The Time That Never Was: Day 232

[notsoperfect10]

"The Time That Never Was: Day 232"
Who: The Doctor & The Master
When: During the Year That Never Was, Pre-Merge

His jaw had healed nicely but their attempt to break out had been impossibly mangled and now, the Doctor found himself hardly able to hold up his head.  He liked the bird cage much better than he liked the tent though, so there was that.  He

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[iehcsok]

Yep, there went the tea. And it wasn't exactly cold tea so when it spilled on Tosh, it must of hurt. Her skin looked red and irritated and the Master just looked bored. He started with a tired expression as the women struggled to find her feet. Yes, the Doctor was definitely better.

"Well, this was rubbish, someone get rid of her."

And that was all the Toclafane needed to get to work, blades flying out as they flew towards her. It wasn't a pretty death, there was a lot of slashing and cheerful noise from the Toclafane.

Blood splattered across the room and hit the Welsh man and short one, both of which looked utterly horrified at the sight. Who could blame them?

The Master sighed before shaking his head in pity. "Just obliterate her, would you?"

[notsoperfect10]

"MASTER!"

The Doctor's cry was not exactly anguished, more like terrified. He wasn't scared for himself, or for the other humans whose deaths he now knew would occur, but because the Master was better than this. Because he didn't appreciate being shown the battlefield again. One that the Master ran from before the Doctor could give a proper chase.

He was livid. "Master, you stop this!"

Only Lucy seemed unaffected. She wore that same oddly accepting look, the blank stare as Jack cried out in pain and Tosh...

Well, she was still alive, wasn't she? Gurlging. Holding on. It was, if anything, a relief when she died. Only then did the Doctor bow his head, though, by then, Jack hand hold of Lucy's hair.

Not smart.

"I will break her neck. You let them go!"

[iehcsok]

The Master watched her every moment till death with a small curious look on his face, observing everyone moment till her life left her. Jacks threat meant absolutely nothing to him because honestly, he had little affection for Lucy or any real emotions besides possessiveness. But if she did die, it wouldn't be the end of the world for him.

But it wouldn't end well for Jack still.

"You would kill her? My, my, what happened to the morals? Well, I suppose you can if you really want to. I'll have to find a new companion."

Laughing, he bounced across the Valiant and places his hands on Ianto's shoulders, peering over his head. Oh yes, the Master had noticed the little mouthing of words and the excitement at the sight of Jack. He could guess this fool was in love with the freak.

"Tell me, Ianto is it? Do you want to see the end of the universe with me?"

[cpt_51century]

The hand in Lucy's hair relaxed, though the woman did not move away. Jack noted that, her distinct lack of caring, her painfully dull eyes. Almost as if she was all right with dying too. And he just couldn't work with that.

Jack was a lot of things. The Doctor said it to him at the warehouse almost a year ago. 'That's Torchwood' the Doctor said as if he found Jack distateful.

Well. Jack had been. Thought he'd been. Likely was. Certainly was. His past haunted him. The missing pieces came back in dreams.

Or, like now, in reality, as Owen narrowed his eyes and Ianto heaved a bit. "If...I say yes?"

"No!" Jack cried. "No!"

[iehcsok]

"Well if you say yes then you'll get cake and tea and we'll go watch the world burn," the Master informed him with a giddy smile, dropping down in the chair next to Ianto, looking clearly amused at all of this. Bless the little mite, he was trying to be a big self-sacrificing hero. He and the Doctor would get along well.

"If you say no, Hmm... I don't know, I'll tear your friend there to shreds. We can make decorations for Jacks room with his intestines."

Giving Owen a wink, the Master couldn't deny that the anger of the Torchwood doctor kept him amused.

"Yan, don't you fucking dare," Owen tried, not willing to lose another member of his team-- yes, it was his team, de-facto second in command and since Jack fucked off, they were his. "Not worth it."

"Oh when is cake not worth it?"

[notsoperfect10]

"How do you imagine you'll get there?" The Doctor's eyes were not on the Master, but on the body of the once rather lovely girl. He'd met her with that poor pig. Not a bad scientist really, wasted on Torchwood. Ought to have stuck to UNIT or--

Oh, right, the Master' attention was his now. He tilted his head to the side.

"You destroyed the TARDIS. Gutted her. Made her a paradox machine so you can--" No, the Doctor couldn't dare think on it. "You don't have a way to get to the end of this year other than waiting for it much less the end of time."

[iehcsok]

"I'm a Time Lord, I have a degree in cosmological sciences and advanced engineering. You really think I need a TARDIS to travel to one set point?" He had a year of tinkering and he had managed to make a device he could travel with, he and Lucy went once or twice but it could only manage 12 visits before it burnt out and it took about 6 months to make so he was careful with it

[stopwatchlover]

While the Doctor groused that Landscape Gardening was, by far, the most beneficial thing that had been taught at the Academy ever, considering the professors and the barely mentionable administrators, Ianto swallowed and kept his eyes from Jack. Jack was a weakness that the Master really could not exploit.

He swallowed yet again, this time to permit himself to speak even though, oh, oh he could still feel Tosh's blood across his cheeks.

"I've no doubt in my mind, actually, that Jack won't care to be around me for too much longer." He sighed a little, smiling not-so-sadly but certainly not happily either. "Actually, I rather expect not to live to thirty. Comes with the job."

[iehcsok]

"Your life means nothing, you must have such a pitiful existence, its amazing how much life in the universe is pointless. There is no real point to living, is there? Nothing after life, you just stop one day and that is it," the Master whispered with such care that it left most around him that knew him almost dumbstruck. The Master wasn't usually like this. He was usually only like this with the Doctor, a deep sort of sorrowful contemplation he experience when the drums tormented him horribly. But it was nothing that lasted because it was gone in seconds, replaced with a dark smile as he reached out and grabbed Ianto's tie.

Yanking it hard, he tugged and dragged Ianto along, attempting to choke him as he stood up and yanked the tie like a lead.

"To the end of the universe! Oh its wonderful, isn't it Lucy?"

She merely stared blankly, the horror of the experience never left her. The screaming, the pain-- it was a nightmare.

[stopwatchlover]

"Right, yes, and that's it," Ianto agreed, being pulled along like a puppy. He didn't complain. Actually, seeing the end of time, he thought, might be rather interesting. He did feel small. He was sure he'd die alone, unloved, uncared for like his gran. And worse, that no one would remember him because he was Torchwood. His existence would be erased.

"Ianto," Jack called out, a warning. "Leave him alone!"

Ianto glanced back over his shoulder. "Jack, I'm fine, trust me." He actually smiled at the Master. "Just a little trip. You've seen it all. I'd like a shot."

"I have seen it!" But not really. Not really. Jack didn't know what the Toclofane were.

[iehcsok]

It was odd really, the Master disappeared from their sights and so did Ianto, leaving them behind in their little hell and bring Ianto to a different sort of hell. Standing there at Utopia as the world ended, the Master took Ianto on a guide tour. Through the screams and horror, the smell of burning flesh and hot metal - it wasn't pretty but the Master seemed happy. They were much closer to the ovens and the slaughter house now, it was like surround sound. Once he reached the top floor, the Master closed his eyes and embraced the noise.

Because all the screams were deafening and he couldn't hear the drums over them. He would stay forever but he knew it was drive him more insane than he was now. The boredom and the tedium, only suffering around him.

And, as he had promised those naive humans, the sky did indeed sparkle like diamonds.

He and Ianto watched the sky together as everyone around them cried and scrambled to hold onto their life. It was amazing how much beauty survived. "The human race may die but the skies will never go

[notsoperfect10]

As Ianto's mind broke, changed, warped, and he came to some understanding about himself, the Doctor tried to keep Jack's attention. He did his very best to make that man hold onto some sort of his humanity, even if Jack was now, very loose on the term 'human.'

"Jack. Jack Harkness--" But Jack was staring at Tosh and then at Owen. The Doctor had disappointed him again. And while Jack would forgive him, again, he couldn't let this go.

Not now.

So when Jack spoke, it was to Owen.

"Get Ianto out. Whatever you have to do, get the both of you out."

[iehcsok]

"What the fuck do you think I plan to do? Leave him?" Owen growled back, he always did have issues with Jack and this was really not helping them or their personal issues. Instead of making up, Owen rather wished he's left Jack dead and destroyed the world with the rift. At least no one would suffer.

Eyes flickering to Tosh, he swallowed hard. He knew now that he was going to end up like that, maybe worse. But he could still save Ianto.

When the Master did return, the smell of burnt flesh clung to them and reeked the room out. He let go of Iantos tie and let him drop.

"Mmm, nothing like the end of the universe to put you in the mood for cake, right Ianto?"

Walking over to the neatly slice cake, he picked up some himself and threw another piece at the Doctor, whacking him in the face with it so it splattered against him.

[notsoperfect10]

If only the situation had been better, the Doctor might have been happy for even a few chunks of cake that landed near his mouth. Now, the sugary taste made him feel ill. And seeing Ianto with such dark, hollow eyes made it even worse. He hugged himself. Rocking.

Jack was not any happier. "Ianto! Ianto, look at me!" and he did, slowly, lips trembling as if he wanted to speak but had forgotten all of the words. He swallowed.

He tried not to sick up. And he failed. A mess of vomit dropped to the floor in front of him.

[iehcsok]

"Oh see, now that put me off my cake," the Master cried, pulling a face. Disgusting humans, always spewing things about. Shoving the rest of his cake into his mouth, he used his communicator to call in Tish. Well, someone had to clean it up and he wasn't being around that all day.

Grabbing Ianto's sleeve, he dropped the idiot down by his friend, giving them both a warning look to not try anything before his attention landed on Jack once more.

"So, Jack, still want to trade? Lucy for Ianto? I think he'd like the future. I'll even make good use of your doctor here. He might enjoy being one of my children."

There was a dark look on his face. It was the reveal of the toclafane. Because yes, every and any human could be one. It was a never ending cycle.

[stopwatchlover]

Ianto's fingers slipped down Owen's arm before he snatched his cuff. "Just... Bullet in the head. You want a bullet in the head. That-- They did that--"

The Doctor had to interrupt. No need scaring everyone, though he was already sure that Jack could follow along with where Ianto was going. He was an exceedingly smart man, one of the brightest. The Doctor loved the clever ones. "Oh, come on, Lucy and Jack? Their complexion's all wrong!" he said as Tish was made to clean up the vomit.

Ianto shared the sort of dead eyed look that Lucy had, though his hand trembled in Owen's shirt.