Open RP - The Master returns

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

((with the approval of the other Who muns))

He was...

He was in a slick heap on the floor, the smell of butter the first thing he consciously aware of. The smell. It was impossibly silent, an undreamed-of silence.

The Master, looking distinctly unmasterful in ragged, butter-drenched clothes, dragged himself from the room, pulling himself upright on the doorframe.

Silent, but for his breathing, and the butter dripping from him to the floor. His mouth felt greasy, and he spat to clear it. If only he could do the same to his mind! It was too quiet to think. He staggered into the hall.

He was...

He was alive. And that was all the starting point he'd ever needed.

The Master's laughter echoed down the stony corridor, echoing, folding in on itself. He was alive.

Comments

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Remember?" He laughed again, more quietly but no less deranged. "Oh, Doctor, the things I remember... and you don't know yet!" Oh, now, this was glorious. It would be so easy, so delightful, to crush the Doctor's spirit with just a few sentences.

[fantastic-nine.livejournal.com]

Why did people seem to take such delight in holding that over him? After the devestation of the war, it was surprises that kept him moving, what kept him traveling and in the TARDIS - and not curled up in some hole wanting to die with his people.

"So you remember enough. Then it should be enough for me to tell you. Don't. Whatever you're planning, just.. don't."
His voice was amiable, but his eyes were firm and carried the vaguest threat.

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Or what?" He smiled mockingly, eyes glinting. "You'll make sure this time that you really are the only one?"

[fantastic-nine.livejournal.com]

The Doctor shook his head. The only two survivors of Gallifrey and this is how they were going to go on; still at each other’s throats. He wanted to grab him, to shake him violently and scream that it should all stop, that it didn’t matter anymore. None of it did. The Time Lords were dead; they were all that was left. It didn’t have to be like this – they didn’t have to keep fighting – even though he knew that they would. Sometimes he was so tired.


It was the manic gleam in the Master’s eye that kept him from doing any of this, although he was sure that a glimmer of what he was thinking was evident. The Master was dangerously perceptive and emotional outbursts only seemed to fuel his determination to hurt him and those he cared about. He was thankful that Rose was safely away from the school and the inevitable threat posed by the man before him. “I’ve stopped you before. I’ll do it again. You know that. So just.. don’t. There’s more than enough to distract you here.”

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"You're asking me for favors now?" He didn't load the sentence with as much innuendo as he might have; he was a bit rattled by the way this Doctor's successor had greeted him, although he'd never admit it. "I think you're underestimating me if you think it'll be that easy."

[fantastic-nine.livejournal.com]

He snorted, "The last thing I'd do is underestimate you. But I want you to remember something."

The Doctor closed the distance between them, standing closer than was really necessary. "I watched our fleets burn. I watched Gallifrey burn. I saw everything that I loved burn and die and fall through time. If I have to stop you, I will."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

He was beginning to prefer the huggy one. It was tempting to inflict foreknowledge on the Doctor, to gloat at things in his past and the Doctor's future. But there was no need to show all his cards yet, not when he could hint, and smirk, and be deliciously frustrating.

"Everything you love, Doctor? Surely not. Not everything." He stepped closer, ever-smiling, spreading his fingers to show his hands were empty. "Or has this planet lost its charm for you? Grown tired of nubile little Earth girls, have you? I wouldn't be able to blame you. I mean, there's a certain appeal, but far too cloying and limited for a steady diet."

[fantastic-nine.livejournal.com]

His jaw tightened in anger and he spun away from him. Did his insinuation about ‘Earth girls’ hit a bit too close to home? No, no of course not.Right?

“Whatever you’re planning, don’t,” the Doctor finally bit out. “This planet and these humans aren’t yours..” he leveled a finger at the Master. “Don’t think that because we’re the last that it will make me hesitate. If I have to, I will stop you.”

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"You have gone all butch this time around, haven't you?" the Master asked with a smirk. "Bit of a mid-life crisis? Did you buy a motorcycle as well?" He stood quite close by now, insolently slow. "Less sentimental as well... no, just masking it, aren't you?"

[fantastic-nine.livejournal.com]

((edited))

The Doctor gave a half smile, "New regeneration, new me, you know how it is. I can't keep everything the same, it'd just get boring. And I can't explain to you what you won't understand. Humans are special, even if they are half-deranged little primates most of the time."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Oh, but it's the deranged part that makes them so much fun," the Master said with obvious glee. "The things they do to each other! Even I managed to pick up a thing or two. And the treachery they're capable of is almost as wonderful as some of their wines."

[fantastic-nine.livejournal.com]

Somehow he resisted the urge to throw his hands up in the air. "Then leave them be! Sit back and watch the mayhem.. but just leave them alone. There's more than enough destruction to keep you happy."

The Master would never grasp how special the humans were, and that grieved him to his core.

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Oh, but it's so much fun to give them what they want. And to see the looks on their little faces when they realize they've walked right into a trap. Almost as good as the look on your face when..." Laughing, he raised a finger to his lips. "Oh, but you don't know and I'm not telling."

[fantastic-nine.livejournal.com]

The Doctor smiled cheekily, "Nope. I don't know. And that's fine. Half the fun of traveling is not knowing what's going to happen or where you're going to wind up."

He folded his arms, "Besides, I could always ask myself."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

Oh, that would be good, that would be better. He'd be sad not to see it happen, but it would be such an unpleasant conversation for the Doctor! Both of him.

"Oh, you should," he purred. "I really think you should."