Teleute (1/?)
Title: Teleute
Fandom: Whoniverse/Sandman crossover.
Characters: Jack Harkness, Death. Mention of others from both fandoms.
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Mention of death/violence.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to either RTD or Neil Gaiman.
Summary: Over the course of the 20th century, Jack becomes more familiar with Death.
Chapter One
Jack first caught a glimpse of her on Ellis Island in 1892. He didn’t see her face, just a flash of dark hair and pale skin as she disappeared around a corner. He didn’t think much of it at the time - he was more concerned that he had just been shot through the heart and wasn’t dead.
It was several years later, and three thousand miles away, when he saw her next. He’d been in a bar fight that had spilled out into a Cardiff street. The other brawlers dispersed when he didn’t get up, and the next thing he saw, in that dark place on the other side of life, was that girl. Pale skin and dark hair and a black dress in a simple but fashionable style. She smiles broadly when she sees him.
“Hello. You’re Jack, aren’t you?”
She knows his name. He thinks… he thinks he knows hers, but he can’t quite find the right word. Instead he just nods. “Yeah. Where am I?”
“Where do you think? Don’t worry, you’ll be going back soon.”
“Who are you?”
“You know who I am.” She cocks her head, looks at him curiously for a second. “But you can call me Teleute, if you like.”
“Teleute.” He tries the word. It sounds vaguely familiar, and very old, but he’s rusty on ancient Earth languages. He thinks it might be Greek but he has no idea what it means. “So, Teleute, what am I doing here? Why does this happen to me?”
“You’ve been changed, Jack. Everything that lives comes to me in the end, except for you. You’ve been taken out of the equation, so to speak.”
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“You’ll see. In time, you’ll see. You’ll figure it out.”
“You can’t just tell me? I’m not in the mood for cryptic word games.”
“Sorry. You have to see it for yourself. I’d like to tell you, but I can’t.”
“So what… if I get killed again, I just come here, wherever here is, and then I get dragged back to life again?”
She nods with a sad smile. “That’s about it.”
“There’s nothing you can do?”
“No.”
“I’m stuck like this?”
“Yes.”
“Why me?”
She moves closer to him. Suddenly there’s a bench behind them, and she sits down, patting the seat next to her, asking him to sit there. He does so. “I don’t know. My brother would know. He knows everything. But he wouldn’t tell you. He wouldn’t even tell me.”
“You have a brother?”
“Yes. I have three brothers, and three sisters, or four brothers and two sisters, depending on how you look at it.”
Jack doesn’t know what to say to that. Fortunately, she isn’t done talking. “I’m the second eldest of my family, Jack. I don’t look it, do I?”
He looks at her. She doesn’t look much older than seventeen or eighteen. “No, you don’t, Teleute.”
“I am, though. I’m a lot older than I look. You know how that feels, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Jack feels something tugging at him. “Uh, Teleute? What’s happening to me?”
“You’re going back.”
Impulsively, he says “Next time… will I see you again?”
“Yes. If you want to. But try and make it a good long gap, right? Your dying-and-going-back trick is very wearing.” She gives him a friendly wave goodbye.
He wants to ask what she means, but he’s already being pulled back to his body. He wakes to see two women frowning down at him.
Fandom: Whoniverse/Sandman crossover.
Characters: Jack Harkness, Death. Mention of others from both fandoms.
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Mention of death/violence.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to either RTD or Neil Gaiman.
Summary: Over the course of the 20th century, Jack becomes more familiar with Death.
Chapter One
Jack first caught a glimpse of her on Ellis Island in 1892. He didn’t see her face, just a flash of dark hair and pale skin as she disappeared around a corner. He didn’t think much of it at the time - he was more concerned that he had just been shot through the heart and wasn’t dead.
It was several years later, and three thousand miles away, when he saw her next. He’d been in a bar fight that had spilled out into a Cardiff street. The other brawlers dispersed when he didn’t get up, and the next thing he saw, in that dark place on the other side of life, was that girl. Pale skin and dark hair and a black dress in a simple but fashionable style. She smiles broadly when she sees him.
“Hello. You’re Jack, aren’t you?”
She knows his name. He thinks… he thinks he knows hers, but he can’t quite find the right word. Instead he just nods. “Yeah. Where am I?”
“Where do you think? Don’t worry, you’ll be going back soon.”
“Who are you?”
“You know who I am.” She cocks her head, looks at him curiously for a second. “But you can call me Teleute, if you like.”
“Teleute.” He tries the word. It sounds vaguely familiar, and very old, but he’s rusty on ancient Earth languages. He thinks it might be Greek but he has no idea what it means. “So, Teleute, what am I doing here? Why does this happen to me?”
“You’ve been changed, Jack. Everything that lives comes to me in the end, except for you. You’ve been taken out of the equation, so to speak.”
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“You’ll see. In time, you’ll see. You’ll figure it out.”
“You can’t just tell me? I’m not in the mood for cryptic word games.”
“Sorry. You have to see it for yourself. I’d like to tell you, but I can’t.”
“So what… if I get killed again, I just come here, wherever here is, and then I get dragged back to life again?”
She nods with a sad smile. “That’s about it.”
“There’s nothing you can do?”
“No.”
“I’m stuck like this?”
“Yes.”
“Why me?”
She moves closer to him. Suddenly there’s a bench behind them, and she sits down, patting the seat next to her, asking him to sit there. He does so. “I don’t know. My brother would know. He knows everything. But he wouldn’t tell you. He wouldn’t even tell me.”
“You have a brother?”
“Yes. I have three brothers, and three sisters, or four brothers and two sisters, depending on how you look at it.”
Jack doesn’t know what to say to that. Fortunately, she isn’t done talking. “I’m the second eldest of my family, Jack. I don’t look it, do I?”
He looks at her. She doesn’t look much older than seventeen or eighteen. “No, you don’t, Teleute.”
“I am, though. I’m a lot older than I look. You know how that feels, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Jack feels something tugging at him. “Uh, Teleute? What’s happening to me?”
“You’re going back.”
Impulsively, he says “Next time… will I see you again?”
“Yes. If you want to. But try and make it a good long gap, right? Your dying-and-going-back trick is very wearing.” She gives him a friendly wave goodbye.
He wants to ask what she means, but he’s already being pulled back to his body. He wakes to see two women frowning down at him.