“When you see @rassilcn, don’t be surprised or offended if he takes a moment to recognize you, or accuses you of being some sort of charlatan,” Victorious said, straightening the fabric of Omega’s robes beneath the ornate metal of the founder’s armor. He was micromanaging, and he knew it, but the little voice at the back of the lieutenant’s mind refused to quiet. After everything he had done, all the risks he had taken, this had to go perfectly. “He loves you well, but for him, you died nearly a billion years ago, and he has been nursing that hurt all this time. I couldn’t risk telling him my plans in case I failed, so he won’t be expecting you... Luckily for you, I have never failed Rassilon in anything. Unlucky for both of us that the man hates surprises... You might just change that, though...”
Victorious stepped back, studying his handiwork critically. The new body he had loomed for Omega to inhabit was still holding up. They had passed the critical threshold... the transference of Omega’s consciousness and will from the form he had been left with in the anti-matter universe into the physical form Victorious had so carefully built for him would hold. He had been, in essence, reborn.
“At least you look the part,” Victorious muttered, running a hand through his dark, spiky hair. “This was the closest approximation to your previous regeneration as I could manage... There aren’t many references in the old texts to your appearance. Well. Nothing reliable anyway.” He handed Omega the helmet to his re-created armor. “Then again, what difference does a new face really make to a Timelord? Once Rassilon accepts you, it will be almost as though you never left...”
His golden eyes flicked to meet Omega’s, his lips pressing into a thin line. For an instant, there was something almost bitter about his expression. But the look was gone almost as quickly as it had arisen. “You can have your triumphant return, your joyful reunion with your best friend, and your revenge against me all in one... as I told you before, all you need to do is tell Rassilon exactly who it was that left you imprisoned in that other universe, and he’ll take care of the rest in a method as spectacular as it will be satisfying to witness. I know you have no reason to trust me after our... previous encounters, but I would like to take this final opportunity to point out, I am of much better use to both of you alive...” He glanced over his shoulder at the doors to Rassilon’s chambers. “... but seeing as how I’ll most likely be dead at the end of this conversation... you should know that your chambers have already been laid out. You’ll find them almost exactly the way you left them, with a few modern adjustments added for your comfort. Don’t trust anyone on the Council. Those that aren’t vipers are fools, and all of them will seek to use your ignorance of recent history and your relationship with Rassilon to their advantage. To that end, you’ll find that I have laid out in your study everything you need to know about Gallifrey and the Time War since you’ve been gone. Dates, names, the triumphs and the massacres, every order and counter-command that has been given, and all their consequences therein. Facts. Unbiased, and pure, so that you may make your own conclusions about the state of this planet and her people...”
He looked back to Omega, and his expression unreadable. “Gallifrey is bleeding,” Victorious told the other Timelord frankly, “She is weeping. All the stories I have ever heard about you state that you are the only one who has ever had any sort of influence over Rassilon... the only person who could challenge him, match him, change his mind... The friend you knew is... changed. Now more than ever, he requires... balance. An equal. For the past thousand years that I have served him, I can honestly say that I have been the closest thing to a companion that Rassilon has had... and I doubt he sees me as little more than a pet. Not even his daughter has any sway over him... But if anyone can bring Rassilon back to himself, all our stories say that it must be you. That is why I have brought you back. No matter what happens from here on in, no matter the cost, no matter how much it hurts, you will save him. That is what this world needs from you, Omega. This war must end. Rassilon is the only one with the power to end it. You are the only one with the power to make him find a reason to. ... I just pray I haven’t thrown my life away over a fairytale...”
Victorious gave Omega one final glance, fighting to push down his anxieties, before he turned and strode into Rassilon’s chambers. And there Rassilon stood, in his usual place, poised by the window, his back turned to the doorway, and oh it could not have been more perfectly staged had Victorious orchestrated the entire affair himself. Which he very nearly had.
“Rassilon...” Victorious gently laid a hand on the Lord President’s forearm drawing his attention and, foregoing the more traditional greeting of fealty, slipped in close enough to kiss the taller man warmly. After all, why not? The moment Omega revealed his previous encounters with The Doctor, Victorious’ life was as good as over -- he would take every liberty he could in the time he had left. “I’ve arranged a surprise,” Victorious hummed, stepping back with a smile, and glancing over Rassilon’s shoulder, beckoning Omega into the room.
“There’s someone here to see you...”
