taxonomites | 2. [Location: Mount Perdition] But now I've got you here, I'll never lead you back

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2. [Location: Mount Perdition] But now I've got you here, I'll never lead you back

[ooc: backdated to before Ax's glitch but after the Doctor goes to see the Master for the first time. Log will span several days of ~~torture~~ FUN]

The Master whistled as he walked down the long hallway toward the 'guestroom' he'd set up for the Doctor, twirling his newly rebuilt laser screwdriver between his fingers. It was fortunate the Doctor had turned up when he did, really; the Master had tried just about everything attempting to recreate his little baby via the hatches. Used up all of his credits, and even then gritted his teeth through those increasingly annoying electric shocks to make more until he was certain he was going to damage his hand. Every time the thing had gone slightly wrong, somehow-- the aim was off, or one of the settings was compromised. Or it didn't fire at all. Rebuilding from scratch seemed to be the only option.

It hadn't taken long for him to get it working properly, once he'd gotten the limiting components from the Doctor's sonic version. Save the TARDIS, which he had a feeling he'd not get easy access to for a very long time considering the frosty tart in charge of it, these components did not appear to be available in Taxon without the hatch's interference.

Now the Doctor's screwdriver was in pieces, some of which were scattered on the floor of his workspace, and some of which were in his hand. The Master smiled as he flung open the door, letting some light into the otherwise dark room. He wasn't particularly worried about escapes at the moment. The House would know to restrain the Doctor for these little visits.

"No windows," he remarked, though he was smiling. "Oh dear. You must have made it particularly cross with you." The Master snapped his fingers, the room flooding instantly with light. "Better?"

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It was too dark for him to see more than a suddenly deeper patch of shadow loom in front of him, far too close to be avoided in time. The Doctor crashed heavily into what turned out to be a decidedly unmoveable object. He fell back, clutching at his head and wondering in a vague way exactly how many bruises he was going to be leaving the House with, and how he'd explain them to anyone who asked.

Heavy footsteps vibrated through the floor as the Drudge he'd spotted earlier, barely seen in the darkness, came closer. It seemed to take its time picking him up off the floor, almost as though the House were half-hoping he'd make another attempt at running. That alone gave him a fair idea how well that would go.

Which meant, he reflected as the Drudge set him on his feet and started forcibly marching him back to his room, that he wouldn't be able to solve this as easily and painlessly as he'd hoped. He'd try again, of course, when he next spoke with the Master, but the chances of that working...

The Master couldn't contain himself any longer; as the Doctor ran straight into the wardrobe without stopping, he erupted in hysterical laughter. It was a bit disappointing that the Doctor didn't try anything else, though the House was providing him with ample opportunity. But he could already feel the knot of tension dissipating, the drums receding just enough in the wake of his mirth for him to return to work.

Unfortunately, his calm wouldn't last long. The next morning the screwdriver was once again repaired, but the Master found himself preoccupied with a panic he couldn't quite name, worse than anything the drums had provided. The House rumbled slightly in disquiet as he made his way to the Doctor with swift strides, determined to quell this one way or the other.

The Doctor looked up as the door opened again to admit the Master, frowning at the bright light that came with the arrival.

"Can't say I think much for the hospitality of the House of Oakdown," he commented, not moving from where he was seated casually against the far wall. "You call this room service? No breakfast or dinner, not even any water or other things. It's enough to drive someone mad with boredom."

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed the Master seemed tenser than he had before. It was subtle, he'd grant him that, and the Doctor might have even missed it if it weren't for the fact he had no idea what would have brought it on.

"Don't suppose there's something on your mind, is there?" he asked carefully.

Edited 2010-08-30 07:38 (UTC)

"Shut up," the Master snapped, just as much to the House as to the Doctor, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. This was already not going well. He pulled the screwdriver from his jacket, letting the weight of it comfort him as he turned it over and over. It wasn't much, but it was something. If the Master had to suffer, so did the Doctor.

"Hungry, are you?" He finally looked up, forcing a grin onto his face that felt far too stiff. "We'll have to fix that. I'm sure I could always find another dog dish around here somewhere."

In a quick movement the Doctor rose from where he was seated and advanced on the Master, stopping a short distance away and folding his hands behind his back as he spoke.

"Come on, hasn't this gone on long enough already? You're not going to be able to keep me here, you know. Even with this House and your screwdriver - made from mine, don't forget - it won't work."

He rocked on his heels, a little battered and bruised, but no less confident in himself and his chances for escape. "Just let me leave now, and I'll go. You keep to yourself while I get everyone home again, no one gets hurt, and we can pick this up again later."

He smiled faintly. "Think of this as the final offer to make a change, do something different for once. To be the best that you can be instead of what you are."

That the House was slow to restrain the Doctor was worrying enough. That the Master actually had to steel himself against taking a step back as the Doctor rushed toward him was even worse. After his initial look of apprehension, though, he stared coolly back, sending a sharp mental rebuke to the House for allowing the other Time Lord to come so close to its Master. The Drudges approached the Doctor from either side with instant obedience, but their movements were timid, and far too slow, as if waking from a long dream. The Master sighed, repocketing the screwdriver before reaching forward to grab the Doctor by the lapels of his jacket in an attempt to show the House how it was done.

"I happen to like what I am," he informed the Doctor.

The Doctor glanced over at the Drudges, tilting his head at their hesitance, and his smile widened ever so slightly as he returned his attention to the Master.

"Looks like something's bothering it," he said quietly. "I wonder what that could be?"

He didn't fight back as the Master grabbed his jacket, and in fact leaned forward a little to continue speaking in a hushed, secretive tone. "Are you really? When you could be so much more, this is what you're happy with?"

"Don't get too excited, Doctor. Considering how easily you've gone down, it probably doesn't see you as that much of a threat anymore."

But the Master's face was deadly serious, his eyes searching and his mind a whirling mess of panic. He didn't like the way the Doctor was smiling. He didn't like it one bit. What if he'd a plan all this time, had simply been toying with the Master instead of the other way round? What if he, and the House, couldn't stop him? What would the Doctor do?

He swallowed down the anxiety and shoved the Doctor backwards, hard. "'So much more'?" the Master smirked. "I hope you aren't using your own pathetic existence as comparison there."

"Doesn't it?" he asked. "Well that's... good."

He studied the Master's face, smiling even further and continued. "I mean, I'm alone with no real plan, no one knows I'm here, no sonic... Nothing to lose... what does it have to be afraid of?"

The Doctor stumbled back a few steps with the force of the shove, but it didn't really bother him much at all. It was something else that suggested the Master wasn't as much in control of the situation as he liked to be, and the Doctor couldn't help but do his best to build up that feeling in the other Time Lord by taking his time to smooth and straighten his jacket before answering.

"No, not just me. You're not stupid, after all, got a brilliant mind ticking away in there. But you could use it for so many better things than this."

The Master, truthfully, would find himself hard-pressed to think of many things better than putting the Doctor in his place. And this was one of those times when the Doctor was practically begging for it. He stared down the Drudges, willing them to hurry up and restrain the Doctor. He can't hurt you if you're holding him!

But then, it wasn't the Doctor that the House was so worried about, was it? The room shook again, just slightly-- as if the House itself was shuddering-- as the image of a tyrannosaur laying it to waste rampaged unbidden through the Master's mind. The resultant backlash was so severe he had to reach out a hand to a nearby wall to steady himself.

"Isn't afraid of you," he managed. The House's fear was strong, intensified by the feedback loop between his mind and its own primal consciousness-- but the Master's hatred was stronger. He'd overcome this.

He was close by the Master's side almost immediately after the room shuddered like the House itself was quaking in fear, his hand reaching out and stopping just short of the other Time Lord's shoulder.

"The connection isn't doing you any favours right now, is it?" he asked softly. "It gets scared of something, so do you. And right now, it's starting to panic a bit, taking you along for the ride."

At that point the House itself seemed to realise how close the Doctor was to the Master, enough to cause damage if he were that sort of a man, and the Drudges lumbered closer, grabbing for his clothing.

Edited 2010-08-30 23:00 (UTC)

The Master shrank away from his touch, in both practiced disgust and that natural sense of apprehension he could normally hide. The House may not have felt too threatened by the Doctor at the moment. But he, on the other hand...

That changed a bit when the Drudges finally reached the Doctor and grabbed for him. The Master straightened up with a smile, his confidence returning as the balance of power shifted again in his favor.

"Oh, I'd say we're doing just fine," he said, reaching into his pocket again for the screwdriver. "And ready to begin right where we left off, actually." The Master programmed something complicated into the device, his fingers dancing over the controls, before aiming it squarely at the Doctor's chest. "I think you'll enjoy this one, Doctor. It's new."

The Doctor allowed the Drudges to pull him away without too much of a struggle, his expression hardening as the Master produced the screwdriver again and adjusted the settings in a complex pattern. He didn't imagine that anything the Master considered enjoyable would be much fun for him, oddly enough, and opened his mouth to say something to that effect when the Master activated the device.

Pain ripped through him, more intense than it had been the day before, like every single nerve ending in his body was on fire all at once. His body shook and convulsed from it, and if it hadn't been for the Drudges, the Doctor would likely have collapsed on the ground again.

After what felt like hours of agony from the latest 'test' of the laser screwdriver, the pain finally stopped, leaving the Doctor hanging limply from the arms of the wooden servants, his throat hoarse from screaming.

The Master watched the Doctor, his face contorted in a hideous, gleeful grin. Even if the Doctor wasn't enjoying this, he was. And his mood was infectious; he could feel the House responding by increments, the tension slowly replaced by vengeful excitement.

What was hours of agony to the Doctor was only a handful of minutes in actuality, but one look at the other Time Lord and it was clear that was all the Master had needed. The test had been a rousing success-- well, perhaps 'rousing' was the wrong word, judging by how the Doctor was lolling in the grip of his Drudges.

The House wanted an encore, but instead the Master closed the distance between them, trotting forward to cup the Doctor's chin in his hand and force his head up to meet his gaze. He wanted to see what the aftereffects were like. And, of course, he wanted to gloat.

"I thought you might like it," he murmured. "Programmed that one just for you. Don't worry, though. We've only just started. With much further to go yet."

Edited 2010-08-31 01:47 (UTC)

The Doctor blinked blearily up at the Master, his mind still hazy with the shock of the pain, and struggled to answer. His voice was rough and pained, which surprised him in a distant way. He hadn't been aware of much beyond the pain and the way his body twisted in on itself in an effort to try and escape it, and while he wasn't surprised he'd been screaming, he hadn't thought it was that much.

No wonder the Master was so pleased with himself.

He swallowed and licked his lips, reminded all over again how long he'd been without anything to drink or eat, and forced a wan smile. "No point rushing into things, is there? You know what they say about... taking your time..."

The Master's eyebrows lifted at the Doctor's response, his mild surprise eventually giving way to a chuckle. "Why Doctor! Are you begging me for mercy?" He released his grip on his chin suddenly, tossing it roughly to the side, before straightening up.

"As if that'll work," he drawled. The more the Doctor wanted him to stop, to change, the harder the Master would push. But though his words indicated exasperation at the Doctor's behavior, he was still grinning, still tingling with excitement. And ready for more. The Doctor's voice was already hoarse; how much more until he'd lose his voice completely? Perhaps it was covering old ground, but that had been with the old body, and he had to confess he was interested in the outcome this time around.

"That's enough of a break, I think." The Master took a step back, twiddling the screwdriver between his fingers. "Shall we?" He wouldn't bother waiting for an answer.

Edited 2010-08-31 06:43 (UTC)

"Mercy? No." The Doctor dropped his eyes from the Master's face briefly, unable to shake his head with how he was being held. "Just not going to be much fun for you, rushing things like this."

He didn't imagine the attempt would work very well, and he wasn't disappointed. The Master let him go abruptly, standing up again and the House followed suit, dragging the Doctor up into something resembling a normal upright stance. Even though he wasn't linked to the House himself, the Doctor could sense its eagerness to continue, the Drudges holding him almost trembling with anticipation. As much as wood could tremble, that was.

He looked up at the Master as the other Time Lord bought the screwdriver to bear on him again, not even trying to answer before the device activated and another burst of pain exploded behind his eyes.

The next few hours passed in a blur of pain, overlaid with the Master's laughter. 'Old favourites', as the Master called them, were revisited with cruel comments to remind him of the last time he'd felt the uniquely painful effects of his body rapidly aging, only for the Master to reverse it and do it again and again until the Doctor was even less sure of his age than he had been before he'd walked into the House of Oakdown.

Then there were the new effects, and the Master gleefully assuring him that he'd been looking forward to testing them. Functions that reminded him in a pattern of burns that there was the word laser in the name of the Master's screwdriver, sound loud enough to explode pain in his ears in a parody of his own sonic screwdriver's functions and leave his head aching too much to really hear what the Master claimed the next function to be. The Doctor only knew that it caused a horrible pain in his hearts and he lost consciousness for an unknown period of time.

When he could focus enough to see what the Master was doing again, he was distantly surprised to see that the other Time Lord wasn't laughing at him, or even looking at him at all. Instead the Master was looking around distractedly, and the Doctor wondered what might have happened while he was out of it.

What had happened was that the Master had heard a distant roar, of something far off but very large. And although the tyrannosaur (or could it have been a Taxxon?) was not yet close enough to be any real threat to the House, it had taken the initiative to panic anyhow. By the time the Doctor regained consciousness, the feedback loop had worked the two up into such a state that the Master had almost forgotten how glorious it had been briefly stopping the other Time Lord's hearts, or etching his name into the Doctor's back in High Gallifreyan. Instead he was pacing, awash in an anxiety that was only growing worse by the second.

Something was coming. He had to fortify. Protect. Hide. Fortify. The Master was so preoccupied that he didn't realize he was muttering to himself, voicing these thoughts. He didn't even notice the Doctor was watching him until the Drudges, in some sort of reactionary spasm, released his limp body all at once, the noise catching the Master's attention.

His words trailed off as he stared at the Doctor with wide eyes, almost looking through him.

The impact from hitting the ground jolted the Doctor further awake, his body aching protest all over. He couldn't quite make out what the Master was saying, his ears still ringing from the sonic attack, but it was obvious that he was on edge, wound up near breaking point. And that the House was equally distracted; they'd both seemed to have forgotten him in their concerns.

The Doctor winced as his back throbbed again, struggling to keep his eyes open and on the Master. If he hadn't been certain of a way to escape the House and its Master before now, this would have clinched it. He'd only hesitated because of what he would have to do in order for it to work.

But it would have to wait until he'd regained enough energy to pull it off. He was already struggling to keep his eyes open and focussed on the other Time Lord, and he doubted the Master would remain around when it was apparent that he couldn't take any more of the 'tests'. Tomorrow, however, he would have to do what he'd been hoping to avoid.

He stared a little longer, lost in the tangle of emotions and thoughts that overlapped and crowded one another, none really completing except that instinctual imperative: Protect.

The Master's lips moved again, soundlessly, as if he were attacking a particularly complex and vexing equation. And then he turned and hurried out the door, his exit uncharacteristic in its abruptness. No gloating. No laughter. No promises of more to come. No last words at all.

And then I guess we'll continue the T-Rex thing here :D

[Presumably after T-Rex rampage and fallout thereof.]

The T-Rex attack hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped... which wasn't really a sentence the Doctor ever thought he'd get the chance to put into use before. Ideally he would have managed to slip away without getting caught by the Master or eaten by the dinosaur (and a part of him was still put out that there'd been a dinosaur in the city and he'd missed it), but that had fallen through. About the only good result from the attack was that it had given him much needed time to rest and regain his strength for what he would do next.

That was why, once the House was almost as still and quiet as it had been before the dinosaur attack, the Doctor leaned comfortably back against the wall and started tapping out a beat on the floor.

Tap tap tap tap.

Four familiar beats, just a fraction of a second out of sync with the beating of his own hearts.

Tap tap tap tap...

He was sitting in his chair in the study, head tipped back and eyes closed in deep meditation as he and the House both recovered from the ordeal two days ago, when he heard it.

Tap tap tap tap.

It reverberated up through the floorboards, inside the walls, tiptoed up the Master's spine, raising the hairs on his arms, and echoed through his skull. And it was just out of sync with the rhythm in his own head.

It was wrong.

It didn't take long for the Master to pinpoint the origin-- the vibration was coming from the Doctor's room, from his own fingers. Someone apparently wanted his attention, and thought taunting him was the best way to get it.

Despite his initial desire to keep the Doctor waiting, to not be at his beck and call, the noise was impossible to ignore. The Master could have had the Drudges restrain him, perhaps break all of the Doctor's fingers or hold him suspended in mid air, without a surface to tap against. But he wanted to be there, in person, for this. And maybe, just maybe, he was the faintest bit curious.

The Master stalked down the hall and opened the door casually as possible, as if the noise didn't bother him in the least, and gave the Doctor a nice, even stare.

"Well. You seem far more lively from the last time I checked in on you. Have a nice rest?"

"Well you've been busy and I've had a lot of time to myself," the Doctor answered, his fingers still tapping out that rhythm against the floor, just the tiniest, maddening bit off from the beat he knew echoed in the Master's head.

"How's the House? Recovered any? Seemed like it upset you a bit when that attack happened. Not too much to deal with, I hope?" He smiled amiably, as though this were just a regular conversation between two friends and nothing more, like he wasn't purposely trying to wind the Master up with the drumming of his fingers.

A moment longer, just to let it sink in a bit more, and the Doctor glanced down at his own hand as though surprised to see it was doing that. "Oh, sorry! Not bothering you, is it? Think I might have it a bit out of sync with yours."

The Master's eyes were narrowed through all of that smug chatter, but rather than focusing specifically on the words, there was only room in his mind for two things at the moment.

He knows something. And then, on the heels of that-- It's wrong. The drumbeat, the one he knew so intimately, the one he'd lived with all of his life. The Doctor's imperfect version jarred with it, and, as his mind was still reeling from the attack, it was having the intended effect. The Master's eyes, as much as he tried to keep them on the Doctor, kept shooting down to those tapping fingers instead, until he'd finally had enough.

"Stop it," he snapped, and then clenched his jaw, realizing he'd lost by speaking out.

It was having the desired effect, he could tell. As much as the Master was trying to keep his eyes focussed on the Doctor's face, his gaze kept dropping to the fingers tapping casually on the floor, the slightly-out beat that the Doctor was fairly certain was felt through the floorboards as much as it was heard. He half imagined he could have said anything at this point and the Master wouldn't have been listening to him as much as the drumming of his fingers.

Tap tap tap tap. Tap tap tap--

The Doctor obligingly stopped mid-beat, folding his hands in his lap and smiling pleasantly. "You only had to ask.

"Anyway, I wanted to have a chat, so it was good of you to come by when I called."

2. [Location: Mount Perdition] But now I've got you here, I'll never lead you back

fft, for what? XD

Oh, editing that like 3 times. Not for the violence of course.

Well I do my fair share of editing too so...

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annnd notifs are down, I see :/

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I'm sobbing already inside ;A;

It's okay, soon the Master will be sobbing aloud! :D /shot

You just made my hearts hurt a little :/

Just a little? 'kay, I'll try harder.

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