| Date: 9 January 2008
Characters: The Master, The Master Location: outside, a bar Link to IJ: thread #28631 |
 The Master took the oppotunity to slip away while the Doctor went to check her assertation that the TARDIS wasn't registering any time. She'd much rather explore, and see if this was a suitable substitute for the habitable, but unihabited, planet she'd been intending on leaving the Doctor on. Habitable, but not due to evolve any sentient life for another million years. Or even be visited by any intelligent species for a good long while after that.
As she stepped outside, looking up at the wash of stars, she raised an eyebrow. That set of constellations was like no other she'd seen before. Or, in fact, had any inkling existed. Though the buildings around her made it appear that this wasn't going to be an impossible place for the Doctor to escape. Well, back to plan A - get the Doctor to that planet, then find a place to start taking over the universe. After she found a way out of this place, anyway. Which, at the moment, wasn't too high a priority. She doubted the Doctor would figure it out before she did. Leaning against the wall, she waited for someone to come by, an idea forming in the back of her head. |
 "Well, well, well," the Master drawled, approaching from across the road. "That is a new look."
He looked the woman up and down lazily. "Not the most attractive look you could have chosen, but I like the outfit." |
| "I wasn't going for attractive." The Master studied the man a moment, her expression closed. "Nice suit." She didn't shift her position, merely watching him. "The Master, and you?" |
| He raised his eyebrows. "Oh dear, women really are less observant, aren't they? I'm you, my dear. Well, with obvious differences.
"And shouldn't you be calling yourself the Mistress?" He sniggered. |
| "If I imagined myself a bit less, I suppose I might." She stepped forward, giving him a haughty look, ignoring the drums in her head that had gotten louder as he approached.
"And I always prefer confirmation over speculation. It causes fewer problems when I make my plans, and reduces the chances of failure." Nevermind that she hadn't succeeded yet in either taking over the universe or destroying the Doctor. It was only a matter of time, and she had enough patience to out-wait the Doctor. After all, she had a whole new cycle of regenerations to use; the Doctor only had a couple more left. |
| His brows drew together in mock consternation at her declaration, tapping a finger against his lips. "Hmm, maybe I was wrong and you're not me. Since when has confirmation been more fun than going with your instincts? That's what they're for! Not going to have any fun if you don't take a few risks." |
| "Going with my instincts this time landed me here, instead of someplace to leave the Doctor where she can't cause any trouble while I start planning again." The Master snorted, shaking her head. "Though considering how much that TARDIS of hers is jury-rigged, I really shouldn't be surprised I'm not where I wanted to go."
She tilted her head slightly, giving him an arch look. "Is there any way out of this place, or am I just going to have to 'go with my instincts', and have a little fun tormenting the residents of this place, whatever it is." |
| The Master ticked things off on his fingers. "First of all, your Doctor's here too? Ouch. Second, totally with you on the Doctor's TARDIS. You would not believe how much work that thing took to make it into a Paradox Machine! Third, apparently there is a way out, but it's very random and I haven't found it yet. Fourth, do stay and have fun tormenting people. There aren't really any residents, as far as I can make out - just people who've been drawn here like we were. And far, far too many of them are connected to the Doctor." |
| "Oh, that's a pity." The Master paused, a speculative expression on her face. "A Paradox Machine? What have you done that you needed a Paradox Machine for? I mean, it's a delightful bit of fun to pass the time when I'm bored, but it doesn't really work in the long term, more upkeep required than I care to put the effort into."
She nodded her head back towards the hotel, not really giving the Master a chance to respond. "My Doctor's in there, probably still complaining about having been kidnapped, if she hasn't found someone to talk the ear off of. Does your Doctor have that irritating tendency to talk people into a stupor?" |
| He chuckled. "Some things, it seems, really don't change. Yes, he certainly does." He glanced round, thinking that perhaps the middle of the street near the hotel was not the best place for two Masters to be hobnobbing.
"Let's go and find somewhere a bit more private to talk, shall we?" he smirked, leading the way round the corner to the tiny pub he'd just come out of. He'd had a lot of thinking to do after talking to the Doctor last night, and he'd done most of it in the pub. |
| "Indeed." The Master fell in beside him, refusing to let anyone lead her anywhere - or at least, refusing to give the apperence she was being led to anyone looking.
"Quaint. Something along the lines of a human-built place, twentieth century. Not so slim a selection of drinks, though, I hope." She raised an eyebrow at him, skeptical. |
| "You can get almost anything you could ever want in this place," he said extravagently, order his usual whisky nonetheless. He knew what he liked. |
| "Vodka, neat." The Master settled into a chair at one of the tables, her glass in hand. "So, tell me about this Paradox Machine, and what you're up to. And why did you have to use the Doctor's TARDIS?" |
| He thought about it, taking a seat and crossing one leg over the other. "I lost mine. It got destroyed in the end of the Time War. You did have a Time War, I assume?" |
| "In which the Doctor destroyed Gallifrey." The Master scoffed, irritation flooding through her. "The idiot. I had to abandon mine, sent it back into the Vortex without coordinates and with the navigation logs wiped. I don't actually know what happened to it. Though I suppose it didn't fare any better than yours did. Still, better than being destroyed." She'd been rather disturbed by that fragment of information that she'd gleaned from the TARDIS while the Doctor was otherwise occupied. "Hid at the end of the universe, yes?" |
| "Yep." He regarded her lazily over his glass. "Our lives seem to have been very similar, barring the one obvious difference. And I didn't kidnap my Doctor. I stole his TARDIS and left him behind at the end of the universe." |
| "You left him behind where there was any sort of technology he could make use of? That's a bit foolish." Her tone suggested she thought it more than a bit foolish. "What did you do after that, besides that it apparently involves creating a Paradox Machine?" |
| "Oh, it was worth it, just for the look on his face when I left him behind. It was hilarious! He looked so utterly lost and defeated. There he was, going from thinking he was the only Time Lord in existence to discovering that I was still alive too - only to have me nip away wtih his TARDIS! Definitely worth it."
He shrugged. "After that... hypnotised the Earth, got voted Prime Minister of Great Britain, took over the Earth and brought back the humans from Utopia to help me rule it." |
| "Earth would be an effective starting point. Though some human do show an annoying tendency to be resistant, or immune, to psychic manipulation." The Master tapped one blunt-nailed finger against the table, peripherally aware she was tapping out the beat of her drums.
"Roughly fifteen percent, in my universe, which would provide a delightful level of sheer bloodshed. And Utopia, you said?" She snorted. "That was a delightful lie. Gave them such hope in the face of the inevitable." |
| He leered. "Yes, that was a good one, wasn't it?"
He leaned back in his seat, reassessing the female Master. "You know, it's good to have you here. About time another me turned up! I've been feeling very outnumbered by all the Doctors and Jacks and Roses." |
| "And outnumbered is not a good thing." The Master took another sip of her vodka. "So, this Jack... very easy on the eyes, apparently can't die? First me in the company of a young black medical student and the Doctor?" |
| The Master chuckled. "Very easy on the eyes. Especially on his knees." He sighed a little at the memory. He missed the Valiant. "I've run into one version of him here and I've heard there are others. The black medical student would be Martha - haven't seen her here yet though apparently she's here. And the Doctor... he's here goodness knows how many times over, but yes, there's one who may or may not be from my reality and a bit further on in the timeline."
He fell silent, gazing into space. The Doctor's words were finally starting to sink in. |
| Martha instead of Mark, and Jack male - as expected, honestly - instead of female. Though it was interesting how both used the same name. She watched him, raising an eyebrow when he fell silent, and stayed that way as he stared into the middle space.
"A bit further along. Did he tell you what had happened in his timeline, in what may be your timeline later?" It was the only thing she could think of that would have her staring like that. |
| His eyes snapped back to her. "Yes," he said, rather shortly. "He seems pretty sure his timeline is my timeline, and it doesn't end well." |
| "Than change it." She snorted, all but rolling her eyes. "When you go back, make sure it can't end the way he says it ends." |
| "Yeah." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "That was my plan. But he tells me I'll forget everything I learned here the moment I get back to my own place and time. He tells me he's gone and come back and that's how he knows." |
| "And the Doctor can't lie?" The Master raised an eyebrow once more, her upper lip curling slightly in an expression that could be exasperation, or digust. "My Doctor lies all the time." She also had told the Master it was a bad habit brought on by their proximity to each other, but the Master hadn't decided on the truth of that or not yet. |
| He ran his hand through his hair. "Of course he can. He does. I just can't decide if he is or not!" He looked up at her, eyes dark and haunted. "It was all going so well. I was having a fantastic time! And now... I just don't know anymore."
He wouldn't normally be that honest with someone else - anyone else, except maybe the Doctor, because he never would learn the stupidity of that - but this was himself. Herself. Whatever. |
| "You could write it down. What you want yourself to know, to remember when you return. It won't hurt to have that when you go back, even if you do remember. And if you forget, you have a reminder."
She would have to do the same herself, just in case. It would be annoying to forget what had happened here, even if at the moment it didn't look like she'd have the same trouble as the other Master. Unless some future version of her Doctor showed up. That thought she pushed into the back of her mind, not wanting to contemplate it at the moment. |
| The Master's face lit up. "You're a genius!" he laughed, leaping up and dancing around the table. "I could kiss you - well, if you were a bit more attractive." He winked, picked up his glass and drained it, signalling to the barman for another one.
"Might not work, of course," he admitted, lowering himself into his seat again, "but definitely worth a try!" |
| "Of course I'm a genius." The Master smirked for a brief second, before leaning back in her chair, watching the other of herself. Well, himself, but it really didn't matter. "The only thing that surprises me is that you didn't think of it already. Though," she paused, a faint expression of distaste crossing her face, "the Doctor is quite good at making me react, and not think. She drives the drums to a frenzy." |
| He scowled. "I've been a bit off my game. Think it's this place - it's really thrown me, for some reason. And the Doctor definitely doesn't help. He knows just how to wind me up."
Of course, he enjoyed winding the Doctor up too, but that wasn't the point. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face again. "And yeah. The drums don't help either." |
| "This place is strange. It feels... off. The Doctor's TARDIS doesn't read any time at all - though half the time, it's probably not reading right, anyway. And I was only trying to get from Malcassario to the Vortex, not to any specific destination, not yet." She drained the rest of her vodka, holding up her glass for another. "And the drums are... different here. Louder, quieter, the beat's off, something. I can't quite put my finger on it." |
| "You're right." The Master gazed at her thoughtfully, brows drawn together. "Oh, I am off my game - I hadn't even thought about it, but you're right. The drums feel different, somehow. As for this place, the only other person I've met who really seemed bothered by it was the Doctor's grandaughter, Susan. 'S nice to have company in that too."
Their new drinks arrived and he pushed the Master's towards her before raising his own with a wicked smile. "Here's to us." |
| "To us." The Master raised her glass in an echo of his, her eyes bright with glee and anticipation of the fun she could have while stuck here, no matter how off the drums sounded, or the possibility she'd forget it all when she found a way back. "And to the endless possibilities for entertainment." |