| Date: 19 February 2008
Characters: The Doctor, The Doctor, The Master Location: outside, TARDIS Link to IJ: thread #66136 |
 The Doctor lay on his back in his favourite spot in the park, gazing up at the stars, a big box of chocolates at his side.
He was finally - finally - starting to get bored with his holiday. "I miss my TARDIS," he grumbled. |
 Meeting Theta should have prepared her for running into herself, and she had actually been looking for herself (himself?), and, ok, it had happened once or twice in the past, but it was still quite a shock to be strolling along in the park and spot a very recently familiar sight.
A familiar sight who was talking to himself. "I miss that face." she said in return |
| "You do?" He sat up and looked round curiously. His eyebrows shot up.
"Well, that's a different look." |
| "Isn't it?" she replied with a sigh. "Mind if I sit?" she motioned to the ground beside him. |
| "'Course not. Chocolate?" he suggested, offering the box. "So you're the one who's a girl, are you? Romana told me about you. I have to say, it was hard to believe!" |
| "Romana?" she repeated "Well I haven't seen her since..." she took a chocolate, frowning "There's another female me running around?" |
| He looked a bit stunned. "You're not that one? There's more than one? Oh, you just said that. But you're me so that doesn't matter. Which regeneration are you?" And then, as it finally sank in, "Hey, you're ginger!" |
| How on earth had she..he managed to be that chirpy all the time? Just trying to follow him was making her head hurt.
"Tenth," she said finally "Just after you, and yes, I'm ginger." She smiled slightly. That had been the only bright spot in this new regeneration. |
| "You don't look very happy about it." |
| "Well it's hard to be pleased with it when you consider the slightly more dramatic change.." she pointed out coolly, waving a hand at herself. |
| His eyes widened. "Oh! You mean you weren't always a girl? You were... me. And now you're... Oh." |
| "Bingo." she nodded "The regeneration went ..wrong." |
| "Oh dear." He looked very concerned. "And you're the next one along? Does that mean I'm going to...?" He swallowed. "Here, have another chocolate."
He took one himself for good measure. |
| "Well, I don't remember this..." she said, taking another chocolate "But you never know... sorry." |
| "Oh, well that's all right then!" he said brightly through a mouthful of chocolate. "Romana said she forgot everything here when she went home but remembered when she came back - so if you're here but you don't remember this, you can't be me! That's great! Er - except for you, of course." |
| "Yes. Except for me." she said coolly "It is possible it'll still turn out this way for you though, you know." she added, slightly snippily. |
| "Mmmm. Hopefully not any time soon, though. I've only just regenerated into this body!" |
| "Oh, well if it does happen you've got a while yet." she relented, calming slightly "It's not fun, believe me." |
| "What's not? The while, or the regeneration?" |
| A bit of both, towards the end... She thought "The regeneration." was what she said "It's unnerving." |
| "Yes, I imagine it is." He looked her over. "Still, you're pretty. That's something. And ginger." |
| She snorted slightly, amused "Well that's true." she agreed
"How many of me..you...us... are there here?" she asked "And what do we know about this place?" |
| He did a big sighing thing and put on his serious face. "Actually, you're the first me I've met, but Romana said she'd seen another one - same regeneration - and so did Rose, but I don't know if they were the same one. It's really confusing. Oh, and the other female one. There are probably more. I've met four Jacks, so it stands to reason there are lots of us too." |
| "Four Jacks? Oh my." She raised an eyebrow thoughtfully "Imagine if they ran into each other, they'd find a room and never leave." |
| He giggled a bit, and thought of something. "Do you know someone called Donna? Big, brash, a bit scary?" |
| "Ah, yes, Donna..." she nodded, amused "Nearly put me off being ginger for a while there." |
| "So she really does know me?" He winced. "How long have I got?" |
| "Ah, yes." she nodded. "You only just regenerated? You've got a year, next christmas." |
| "Oh, good. No need to worry about that yet, then!" He picked out another chocolate, and offered the box to her again.
Then, in the interests of not asking too much about his future, because that was never a good idea, he said, "How long have you been here?" |
| She nodded slightly, taking another chocolate, because they were nice. "Not long at all, only a day or so. You?" |
| "Oh, gosh, so you're really very new! I've been here months. At least, I think it's months. Hard to tell. This place does something to my sense of time - it's most annoying. But definitely a long while. And I was enjoying it, having a break, no worries, nothing to rush off to... But I've started to get bored now." |
| She smiled slightly "Restless as ever?" she asked, amused - she never did like being in one place for too long.
"So...you said Romana went home and then came back again? So it is possible to leave, I'm guessing it's usually in as mysterious circumstances as we arrive?" |
| "Yes, that seems to be about it. No rhyme nor reason. I came through a wardrobe - it was very weird." He sighed, absently rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't suppose you have your TARDIS with you?" |
| "Through a wardrobe?" she chuckled "Fitting."
She shook her head at the question "'fraid I don't, got here in it, actually, walked out of one room and onto a street..." |
| "Bother. I really miss the old girl, you know? She's like, well, like home nowadays. Only home I'll ever have now, I suppose." |
| She nodded "I know how you feel." she agreed "But if there's so many of us around here, I'm sure one of us has their TARDIS, surely." |
| "Hmm, good point. And not exactly hard to spot, unless someone's actually got their chameleon circuit working again!" |
| She nodded "Unlikely, unless there's a more brilliant version of us running around.." she observed, a little sceptically. |
| He grinned. "Impossible," he declared, scrambling to his feet and holding out a hand. "Shall we go and look?" |
| "We shall." she agreed, taking his hand and tugging herself to her feet, dusting off the back of her trousers. "You know, all those companions were useful for something - leaving women's clothes in the TARDIS." |
| He raised an eyebrow as he took in her attire, but couldn't quite place it. "Whose was that?" he grinned. |
| "I'm not a hundred percent sure," she admitted "It's possible it was Sarah Jane's... then again, it could be from anywhere, I'm sure the TARDIS had a habit of materialising things nobody put there." she smiled slightly |
| "Oh, definitely. I had to find my new outfit here - I was still in the last regeneration's leather jacket and jeans when I got here. Susan helped me pick it out in a shop. What do you think?" |
| She laughed "Well, I would have loved it, up until a few days ago." she joked slightly "Honestly though, it's quite nice. Much better than some of the things I..We've worn." |
| He beamed. "We obviously ought to let Susan choose our clothes more often!" He winced. "Well, bit difficult back in the real world, of course, since she's... not there any more. Damn it."
He looked at her straightly. "How on earth do you cope with missing them all so much?" |
| "Honestly?" she said, then sighed slightly "I suppose I just keep myself so busy I don't have time to think about it, mostly." |
| "Yeah. Me too." He sighed deeply. "It's getting harder and harder to do that here, though. There's nothing to distract you, nothing to keep you busy, nothing to do."
He smirked. "Well, except Jack, of course." |
| She laughed "I haven't run into Jack yet, I can only imagine how much fun that's going to be." she remarked dryly.
Turning serious, she fell silent for a long moment "Having to actually deal with it's not so much fun, is it?" she asked eventually. |
| "No, it's not," he said shortly.
He sighed, looking round. "I'm not seeing any TARDISes around to gatecrash, are you? Though there's something weird about that lampost over there." |
| "Not right now." she agreed, peering at the lampost critically "Mm, maybe, shall we go take a closer look?" |
| "Yeah, let's!" the Doctor grinned widely. He bounded over to the lampost and gingerly reached out a hand to it. "Definitely some sort of perception filter going on here. Hmm... working chameleon circuit."
He turned to the other Doctor, eyes suddenly wide. "It could be the Master's! He's here, somewhere, with a new set of regenerations or something." He frowned. He'd meant to ask Romana just what she meant by that. |
| She'd considered it, of course, with the young Koschei being here it was almost inevitable that there was probably an older version or two running around, but it was quite different to be faced with the evidence.
"Could be." she agreed, a little disturbed "Shall we see if we can take a look inside?" she suggested. What was a little breaking and entering between lifelong nemeses? |
| "Oooh, I don't know." He looked very uncomfortable. "We could - er - knock, but I don't know about trying to break in." |
| She blinked. Well this casual disregard for the finer points of morality was interesting, and mildly disturbing.
"Knocking works." she agreed easily. |
| He grinned and, feeling rather silly, knocked on the lampost.
And waited. |
| She chuckled slightly, vaguely amused at how this would look to an outsider, two people stood waiting around a lampost, apparently for a reply to their knock. |
| The Doctor shuffled his feet. "I don't think he's in," he muttered, not without relief. "Shall we see if we can find another one?" |
| "Apparently not." she agreed, relief tinting her own voice as well, she wasn't sure she wanted to run into the Master again just yet. "Let's keep looking." she nodded |
| He shot her a wry look. "Yeah. I think a Doctor's TARDIS would be more... inviting, wouldn't it?"
He caught her hand and tugged her towards the main street. "Come on." |
| "Definitely." she agreed.
When he grabbed her hand and started pulling her, she laughed, he reminded her so much of Theta. Which, on reflection, was quite understandable. "You..I... we haven't changed at all." she commented |
| He grinned, eyes twinkling. "Did you expect me to?"
Then something about the way she'd phrased that sank in and he eyed her suspiciously. "Please don't tell me there's a young me - us - around." |
| She nodded "Eight years old, he's here with the Master, well, Koschei back then." she explained, smiling faintly "Both very small, I don't remember being that small." |
| He stared. "Oh my. Oh my. That's... a little disturbing. Both of us?" |
| She nodded "Yep, troublesome as ever, but disturbingly adorable."
She was a little worried about how cute she'd found them, had that been some kind of hormonal reaction to her new body? She hoped she wouldn't start getting broody. |
| "Adorable?" He raised his eyebrows, looking a little scandalised. "Really? I never thought I was adorable." He looked her up and down, worried. "Must be hormones or something. I'm sure we were never adorable." |
| She scowled slightly at him. "We were very sweet, actually." she replied stiffly.
Wondering about the hormones herself was one thing, but being accused of it by...well, her/himself... still, it wasn't on. |
| "I'm sure we were," he said indulgently, rolling his eyes when she wasn't looking. Definitely hormonal.
He tugged her abruptly off into a side street. Something was calling to him that way. "Do you feel that?" |
| She was a bit busy glaring at him, she didn't see him rolling his eyes but she knew him, she knew that tone.
"What?" she asked, dragging her glare away from him to peer into the side street, she nodded slightly "Yes, there's something there." |
| "Something that's a TARDIS. Come on!" He started to run towards the sound, the feel, the music of a TARDIS singing to him in his head. She wasn't his - what were the chances of that? - but she was close enough.
He rounded a corner, and there she was. A slightly scruffy blue Police Box, sitting calmly in a quiet alley. He smiled. |
| "Woah!" she half-yelped as she was dragged off balance - he still had his hand when he started running.
She caught herself and ran with him until they came to a halt round the corner in front of a TARDIS, their TARDIS. Well, one of theirs anyway. "Think anybody's home?" she asked with a faint smile. |
| He grinned. "Only one way to find out."
He walked up to it and knocked. |
| She nodded, following him over and waiting to see which version of themself this TARDIS belonged to.
"Who lives in a house like this..." she murmured, amused. |
 The Master had only been only in the TARDIS for a few minutes, poking about, making sure Adric hadn't accidentally fouled anything up when they'd left him alone in the TARDIS. He didn't think it was likely, but better to double check.
He was only slightly surprised to hear a knock at the door. At this point, there was a sizable handful of people who knew where the TARDIS was, and who could have reasons to pay a visit. He and the Doctor might as well put out a welcome mat, he thought. He had mixed feelings on that. He didn't think to check the console of the two people outside, before he opened the door. "Doctor," he said cautiously to the one that looked like his, but clearly wasn't. Different shoes, no rose. The version he'd met in the park a while ago? He glanced at the woman, and then echoed, confused, "Doctor?" That was going to take a second to process. |
| The bottom seemed to drop out of the Doctor's stomach.
His mouth fell open. He hadn't met this regeneration yet but there was no doubting who it was. He blinked, and shut his mouth with snap. Swallowed hard. "Master?" |
| The other Doctor was having a similar reaction.
He was supposed to be dead... but then, in this place, this Master might not even be the same one she'd held as he died - might not even be heading for that. Still, seeing him, looking like that, now, it was a shock. She was speechless. |
| He frowned, and then recovered a bit, "That's my name, thanks. I've not talked to this particular you before, I can tell," he said, eyed the one in the brown pinstripes.
"And given the, um, different look, I'm assuming we've never exactly met, either," he said to the woman. Doctor. Oh, that was just weird. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjam, "Can I help you two?" he said, trying for smug. But a bit of hilarity bubbled up in his voice, because the ridiculousness of this place just didn't stop. |
| "What are you doing in my - our - oh hell, a Doctor's TARDIS?" the Doctor demanded, barging in past the Master. "What have you done with the Doctor?"
He'd deal with his emotional reaction to seeing the Master again later. (Or perhaps not.) Right now, he was dealing with his instinctive reaction, which was that where the Master was, trouble would be there too. |
| "Not this you." she said quietly, half hoping it wouldn't be heard as the other Doctor barged in shouting accusations.
She had to admit she was rather curious too, because let's face it, the Master wasn't exactly trustworthy as far as she was aware. She crossed her arms, raising an expectant eyebrow. "Excellent questions." |
| Oh, dear. Both the other Doctors he run into had at given him the benefit of the doubt before biting his head off. He backed away from the door, feeling his temper rise. He could see why this Doctor might react that way though.
"He's around. Somewhere, in the this town." he said, trying to keep him voice calm. He pointed to the long brown coat, flung over the of coral pillars, as evidence that the Doctor would be back. "Could you not pick a fight with me? I know what you may be thinking, but I'm welcome here. Ask the TARDIS, if you doubt me." |
| "Hey, that's just like my coat!" the Doctor exclaimed, before deciding that was the least of the matters at hand and, after giving the Master a doubtful look, going over to one of the coral struts and running his palm along it fondly.
"Hey, old girl, missed you," he murmured, and opened his mind and his senses to what she had to tell him. |
| She snorted in amusement at his reaction, leaning against the door and looking over the TARDIS with a faint smile.
It was nice to be back in a TARDIS, though she'd only been away from hers for a day or so. She looked over at the Master curiously. "So, in your world, you...travel with me..us... your Doctor?" A small, wistful part of her wondered if he was a Master who'd not been shot, hadn't died. |
| "I'm sure it's an exact duplicate of your coat. And yes, we travel together." It wasn't a lie, because he had and did. Just not all the time. He wasn't planning on telling them exactly what he was up to Earth.
He smiled indulgently at the male Doctor. "When are you two from? And you have always been a woman?" he asked the female one. He still wasn't over that little shock. |
| The Doctor untangled himself from the TARDIS, which seemed a little grumpy but basically quite content about the Master being there, and glanced round.
"But I got my coat here, 'cos I was still in the last regeneration's leather and denim when I got here - only just regenerated and while I thought it looked quite good, everyone else kept telling me I needed something different. So that's just spooky. Unless your Doctor got his coat here too?" |
| "This place is odd." She observed "That's definitely my coat, well, not that one specifically, obviously, but I had a coat just like it."
She wrinkled her nose slightly "This place gives me a headache. No, I haven't always been a woman." she added grumpily. |
| "I distinctly remember that coat coming from the wardrobe room, when he regenerated into that body, years ago," the Master said, thoughtfully, before the lady Doctor's word sunk in. "You've not always been. Huh." He wandered over the pilots chair and sat heavily.
"What number are you then?" Seeing a female Doctor was one thing. He'd met Rowan. Thinking the person who were shagging fairly regularly might suddenly turn into a woman. Slightly odder. And then, remembering the old wives' tale about how that happened - attempted suicide - he asked worriedly, "And how did that happen?" |
| "Curiouser and curiouser," murmured the Doctor, leaning against the strut again and carressing the coral, and just letting the other two sort out the woman thing. He still wasn't quite sure how that had happened himself. |
| "Maybe the TARDIS got it from here." she commented, half joking, distracting herself momentarily from the woman question. She didn't like the woman question.
After a short pause, she sighed irritably. "Eleven, tenth regeneration. I was, as per usual, foiling an evil plot to kill millions, when an unscheduled explosion ended my time as the skinny one with the fluffy hair," she waved a hand vaguely at the other Doctor "The lab that exploded, the chemicals and things they'd been experimenting with, it buggered up the regeneration, so here I am, curves and all." she held her arms out in a 'ta-da' gesture, then dropped them, sighing again. |
| "That's. Interesting." He looked her over again. "You finally got to be ginger. And you're an attractive women," he offered, trying to make that like just a friendly observation, and not like he was trying to get into her pants. Because he really wasn't trying to. She was just. The Doctor. Her being a women from another universe didn't change how he felt.
"So, where do our respect timelines diverge I wonder," he murmured. "Because I'm getting the impression they did a while back." |
| "Since I have absolutely no idea where or when you're from, or how you're even alive, it's a bit hard to answer that." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, and squinted at his female counterpart. "You seem to recognise him in this body? I don't suppose you'd care to fill me in on that?" |
| She raised an eyebrow at the 'attractive woman' comment, but she didn't find it that strange. After all, this was the regeneration that seemed to insist he was being asked on a date, constantly.
She nodded slightly "I recognise that regeneration," she confirmed "He was..." she paused, then came to a decision "Since you won't remember this when you get back, it's probably safe to tell you, he was human, hiding out, had no idea he was a time lord until Martha pointed out that watch and he returned to his former self, regenerated and went to Earth, became prime minister and was generally up to his usual tricks..." she spoke softly, sadly, trailing off because she didn't want to explain the rest. She looked up at the Master "How much of that has happened to you?" |
| His face crumpled a bit, at the female Doctor's sad tone. "None of that. Although I've heard parts of that story from several people now."
He paused. "I'm alive because the High Council brought me back to fight the Time War. And I did. I ran into the Doctor's eighth self before I thought to run away and hide. We took the chance that we could win it, if we worked together, and saw it through until the end." He scrubbed at his face. "I wish I could say it ended differently. But so far I haven't heard of a reality where the Time War got going and Gallifrey still stands. The main difference seems to be I've lost my taste for cutting swaths of destruction - I've seen enough of that, thanks - and the Doctor didn't have to deal with the end of the Time War alone. I count us lucky, in our way." |
| The Doctor squinted, trying to follow all of this, but his brain just got stuck on - "He's alive? Now? I mean, for me, after the war, when I go back, he's there - he's alive? He's alive?" |
| "You are." she said softly to the Master. Not being alone, not losing the Master - of course he'd been an enemy, but for such a long time, he'd been the only one left and now it was just her... present company excluded of course.
She reached out to the other Doctor, taking his hand "Yea, he's alive." she said quietly. She wished she could say the same for her reality. "You've got another couple of years before you run into him though..." |
| The Master looked the two of them, wishing he could do a single damn thing to help either of them. He had that impulse to reach out and hold, again. But it was kinda hard to hug two Doctors at once, and kinda ridiculous to want to.
He looked sadly at both them. "That seems to be the case, based on what else I've heard, here. Yeah. The version of me I met though, that ran away and lived. He seems. Seriously screwed up, not thinking straight in ways I never quite managed before. I'm sorry. Maybe you'll be able to help him," he told the Doctor whose face he knew best. "It is possible, I know." |
| He was absurdly grateful for the Doctor holding his hand. Something to cling to seemed to be rather necessary right now.
His eyes were big and lost as he gazed between the two of them. "Susan said you - he was Prime Minister or something. The one she'd met here. Must be the same one. Mine." He squeezed the hand in his, before finally letting it go. "Yours." He squared himself up and looked at the Master, trying to get his head together. "How do I help him? How are you so - apparently - sane?" |
| She froze. When the other Doctor let go of her hand, she let it drop, limply by her side.
Maybe you'll be able to help him he said It is possible, I know She looked stricken. If it was possible, why had she failed? What had she done wrong? Why had he chosen to die? |
| The Master saw her face, he shot to his feet. Stupid, stupid. He'd hadn't thought how that would sound, to her.
He walked close, and leaned forward to look her in the eye. "Hey," he said softly, "his choices were his own. I chose to get my mind in order, under circumstances that never happened to you, exactly. I had to want it." |
| The Doctor looked shrewdly at the other two, very aware that there was something he wasn't getting here. He'd more or less caught up on the fact that the Master had somehow survived the destruction of Gallifrey by hiding as a human, though it was going to take a while for what that meant - that he wasn't the only Time Lord any more - to sink in properly.
He said quietly, to the other Doctor, "What happened? And remember, you're not me. It might go differently for me." |
| She looked up at the Master, thrown off by his sudden empathy - things must have gone really differently for him, he was a different person in so many ways.
But seeing that face, hearing that voice say those things... it was almost too much. The question from the other Doctor pushed her over the edge and she felt her eyes watering. She grit her teeth, angry at herself for getting emotional. "He died." she said, almost harshly "He chose to die." |
| The Master flinched at the harshness of her voice. At his memories at his Doctor's death wish during the war. He took his handkerchief out of his pocket, and offered it to her. He didn't say anything. Just didn't look away. And understood. |
| "He what?" The Doctor groped for the coral pillar again, knees going suddenly weak. He stared at the Master, even though he understood it obviously wasn't this Master who'd done that. "Even with all those new regenerations waiting to be used?"
He was feeling all out of his depth again, just when he'd thought he was starting to catch up. |
| She took the handkerchief, turning away from both of them to dab at the tears in her eyes.
"It was the only way to win. To...to prove me wrong." she said quietly, almost too quiet to hear She was starting to hate this place, ever since she got here it'd been nothing but trouble. |
| The Master grimaced, "I hadn't heard it quite put that like, but that makes a fucked up kinda of sense. I told the version of me here with the full drum set he wouldn't want to see what winning actually looked liked, oh no," self-loathing creeping into his voice.
"I think maybe he finally started to get it. Too bad that's unlikely to mean anything when he get back to the Valiant." |
| "Oh for goodness sake, how can he be so dense?"
The Doctor was starting to feel angry, which at least was better than trying to deal with the maelstrom of glee and hope and hurt and longing. |
| She laughed, though there wasn't any amusement in it.
The version of him, the valiant... it was her Master, or as close as they'd be able to tell, before he was shot. She hoped she didn't run into him, she'd be too tempted to try and talk sense in to him, but it would be so futile, even if he did understand he'd never remember, like this Master said. She turned back, reaching a hand out to both of them, she didn't have any words, but she needed some kind of comfort, and thought maybe they did too. |
| "He's crazy," the Master said wryly, "I was pretty damn dense, myself, before I decided the crazy wasn't working out for me." He took the hand that the female Doctor offered, and squeezed a bit.
Then he grinned, mischievously. "My run of getting alternate Doctors to at least let me hold their hand continues." He paused, and looked embarrassed. "That came out sounding dirty, didn't it? Pardon me, I'm still getting over the fact I had an the eight year old version of you two climb into my lap for a hug the other day. So not meant that way." |
| The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Want to up that total?" he said dryly, easy away from teh pillar and offering his own hand, and taking the female Doctor's hand. OK, they probably all looked a bit silly standing there holding hands but they were all old friends here and no-one else could see them. And contact, physical contact, was a huge comfort.
"And you've seen the little 'uns too, have you?" He pouted, mock offended. "I've really been missing out on everything, aren't I?" |
| She relaxed at the contact, half laughing. They did look ridiculous in their little circle, but it was comforting so she didn't really care.
"If anybody starts chanting I'll hit them." she threatened, joking. Yes, this was good, physical contact and jokes, time to stop thinking about the depressing things. |
| He squeezed the other Doctor's hand, too.
"I second that motion," he said in a slight mockery of his politician's voice. "I only saw little Thete, not little me. That was awkward enough." |
| "I can imagine!" the Doctor agreed, with an overly dramatic little shudder.
He looked alternately at the other two, a little smile growing on his face. "This is nice. I'd sort of got used to being the only Time Lord left, but it's really, really nice to have two more of you around, even if just for a bit." |
| She nodded in agreement. Especially after everything that had happened, she had to agree.
"Yea, and think of all the other old friends around here... you said Romana was here? And Jack.. Jacks?" she smiled "This place is not so bad." Maybe it was making them confront one or two things they didn't really want to, but it had its upside too. |
| "I like surprises less then you two," the Master grumped a bit. "Mostly this place is screwing with my head."
"But I'm glad you two feel better. Really. I'll be around as long as I'm around and. We might as well put welcome mat in front of the TARDIS door, the number of people who have wandering through." He shrugged. "Well, I always liked being the center of attention. Can't complain." |
| The Doctor grinned. "Maybe you should park in front of the hotel. You'd get everyone coming round. You could have a party!" |
| She grinned faintly "Party in the TARDIS, why have we never done that before? Not like we don't have the space."
She thought about it for a moment "The potential for hostile forces tampering with things was always a good enough reason, on consideration." she added soberly. |
| "Well," the Master drawled smugly, "I'd already begun planning a party. But in the ballroom of the hotel. Less things to be tampered with there. Much more sensible," he teased. |
| "Oh, good idea!" The Doctor was getting back towards his normal, bubbly self. He pulled his hands away from their finally, caught by his need to gesticulate. "A party'd be just the thing to cheer everyone up. And that ballroom's great! Much better venue than the TARDIS. Eh, girl?" He ran a hand along the coral again, sensing her amused agreement. |
| She smiled faintly as the other Doctor started getting enthusiastic about the idea.
Though, the more she thought about it, the better the idea did seem. "It would be nice to see everybody instead of having to go hunt them down." she mused |
| "Of course it's a good idea," the Master said. He was a genius , after all!
"I've enlisted the help of my alternate. Channel his energy into something he feels in charge of and that doesn't get people killed. Actually, he's together enough to know starting something here wouldn't be smart - so he's all for the distraction." |
| The Doctor's lips twitched. "Well, you always did like to impress people. I suppose throwing a great big party qualifies."
He gave the Master a serious look. "So you're saying I don't have to worry about chasing this other version of you down and warning him to stay out of trouble, then?" |
| "I'm surprised he hasn't tried to take it over and declare himself Emperor yet." she commented sardonically, then smiled slightly, "I'm sorry, even with meeting you I just can't see him as the type to throw a party without an ulterior motive, though I suppose with the amount of us Doctors here he's got no chance." she joked. |
| "On top of all the Doctors, there are at least two Jack Harknesses here that can't be permanently killed. If that makes sense to you," he said glancing around questioningly. "I happen to know at that one Jack has made it quite clear that even if he wiped out everyone else, Jack would find a way to take him down."
"As for the party," he shrugged. "I've told him he'd have to deal with me if he tried something. I'll be wary, but I think he took me seriously. I'm more worried about a version of me around that seems to be a later regeneration, from somewhere, and who pretty much started his stay by killing Jack. Jack got back up, of course. I haven't actually met this future not-me, but Jack thinks its under control. We decided to defer to Jack's judgment for the time being. The Captain knows we're here, if he needs backup." |
| "Well, you all seem to have got the situation completely under control while I've been sitting around enjoying the sunshine," the Doctor observed, scratching at the back of his neck and avoiding looking at either of them.
"And yeah, I know about Jack. The first person I ran into here was a version of him who said he was immortal. Set my teeth on edge, he did." He frowned. "I don't like the idea of anyone going round killing him just because he'll get up again, though." |
| "You get used to it." she commented, about Jack and his disconcerting immortality.
"So this place is quite peaceful, then?" she asked, smiling faintly. Peace was good "Even if someone does try and make trouble there's enough people to set them straight that it doesn't take off?" |
| "Jack seems to be taking the brunt of the few violent outbursts I've heard about. Which is fortunate in a practical sense, but hard on Jack. I don't like it either. He shouldn't be wasted on being the chew toy of those around with homicidal tendencies."
He smiled at the Doctor in familiar pinstripes. "Don't worry it. If you've been content to just sit and be, I'm going to guess you probably needed to. I'm more than happy to step up and keep the peace, if need be. I get to feel a tiny bit in control of something in this place, and well, we can all agree that peace is a good thing. So that works out well, don't you think?" |
| The Doctor grinned. "It works out very well. Although trying to see you as the keeper of the peace is making my brain fizzle. You're really different."
He rubbed the back of his neck again. "And yeah, you're probably right that I needed a break. I'm getting bored now, though. Itchy feet. That's why we're here, actually - missing the TARDIS and not having anything to do. I don't suppose you need any work done on her?" |
| "It is slightly unnerving considering you as a peacekeeper." she agreed with a grin "But I see what you mean about being in control. And who better to keep all the Masters in check than, well, yourself?" |
| "I happen to think I'm the best of them," he said cheekily, and then went serious. "It's just a shift in priorities, is all. I've still got my control freak tendencies, thanks, and I know it. I prefer to apply it to things that are actually useful. Which is why, I think you'll find the TARDIS in relatively decent working order, all things considered. Totally redid the helmic regulators a bit ago, using what we could find. She flies a bit smoother. The Doctor absolutely refuses to hear about taking a look at the chameleon circuit, and she is backing him up on that point, for unfathomable reasons. That discussion isn't over," he said meaningfully, glancing around at the ship all around him.
The TARDIS was laughing at him, he could tell. He sighed. "Someday I may outstubborn the both of them, but I'm learning when to pick my battles." |
| The Doctor gave him an odd look. "You know, I'm tempted to say you're actually a little boring like this. A bit too good to be true." |
| That hurt. He didn't even try to hold in the anger. He lunged forward, but he didn't actually strike the Doctor, but oh he wanted to. How dare he? "You don't have the slightest bit of context for why I am what I am. But you'll pass judgment anyway, won't you? Imagine, for a moment, that while you did all the terrible things you did during the war you had me pushing you along, whispering in your ear about how terrible they were. How it made you the same as me. I thought I was winning. What I got was."
He broke off and stepped back, eyes wide with guilt, "A Doctor who'd rather die then stop caring. He tried very hard to die, for a while there, but I wouldn't let him. I wanted him sane, and alive, and whole, even if that meant changing to take care of him. To help him win the war, so we could survive. So, if I am too safe for you. Congratulations. You won." He looked wearily at the both of them. "I am not a Boy Scout. I have to do ridiculous mental gymnastics to try to figure out if he's going to me mad for doing something he considers morally wrong, because I don't feel it in my gut like he does. He constantly plays me to get me to do what he wants, and I play him right back, and we both know it. I fight him when he's being an idiot, and he yells at me for not seeing the bigger picture outside out our own well being. It's a different game, but it's not one that's going to destroy us. I hope." |
| The Doctor backed off a little, his expression closing off, shutting down. "You drove him mad and then tried to save him? Perhaps I was lucky not to have you around." |
| "Leave it." she snapped suddenly, having watched them silently throughout the exchange.
She wasn't quite sure what to think, which side to take, which way was better, she just knew that this argument wasn't going to end well, not well at all, and she didn't want it to continue. |
| The Master looked devastated. Was the Doctor right, was he better off without him? He'd been so sure that wasn't so.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he said, desperately, really meaning it, for everything. "I can't undo what I've done, I can only be better than I was. I don't want to fight either of you. I want nothing more then to be the friend you should have had. What we once were. If you don't even want to look at me, I understand." |
| "I didn't mean it like that." The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I just meant, I was near enough insane during the war even without you around. You probably would have just driven me right over the edge."
He sighed. "I don't want to fight either. That really wasn't my intention." |
| She sighed slightly, actually a little disturbed by how earnest the Master's apology was - mostly because it was just so hugely out of character for the Master that she knew, she had to keep reminding herself that he was almost an entirely different person.
"So, party?" she said brightly. They had enough drama and awkwardness outside of this place, without bringing it in. This place was safe, she was starting to relax here, and she wanted to enjoy it. |
| The Master slowly closed back up, realizing just much he'd spewed there. How much he'd been wearing his hearts on his sleeve. He was really loosing his equilibrium in this place, wasn't he? But he didn't regret the apology. He meant it.
"Party," he nodded curtly. "Not exactly sure when that will happen, but it will. I'll post a notice in the hotel lobby, that day, saying that it will start at dusk, that evening. That's about the only way I can think of to get people in one place at the same time, given how wonky time is here." |
| "Sounds very sensible," the Doctor agreed, still looking uncomfortable. "Well, you seem to have it all planned out. I should probably just go, and let you get on with it. I'll send the - er - the other Master your way if I bump into him." |
| She nodded slightly in agreement.
Sure, parts of their conversation had been pleasant, but parts had been particarly trying, and they probably all had a lot to think about. "I'll keep an eye out in the lobby then." she smiled slightly. |
| He smiled slightly, back. Still troubled. "Alright. I'll see you then. And you know where a TARDIS is if you start to miss her again. You're both welcome. And I've had tea in another with a version of your ninth incarnation. He probably would appreciate company, as well." |
| The Doctor shook his head. "I really have missed a lot, haven't I? Maybe it's time I started pulling my weight around here, and catching up with a few old friends. Or old 'me's."
He sighed, and gave the Master a rueful smile. "Take care of yourself, eh?" |
| "There's a few of us running around, aren't there?" she asked, amused "Being him was fun..wasn't so fond of the ears though."
She nodded slightly at the Master "It was nice to meet you." she said quietly. It was much more than a simple pleasantry. Even for all their difficulties, it was nice that he'd stayed with his Doctor, nice to know that some version of her/himself hadn't lost the Master. |
| "I'll try not to run myself ragged. I think I may be in danger of doing just that. I usually have a better handle on my emotions, but this place keeps throwing new variables at me," he said, blinking. It occurred to him he might just need to shut himself inside the TARDIS for a while, and read, or something. Avoid all the might have beens, and the emotional overload that came with them.
"Likewise, you two. Take care." |