I handled a whole district's worth of voices when I was eight, didn't I? This will be fine.

[use_everything]

Hm. [Push too much harder, he'd lose any further ground to pride and stubbornness. He'd wait for a better vantage to take this battle.]

You did, at that.

[dendarii]

[ Good call, that. He relaxes instantly. ]

So this will be simple enough. Just ... be patient with me.

[use_everything]

We've time. [Nearly twenty more years, more than enough for anything that needed to be done.]

[dendarii]

[ Miles nods at that. ]

I suppose we've come nearly to the end of the future for you. [ A pause. Wait - he sits up with a jolt. ] -- What about Mark?

[use_everything]

Three months, two weeks and a handful of days. Most of the parts of the plan are in place... If things haven't changed too much. [There was a wrenching twist of old worry there.]

[dendarii]

[ A fresh twist from Miles, experiencing much the same thought for the first time. ]

Is that how long it will be? Until you can get him out?