32 // [Dream]

[neverendingbeat]

[The Master rarely sleeps. As an old acquaintance of his said once, "Sleep is for tortoises." And that's at least one thing he's said that the Master can agree with. Why sleep when there are so many more, interesting options for what he could be doing?

Of course, given long enough, he does need sleep, but that's not what's happening tonight. Tonight

Comments

Why THANK you! :3 ....may be getting a bit carried away, but w/e

[neverendingbeat]

The man in velvet doesn't respond, but there is a response. A door in front of her opens and a dark-haired, suited man with a moustache and beard hurriedly enters the room and bashes away at the console for a moment before rushing over to the man in velvet. And then, finally registering the presence of Penny, he pauses.

"You're far out of your own territory, my dear," he says, only the slightest hint of menace under his otherwise impeccable Received Pronunciation accent. He takes the electrodes away from the man in velvet's neck, much slower now, although there is still something vaguely anxious about him. "Is it your usual practise to so casually invade the experiments of others? Although I don't imagine you could have done much. It's only a projection, really. But so, my dear, are you, and you're not affected by the machine at all--how curious. You don't seem to follow any of the rules." He ponders her a moment, then checks for the man in velvet's pulse before bounding over to pick up a stethoscope and returning, the stethoscope already about his neck.

Naaaah. ^_^

[horrible_penny]

Penny is, of course, startled by the new arrival. She watches him abuse the console, wondering if, perhaps, it would be in her best interest to look for another dream. Ah, but he's talking to her now. No running.

She isn't entirely sure how to reply to any of the suited man's statements. Of course she's out of her own territory. "Sorry... I didn't know there was an experiment going--what? Projection?" Penny is miffed. So miffed, in fact, that she neglects to leave. She gestures towards the man in velvet. "Is he okay?"

WHOA tensechange

[neverendingbeat]

The bearded man puts the stethoscope to his ears and then listens first to the left side, and then the right side of the man in velvet's chest.

"He'll be quite all right," he says, pulling the stethoscope off and tossing it to the side. "Only his left heart has stopped." He puts his hands together and pushes sharply, twice, on the left side of the man in velvet's chest. "And really, of course you're a projection. It stands to reason. This is a dream, and you're hardly here in actuality. If you were, you would have been at least moderately affected by my machine." He raises an eyebrow at her. "I'm afraid no-one is exempt, my dear. Everyone fears."

.__.;

[horrible_penny]

"Only his left heart? He has more than one?" Penny looks at the unresponsive man again. He looks human. Humans have one heart. Something isn't adding up.

But, as the other man pointed out, this is a dream, and people can have as many hearts in dreams as they like. Or something. "Oh, that kind of projection. Yeah, I am." She shuffles awkwardly. This guy is strange. "What does the machine do?"

[neverendingbeat]

"It depends on whether you'd prefer the truth or the balderdash," says the bearded man, starting to pat at the face of the man in velvet. "Doctor?" he says, clearly speaking to the other man. "Doctor, wake up."

[horrible_penny]

"Since it's a dream, it doesn't matter, right?" Wait. "Doctor? Like, the Doctor, Doctor?"

Penny has met the Doctor. He didn't look like this.

...the Master is messed up and having conversations with himself, idek

[neverendingbeat]

"That very one," says the bearded man, "Ah, see, now he awakens." The Doctor's head lolls slightly as he regains consciousness, looking deathly ill as he does so. "Doctor, we have a guest with us. Oh, and your heart stopped, besides, but you already know that, I expect." The Doctor focuses with some difficulty on Penny.

"Penny?" he asks hoarsely, his face pained and wet with perspiration. The bearded man laughs at him.

"Incorrigible liar! You're only pretending to know her because I do."

"Penny, it would really be in your best interest to leave," says the Doctor. "I care for your safety, Penny, you must know that and the Keller Machine--"

"Is completely ineffective against her," says the bearded man, a little bit smugly.

I love his crazy.

[horrible_penny]

This is terribly confusing. This Doctor is not the Doctor that Penny met, but he knows her name and apparently cares about her. The bearded man doesn't look like anyone she's seen but he knows her, too. Then there's the machine on top of all of that...

What isn't confusing is that the Doctor seems nice and he's not doing well.

"I don't know what's going on here, but you," she said, gesturing towards the bearded man, "really need to let him," another nod towards the Doctor, "go. Please."

[neverendingbeat]

"Oh, he may go as soon as he likes!" said the bearded man, smiling. "Oblige the lady, Doctor, on your feet!"

The Doctor's expression was unamused. "You know perfectly well that I can't."

"His energy's been completely sapped by fighting against the machine," the bearded man explained, patting the Doctor on the shoulder. "He'll recover eventually but at the moment, he can barely move." He contemplated the Doctor and then said, "One moment, please, my dear," and left the room again.

[horrible_penny]

That was just rude. Bearded Man was terribly unpleasant.

Penny watched Bearded Man leave (energy? machines? sapped? what?) and addressed the Doctor-Who-Was-Not-the-Doctor-She-Had-Met. "What's going on? Who is that guy?"

[ooc: Apologies again for the tense fail. x_x You can shoot me if you like.]

[neverendingbeat]

The Doctor was starting to look a little bit better. He was able to actually support his head, to look directly at Penny. "He's the Master," he explained, "and before you ask, yes, I'm afraid that really is his name, even if he's going by the pseudonym of Keller at the moment. It was only so that he might be allowed to construct his machine--this machine. He wants me to help him control it but I can't. It's far too strong for me."

And, of course, before anything really interesting is revealed, the bearded man--the Master--reenters the room, holding a glass of water. "But you must try, Doctor," he says fervently, "Someone must control the machine while I am not here." He walks over to bring the water to the Doctor's lips, looking actually quite a bit concerned. "Drink this. You need it: you were within an inch of dying." As the Doctor accepts the water and drinks it, the Master seems to gather himself together again. "Another fact I'm sure you already knew."

[ooc: I...didn't really notice. I've been switching as it happens in everyone's scenario. It's a dream...things are a bit woozy. And besides, I failed once too. Thus the edit.]

[horrible_penny]

Unfortunately, the Doctor's explanation didn't help Penny out all that much (even if she did suspect--and she certainly did--that she should be having an epiphany). The Master... she thought that ought to ring a bell.
The Master returned before she could ask any number of burning questions, leaving her no more enlightened than she had been when he left.

Penny watched the Master and the Doctor, waiting to speak until the Master was through. "This machine kills people?"

[neverendingbeat]

"It's an experiment," the Master replied. "I am attempting to control a Mind Parasite."

"Unsuccessfully," commented the Doctor.

The Master gave him a look. "I might remind you that you were the one hooked into the machine."

[horrible_penny]

"A Mind Parasite?" Penny had to ask, as loathe as she was to interrupt the the Master and the Doctor. The two seemed on rather familiar terms with each other.

[neverendingbeat]

"It feeds on your mind, activating it through projected hallucinations of your greatest fears," the Master explained.

"As is quite evident, it can bring one very close to death," said the Doctor. "That's why the Master needs my help. He's unable to control it alone, not with the hallucinations he's been having."

"Doctor..." said the Master warningly, but the Doctor continued.

"You're scared, Master, terrified. Your hallucinations, do you remember them?"

"This is not you," said the Master. "This is incorrect. Stop this instant!"

"Your failure against the machine," said the Doctor. "The visions it attacked you with. Your greatest fear--do you remember now, Master?"

"You shouldn't--" said the Master. "This isn't... No! You can't!"

The Doctor, no longer ill, stood easily, laughing and the Master backed away, horrified, his hands out in front of him. Everything became disjointed, the laughter rising in a crescendo. The scene flickered, between the Master retreating from the still-laughing Doctor, to the Doctor Penny met in the City, glowing, descending on an equally horrified Harold Saxon. It became difficult to tell which one was actually happening, everything whirling until suddenly, it all disappeared, the machine, the chair, the Doctor. All that's left is Harry, huddling against the grey wall to her left, his hands covering his head.

[horrible_penny]

Penny listened to their conversation, growing progressively more concerned until the dream decayed into dizzying flashes and, finally, came to a standstill.

"Harry?" she says uncertainly. This was his dream? Things were beginning to make more sense, but contemplation could wait. There was something very wrong with Harold Saxon... or the Master. Or whoever. "Hey, Harry? Can you hear me?"