Clash of swords in the hallways

[neverreallygone]

Characters: the Master, the Doctor
Rating: I'm going to go with R
Time Period: Modern
Location: A castle hallway
Relative Date: A few hours after the Doctor's transmission, and a few days after the snow fell
Status: Closed

Comments

[thedoctorx]

Taunting the Master wasn't the wisest thing the Doctor had ever done, but it wasn't the first time and he hoped it wouldn't be the last

[neverreallygone]

The Doctor had clearly reckoned without the drums, forever thudding away and inciting the Master to battle. The Master already felt vulnerable and exposed without his favourite weapon and the Doctor had given him something to aim that desperation at, egged on by the ever-present thunder in his head.

The sight of the Doctor pulling down a sword and pointing it at him did make him pause, however. He pulled up short just a few feet away from the Doctor, eyeing the sword and his mouth slowly stretching into a grin. Well, he wanted a fight, after all, and if the Doctor was willing to give him one...

It was more like old times and that was enough to bring him to his senses a little. Oh, he was still furious - still desperately wanted to bring the Doctor to his knees and make him pay - but he was slightly more in control

[thedoctorx]

The tip of the foil carefully followed the Master as he gracefully drew the second sword from the wall. Not willing to stab him, there was little the Doctor could do to stop him from securing it.

He was able to easily parry his lunge, but his counter-attack was non-existent, as he instead jumped back to move from the Master's reach to speak. "You know this isn't how I want it. Do you think this is going to solve anything?" His tone was harsh and unforgiving, but his eyes were softer, nearly pleading. "Think. Don't act."

[neverreallygone]

Oh, why was the Doctor always so fucking condescending?

And always trying to back out of fights.

The Master followed him as he backed away. If the Doctor wouldn't fight, then at least he could feel the satisfaction of driving him back.

"You should have thought before you threw my screwdriver in the moat," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, keeping the sharp tip of the sword steadily pointed towards the Doctor's throat, forcing him to keep on backing away now that he'd started. "Do you know how long it took me to make that thing? Do you know how much work it took - what lengths I had to go to to make that, stuck on primitive 21st century Earth? And you just throw it away and think I won't mind?"

[thedoctorx]

The tip of the Master's sword strayed along his throat a few seconds too long before the Doctor struck it back with a binding blow. His blade pressed strongly against the centre of the Master's foil and he bared down on it for as long as he could; locking it to a low neutral point away from both their bodies.

The Doctor didn't understand the sentimental value the Master had for his screwdriver, but he really should have. After all, he would have felt similarly had someone abused his own. But he considered the Master's a weapon and that made all the difference in his mind.

"I can guess," he breathed out, as he pressed his blade still harder against the Master's. "And... I knew you'd mind... I didn't want anyone to get hurt. It wasn't personal."

[neverreallygone]

He struggled against the pressure of the Doctor's sword against his sword, but they were too evenly matched; the most he could do was stop the Doctor pressing it down any further. He bared his teeth and growled at the Doctor.

"You didn't want anyone to get hurt? How about me? How about me getting hurt, eh?" Really, he meant getting hurt emotionally by the Doctor's callous actions, but once he'd come up with the point he could expand upon it. "What about if I get attacked by a unicorn, or a dinosaur, or a vampire? Hmmm? What about my right to defend myself?"

He took a step backwards, the blades of their swords scraping harshly against each other as he drew his away from the Doctor's to fling his arms wide, exposing himself to the Doctor's mercy. Symbolically, at least; he in no way expected the Doctgor to attack him. "Or don't I get granted that right by the Almighty God Doctor who decides for everyone what's right and what's wrong?"

[thedoctorx]

The Doctor continued to bind the Master's sword, shifting his weight appropriately when he felt his blade begin to pull away. He barely let him finish speaking before yelling back, "You're clever enough! You don't need a weapon!" His voice echoed eerily against the hollow corridor.

Then the Master pulled away, released his foil and stood back. It caught the Doctor by surprise and it took him a moment to regain his footing and composure. He held the sword to his side, as the Master theatrically offered himself to him like a sacrificial lamb. It was obvious to him this gesture came with a sense of security for the Master- he knew the Doctor would never take advantage of the opportunity to pierce him.

And that's exactly why the Doctor decided to raise his blade and skillfully tuck it underneath the Master's chin; firmly though not hard enough to draw blood. Eyes narrowed, he was visibly offended by the Master's taunting.

"And... what do you think would be the right thing to do in this situation, Master?" He raised an eyebrow. He

[neverreallygone]

The Master stood very, very still, a pulse beating hard in his throat. The drums pounded in his head as he met the Doctor's challenging stare, adrenaline pouring through his veins.

The Doctor had taken him by surprise, but he wasn't complaining. This - this - was when he felt alive. When he had the Doctor engaging with him, sparring with him, paying him attention. Treating him, for once, as an equal.

His chin lifted and he smiled slowly. "You wouldn't," he said confidently, his voice low, his arms still spread wide, not even attempting to make the Doctor move his sword. "You might have done at one time, but not any more. Not now there are so few of us left. Not after begging me not to die, after weeping over my dead body. Twice."

He... didn't actually follow the Doctor's logic. The Master had a twisted logic all his own and he didn't really follow other people's very well.

[thedoctorx]

The Doctor stared back into him. He was thinking nothing of this moment, but of how things between them ever got so bad. He couldn't sort through his feelings fast enough to reach any sort of definite conclusion and acting upon what he thought was right was becoming more and more difficult as the seconds passed. He gripped the handle tighter in his hands and listened as the Master recounted how he had acted and what he had felt. He made it feel so much more real to him with mere words than he was able to recollect through his own memory.

It hurt so bad to feel something for someone that had willingly hurt others he cared about so awfully. He thought of Rose and Donna here, not bothering to go farther back in his mind where things between them had been more questionable. Hadn't he tried everything lately to make this right? Why couldn't the Master just let go"You're right," he said finally. "I wouldn't

[neverreallygone]

The word 'surrender' stung through the Master. Whatever he'd intended to display with that gesture, he hadn't thought of it as surrender. On the contrary, it had been a taunt, a dare.

A dare he had just won.

The drumbeat thrummed through his body as he echoed the Doctor's movement, stepping back into position, a wild grin on his face. "I never surrender," he said fiercely. "And certainly not to you." He waggled his sword point derisively. "Come on then, Doctor. Show me what you've got!" And he lunged forward again, only too ready to fight.

[thedoctorx]

"Any last words?" he boosted back and then met his lunge with a deft deflection of his blade, followed this time by a strong riposte.

He had no idea where this was going or to what end they were fighting for. Never to the death, at least not for the Doctor, but then to what? The more they continued on, the more he found himself living for this moment and caring less what happened after the fighting stopped or even how it ever would.

[neverreallygone]

The Master laughed, dancing backwards out of the way. "I don't do last words," he taunted, which was a lie because just like the Doctor he did love getting the last word in, but he had no intention of dying so he meant it in that way, at least.

He darted in only to have the Doctor block his thrust again and he laughed, bizarrely happy. He'd gone after the Doctor initially in a rage (and the reason for that rage was not forgotten) but as the fight went on he couldn't help but feel exhilarated. The drums were loud in his head, clamouring with the excitement of battle, but for the moment he was in control.

Which was just as well, because as a swordsman, the Doctor was very much his equal. But that only made it more fun. The thrill of imminent danger thrummed through his body as he fought.

[thedoctorx]

The Doctor was enjoying himself more than he'd like to admit, though he wasn't trying to hide his enthusiasm either. He took every opportunity to show off, which naturally was reckless, but he did it with such precision, that it could hardly be considered brash to even a keen observer.

He stopped caring entirely about how or when this would end, which was really something remarkable for the Doctor to do. He didn't even think about whether or not anyone might be in their way as he backed himself blindly down a narrower corridor. The Doctor was completely lost to the fight.

[neverreallygone]

Oh, this was the Doctor at his very best. Quick, intent, brilliant - a most worthy opponent. For a while, the Master forgot everything that had gone between them. It was like old times, sparring with the Doctor. The quick cut and slash of swords, the darting movement of feet and bodies, the challenging gleam in the Doctor's eye, the excitement thrilling through him

[thedoctorx]

The thump of his back against the door, shook the Doctor off-beat, causing his parry to falter too far from the Master's blade. On another day, he might have been able to fence himself free from the wall, but not today. His swordarm dropped back to his side and he felt his muscles only begin to twitch to raise it again, when the Master's sword fell against his throat and caused him to cease all action entirely

[neverreallygone]

The Master grinned gleefully. He had no intention of actually following through on the threat his sword was posing, but oh, the look of sheer terror on the Doctor's face was intoxicating. The pale skin, the wide eyes, the quick movement of his chest as he gasped for breath. It was beautiful. The Master couldn't help but want to taste that a little longer.

He pressed in a little closer, leaning some of his bodyweight against the Doctor's thin frame, feeling the rapid double thud of the Doctor's hearts beating beneath his suit, and shifted the sword slightly so the Doctor could feel the serrated blade move against his skin. Still not breaking the skin, just reminding him of the threat.

"Better think fast, Doctor," he warned playfully. "Who knows how long before I might... slip."

((OOC: we shall wait and see what happens then! *g*))