2 [Accidental Visual | Location: Mount Perdition]

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

[ooc: Backdated to be after this, feel free to ask the Doctor wtf he is doing or poke/laugh at/check on the Master.]

When the tablet flickered on it was obvious that something was amiss. The Doctor and the Master were both in the frame, though the tablet itself seemed to be in the hands of a third, unseen person who hadn’t realised it was active, as there was quite a bit of floor in the shot as well. Both Time Lords were close together, their foreheads touching, and it was apparent that the Doctor had been part of the way through saying something when the tablet was activated.

“—sorry.”

Then the Master screamed like someone in agony, reeling back from the Doctor like he’d been burned, arms flailing wildly as though he was trying to fend off an invisible attack. The building they were in shuddered and whoever was holding the tablet dropped it, throwing the image into a disarray of walls, floor, and ceiling before it stopped, showing the Doctor. He rose slowly, his face an almost cold and distant mask as the Master continued to sob and scream, shouting the word ‘no’ more than once among the other sounds of his distress.

The room shuddered again and the Doctor was moving, picking up the tablet – his hand filling the screen for a moment – and running from the room, leaving the Master behind. Though the screams could still be heard as he raced through the building, the tablet broadcasting a confusing jumble of running feet, half-seen glimpses of ornate furniture and architecture, and the Doctor’s face.

It was difficult to tell, but there was something else strange in the way the building shook, doors banging open and closed like the place was home to a very upset poltergeist , and at least once the Doctor ducked as an unseen object flew across the room towards him.

A shot of a door loomed out of nowhere and there was a bang as he burst through it, yelping in pain as a flying object caught the side of his head. The sound of the Master’s tortured yelling finally stopping as the gloom of the building gave way to too-bright sunlight. The Doctor must have tripped then, as the sky suddenly became red grass, then sky, then grass, over and over as he rolled a distance and finally stopped, the tablet showing his slightly-bruised profile as he lay sprawled on his back staring at the sky and breathing hard.

Comments

[visual]

[timedaughter]

"Dad?!" Jenny hasn't the faintest idea what's going on, but it all looks bad and Jenny's out the metaphorical door in a heartbeat. The little red dot on her tablet shows the way.

[visual]

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

That voice roused him from what had been dazed blinking at the sky, and the Doctor rolled over to stare at the tablet blankly. How long had it been active? How much had Jenny seen?

"Jenny..."

Coming here to get him. Coming here.

"No!" His voice held a hard snap to it that allowed no argument. "Stay where you are, do not come here. I'll meet you..."

He searched his memory for a place that would work, would be safe. Or at least safer than talking on the Master's doorstep. "Martha," he said eventually. "I'll find Martha and meet you there."

[visual]

[timedaughter]

Jenny stopped dead at her father's command. She looked at the tablet, jaw clenched and clearly considering whether or not to disobey him. Frowning, she finally managed a stiff nod.

"Alright. Martha. But if you're not there soon, I'm coming to find you," she finally decided, concerned and not at all liking that she didn't know what was happening. Finding Martha's dot on the map, she took off in another direction.

[visual]

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

Jenny wasn't happy with him, but it was better than letting the Master realise who she was or get curious enough about why she was worried about him to try and find out more. He was lucky that the other Time Lord and the House were still shaken from the mental attack, so it was unlikely they could have heard Jenny's first message.

The Doctor nodded stiffly at his daughter's image. "Alright. Now go, I'll explain everything to you later." Once he'd had time to think of a cover story and convince Martha to keep it secret as well.

[aworldenchanted]

"Doctor?"

Tara sounds deeply alarmed, but it's not quite fear; for now, he might need help, and she doesn't have time to be afraid.

"Doctor, where are you? I'll bring help."

[Visual]

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

"What?" He blinked and focused on the tablet, smiling tiredly at the familiar face there.

"Tara! Hello, how's things?" No, wait, she'd said about bringing help, coming and finding him here. The Doctor shook his head to try and clear the exhausted fog from his mind more than to indicate a negative.

"I'll be alright with a bit of a rest," he lied. "How much did you see?"

[Visual] - ahah, I win at tags

[aworldenchanted]

"Enough. And you always say you're fine."

The last Doctor had said he was fine as he was bleeding to death, so Tara's disinclined to take him at his word.

"Don't try to move unless you're in more danger. I looks like you've been through enough."

[Visual] - happens to everyone xD

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

'Enough' didn't really answer as much as he'd like. The tablet couldn't have been showing anything from before the Master produced it as part of his threat, so that was something. There was still a lot of other things after then that it might have shown, or things from before the Master would have purposely recorded to show others, however, so the Doctor had to hope that either 'enough' meant 'not really that much at all' or that he could find a way to circumvent the questions.

"Well I'm always fine, aren't I?" he said, making himself sit up and smile in a way that was hopefully more convincing. "You know me, not much slows me down. I feel well enough to do loads of things. Run a marathon, dance a jig... I'd have to learn how to dance one again first. It's been a while since I tried."

[Visual]

[slayersidekick]

Willow's bad news senses were tingling like little red beacons of bad tidings. She looks pretty disgusted and worried about whatever was happening over there.

"What the heck is going on over there? Are you all right?"

[Visual]

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

"Oh, hello there," the Doctor greeted semi-cheerfully, managing a smile and doing his best not to look too tired or anything.

"Have we met?" He was fairly certain he'd never seen her face before, but there had to be a few people in the city he wasn't familiar with, some of which apparently knew who he was from before. That might explain it.

Remembering she'd asked a question, he continued. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about, I'm fine. Just had a bit of a fall down a hill. Bit bruised, but that's all."

[Visual]

[slayersidekick]

Willow shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm pretty new here, so I haven't actually met a lot of people yet."

She wasn't entirely sure she believed him and the frown showed as much. "I-if you're sure that's all it was. No tumbles with anything weird or creepy?"

[Visual]

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

"Oh, that's nice. I'm new as well. Well, new here, not really that new myself..." He trailed off before he got too caught up in a rather rambling train of thought and focussed on her image again. "I'm the Doctor, by the way. Another one."

He had to wonder if the name would mean anything to her, and if so, what. Apparently he'd gotten up to quite a bit last time he was here, even if he didn't recall it at all, and while he was getting used to meeting people who knew of him already, it was still a bit strange. It wasn't like it happened the often normally.

"Weird or creepy? No, nothing like that. Why? What makes you ask that? Does weird and creepy happen a lot for you?" Or had she seen more than he'd thought?

[allthatlife.livejournal.com]

"Oh my god ..."

That was where the Doctor had been. The Master had been keeping him prisoner.

If Martha had been a different sort of person - a person who wasn't familiar with the strange nature of the relationship between the Doctor and the Master - that realisation would have made her panic. She'd have wasted time asking questions that could have waited or staring in dumb horror at the screen. However, when she saw her friend running from a house she didn't recognise - and the Master, of all people, flailing and screaming in the background - she reacted instinctively.

"Doctor? Doctor, where are you?"

Seeing the Master in such distress was unsettling to say the least. Even Martha, who thought he deserved everything he got, couldn't help but wince a little.

[Visual/locked]

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

The moment he heard Martha's voice, the Doctor reached over and activated the privacy settings on the tablet. While he doubted the Master would be able to do much prying just yet, there were other people he didn't want to listen in on this conversation. Not that he thought some of them would, but, well, it was better to play things safe.

"Hello, Martha," he said tiredly, pushing himself to his feet and starting to move further from the House. "I'm on the slopes of Mount Perdition. But that's not as important. I've sent Jenny to meet me at your location, sorry. It was the only thing I could think of to stop her from coming here right away. So we need to talk quickly, before she has the chance of overhearing any of this."

[Visual / Private]

[allthatlife.livejournal.com]

That was even more worrying. She knew that he had good reason - one very good reason, in fact - to be cautious, but he was avoiding the Master, not his daughter. Why did she have to keep whatever this actually was from Jenny?

"Doctor."

Her tone was a little sharper. Her expression made it clear that she wanted an explanation very soon.

[a-pretty-fire.livejournal.com]

In Drusilla's dream, the Master and the Doctor were two sides of the same coin. Someone - an unseen hand that was as black as the night - tossed the coin and she watched it fall, tumbling over and over in the darkness of the air. Sometimes the Master was on the top, sometimes the Doctor. If landed, it would land on the edge, with neither Time Lord able to tip the balance and win the day.

In reality, of course, things were more complicated that than. A Time Lord could win and lose at the same time. As the Doctor had done on the Valiant. As the Master did now, clutching as his head while the Doctor - bruised and broken, but repairable - slithered through his grasp yet again.

"Master!" The exclamation was sharp, like the ring of a bell. Her eyes were dark with rage and her chest was tight with concern. When she addressed the Doctor, she spoke in an accusatory snarl. "What did you do?"

[Voice/private] Many Hours Later...

[syncopath]

[The Master's voice is doing its best to sound convivial, but it's strained, and he's not showing his face. He doesn't want her to see the state of the House... or how tired he really is.]

Ah, Drusilla. It's been far too long since we last spoke, hasn't it? I suppose that's my fault. Been a bit busy.

[Visual / Private]

[a-pretty-fire.livejournal.com]

He was hiding from her. She wasn't surprised. He didn't know her, not yet. She needed to earn his trust. The sting of the secret - the short, sharp sting - was easy enough to ignore. Drusilla liked to think that she could read a great deal in a voice as telling as the Master's.

"He hurt you."

She blamed the Doctor because, without a closer look at what had happened, the vampire couldn't know any better.

[Visual] Presumably before the Master makes contact

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

The Doctor wasn't entirely surprised when Drusilla's face filled the tablet screen, her expression stormier than any he'd seen in a long while. He smiled, tight and as dark as her own expression, and sat up stiffly, reaching for the tablet as he did so.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much. Nothing he won't recover from eventually. It could have been worse, you know."

[Visual]

[a-pretty-fire.livejournal.com]

She bared her teeth - unusually white against the red of her lips - at the Doctor, thinking of the double pulse beneath his skin and how sweet it would taste running down her throat. He was old and powerful, but he'd die as easily as anyone else.

"You'll worry," she taunted, "You'd be lost without him. Without the other part of you."

[ Visual ]

[gotcouplings.livejournal.com]

Kaylee knows one of those faces very well. He was becoming a good friend of hers, before he left the first time. She's halfway to her tablet to give a tentative hello when the screaming starts. His screaming.

Without hesitation, Kaylee's frowning down into the tablet, frantically looking to see if the Master is alright. She shouts a few times, useless orders for this new man to go back and fix whatever he's started. It's when he finally calms that she does.

"What'd you do to him!?"

Good day, Doctor, have a not-so-pleased-looking mechanic on your tablet.

[ Visual ]

[ialwayscomeback.livejournal.com]

"What?" The Doctor rolled over and stared at the tablet, surprised and and a little thrown off by the young woman snapping at him. Young woman he didn't recognise who apparently knew the Master well enough - or thought she did - to be worried about him

"Oh..." he said, struggling to sit up. "You saw that, did you? Sorry, I didn't realise it was on."

[ Visual ]

[gotcouplings.livejournal.com]

"So you would've done differently if you had realized it was on?" She doubted it, from the look of the man, but people weren't always what they seemed. Couldn't exactly judge a book by its cover when you can't be bothered to look past the binding.

Hard to place this book, in any case.

The mechanic chewed the inside of her lip thoughtfully for a moment, before letting out a deep sigh. "Ai ya...is he alright, at least?"

[ Voice/Private ] Again some hours later!

[syncopath]

[He's witnessed the conversation between Kaylee and the Doctor with some interest. So she'll only tolerate the Doctor if the Master hasn't been hurt too badly, hmm? Very useful information for one to have.

So although the Master's first instinct is to hide his distress, muster up the strength he doesn't yet possess as he did with Drusilla, he carefully avoids such pretenses now. In fact, he's hoping to milk this as much as possible.]

Who's that? Who's there?

[ Voice/Private ]

[gotcouplings.livejournal.com]

[ She's relieved to hear his voice, even if he doesn't seem to recall her at all. He isn't the first to have lost memories upon returning to Taxon, and she kind of expected it would happen anyhow. ]

Ah, Kaylee's my name. Kaylee Frye. I knew you the last time you were here in Taxon...