[The Doctor wasn't there anymore. The Master should have rid himself of this stupid ape that followed him about, and found a way to get off this infected rock. Only he didn't.]
[They didn't exactly get on well, but they made due. Perhaps it was because of the proximity each once held in regards to the now--very dead--Time Lord. At any rate, they were the only ones the other knew of, even if it was a vague knowledge, and the Master had begun to suspect he would go mad were he left to his own devices for much longer.]
[He wasn't the only one having serious issues with this arrangement. She didn't even like him. She should've left. Gone to what was more or less 'home', found a way to barricade herself in and just... left him, the heartless nutter.
Except she couldn't. Because he had two hearts. Because he knew. He just... he knew, he really understood. Even if there were people left, they wouldn't be as important, because none of them really got it except him.
It didn't really matter. There weren't any people left. Just those... hideous things, and nothing else.
For the moment, though, she ignored him, mostly because she could. Because she was tired, and cross. She liked having the privilege of giving the silent treatment, and, being the only other sentient person on the planet, it really was silent. The only problem with that, though? Nobody else to talk to in his stead. Giving herself the silent treatment was eating away at her. Doesn't matter. Don't care. Bugger off.]
[The silent treatment was something he could endure. He'd endured it for a year from the Doctor, hadn't he? It hadn't eaten away at him when the Doctor wouldn't even bring himself to cast a glance onto the world he'd rebuilt to suit his own purpose. It had been good, hadn't it?
It would have been better than all of this. The Doctor would still be alive.
He shifted, rummaging through some file folders he found after the rioting and looting had stopped. They had tracked down the corporation responsible for this, the Doctor, with his idiotic grin, went on about how he would stop it. Naturally, the Master had remained less than impressed. He wasn't a starstruck companion by any stretch of the imagination.
A small part of him remembered what it was like to have that awe of him. It lodged itself painfully in his hearts for a moment, and then he pushed it into a dark corner of his mind.
[Those stupid folders. He kept going over them, packing them everywhere they went. She picked at the peeling paint on the kitchen table. What was the point? There was nothing left. No humanity to evolve, progress down the timeline and catch a lift on the earliest manifestation of a working ship, be it space ship, time machine, or otherwise. No where to go. No one to visit. Just... vast, overwhelming nothing.
Humanity was dead. She was the last one.
Oh, the irony.
Her eyes snapped up to him, and she had to physically restrain herself from pushing the chair back. She fought down the panic.]
Out? Out where? There is no out.
[So much for the silent treatment. And having a sudden fear of abandonment was a really bad prospect, considering there was only one person left to abandon her, and he'd probably do it for the fun of it.]
[Oh, right. He forgot that these apes got rather clingy and attached, even if the only person around was someone they didn't precisely like.
It was frustrating.]
There is an out. It is right outside those steel doors just there. [He pointed in their direction for added emphasis.]
I need information I don't have, or do you think I tote these around with me because they make smashing fashion accessories? [He knocked over a pile of folders, and resisted the urge to sigh. Or pick them up.]
You might be resigned to wasting away on this forsaken rock, but I am not. If I'm going to be stuck here, especially if I'm stuck with you, Ms. Tyler, then I'm going to find something to do. Yes, I know, there are undead hordes that want to dismember us and eat our flesh, but they came from somewhere. I intend to find out what created them.
[She'd resent that, if she knew the train of thought. It wasn't that she was attached to his particularly shining personality, it was that she was attached to the last person alive. And his connection with the Doctor, those last few minutes, the three of them working and struggling to fix everything, and watching... watching him die like that. There was nothing left. He saw it. He knew.
Did she mention she didn't want to be alone? Because there's that, as well. Frankly, he's just lucky she doesn't like him, or she'd probably sob in front of him. As it stood, she had too much spite to really do that.
She eyed the steel doors. Doors closed meant safety. Doors open meant the possibility of getting eaten alive. Then again...]
What good is it going to do? We could run around like Scooby Doo and solve the mystery, but it wouldn't change them back. Half of 'em haven't even got limbs anymore. Turn them back, and they'll just drop dead on the street.
[Possibly untrue. Some of them were perfectly preserved, absolutely fine. Maybe there was
( ... )
This might be a hard concept for you, so I'll speak slowly, and be sure to enunciate carefully. The planet, your Earth, is under a quarantine. Depending on the dire state of things, they can last anywhere from a few decades to a few centuries. I can survive a very long while. You? Not so much.
There isn't anything that can be done for these flesh-eating idiots, but I don't plan on sticking around the next few centuries and hoping a passing ship gets curious.
Are you following? Good. Now back to our engaging talk about life expectancy! How do you think a few centuries will treat you, Ms. Tyler? You think you'll still have those girlish looks once you hit 150?
[His tirade, it was a good tirade, was cut off by her standing up and asking where he was headed.]
No, see, I'm not being clear. You aren't going anywhere. You are going to seal these doors behind me after I leave, and you're going to wait for me to get back.
[That look of resentment on her face was only half-fueled. Maybe she was long past taking his words to heart, or maybe she was just... too tired to really work up the strength to hate him properly.
She was working on a really witty reply, too. Something involving the words 'your mum', but the line of thought was unsatisfying and abruptly derailed by his last little tidbit.]
You're joking. There's no way I'm letting you go out there on your own, you'll get eaten alive. I'm not gonna let that happen, I'm coming with you.
[It wasn't phrased as a question. Could that possibly be concern for his well-being? Maybe. Or maybe she was selfish and didn't want to be alone. Whatever the case, she seemed vehemently determined.]
Yes, it's a joke. Now go laugh over there somewhere far away from me.
[He grabs his empty duffle bag and slings it over his shoulder, then he moves to grab the gun he carries with him, one of many, while out looking for supplies.]
You are not coming with me. All you will do is slow me down, and with legions of zombies just waiting to amble after me, I can't afford that. You're staying, and that's the end of it.
[She didn't look particularly amused, though she did move to throw her jacket over her shoulders. Sensible and arm-covering. Most bite attempts occurred near the arm.]
Yeah, it's a right laugh. And what happens if you get stuck? Trapped? Run out of bullets? I'm not sitting here being useless while you're out there, and I'm not staring at the doors until you get back.
[Or staring at them until she realized he wasn't coming back.]
And spare me the crazy. It's not gonna work this time. I'm not having it.
You're being quite useful here by keeping out of my way.
[He moved to pull her jacket off of her shoulders. She wasn't coming.]
I don't think you understand. If you fall behind, I will leave you out there. Consider this a brief turn on a new leaf, I'm trying to save you from a rather messy end.
[He rolled his eyes, an action directed at himself. The Doctor and his stupid, stunted little apes were going to be the death of him, just as they had been for the other Time Lord. He should have killed Rose Tyler immediately. He should have got her out of his way.
But she was the only human left. She was the only source of DNA that wasn't corrupted.
And she was the last of the Doctor's favorite species. He couldn't--Why did it have to be her left to be the last one?]
[She jerked away, not so much shoving his hands off as tugging herself away from them with a glare.
Why did it have to be him? Of the two of them, it had to be him. He shouldn't be the last one alive. It shouldn't be him. The Doctor was ripped apart, and there he stood, with the audacity to smile, to not care. To leave her behind. He didn't have the right.
He just... didn't get it. She couldn't be alone. She didn't do alone.
And she could yell at him all she liked. It wasn't going to work. He didn't respond to it. She tried a new tactic, flicking her eyes away, smoothing down her jacket, calming herself down.]
[His eyes narrowed as she jerked away, but he took a step back, giving her space.
In some small part of his mind, he did care in his own way. A universe without the Doctor was wrong. And this pink and yellow girl that had traveled with the Doctor was the closest he could come to what had once been. It wasn't enough, not nearly enough.
Then came the softness. The subtle shift, and he knew it was to try and change his mind. Lucy used to appeal to him that way when she wanted something and knew he wouldn't be forthcoming.]
If you fall behind, I won't even waste the bullet on you in order to make it quick. Do you understand that?
[In that moment, he hated her, completely and utterly.]
[That was a yes. A miracle. He was usually bloody impossible. She flicked her eyes back up to him, lips twitched into something that might have been a smile. Not something smarmy or triumphant, just... appreciative. Genuinely. She wasn't really the vicious type. She angled her head in a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
She thought, for a second, about hugging him. It was a strong and sudden impulse, which she stamped down on mid-shift, moving, instead, to pick up one of the spare guns they'd been stockpiling. Not the Doctor. Not even a little.
And anyway, dying out there was better than waiting in here. Waiting in here meant giving up. He'd be so disappointed in her. So unbearably disappointed.
Never mind that. Focus on doing what she did best. She turned back, grinning something that wasn't really all that sincere.]
[The Master grabbed as many extra clips of ammo that he could carry, and filled both his pockets and his bag.
He ignored her, for the most part, as he did this; making sure he had everything that he needed.]
Should we bring a casserole, do you think?
[Banter was always the easiest, and it was better than silence. He pressed himself to the steel door, ears straining for any rustle or shift that would indicate the creatures' presence outside.]
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[They didn't exactly get on well, but they made due. Perhaps it was because of the proximity each once held in regards to the now--very dead--Time Lord. At any rate, they were the only ones the other knew of, even if it was a vague knowledge, and the Master had begun to suspect he would go mad were he left to his own devices for much longer.]
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Except she couldn't. Because he had two hearts. Because he knew. He just... he knew, he really understood. Even if there were people left, they wouldn't be as important, because none of them really got it except him.
It didn't really matter. There weren't any people left. Just those... hideous things, and nothing else.
For the moment, though, she ignored him, mostly because she could. Because she was tired, and cross. She liked having the privilege of giving the silent treatment, and, being the only other sentient person on the planet, it really was silent. The only problem with that, though? Nobody else to talk to in his stead. Giving herself the silent treatment was eating away at her. Doesn't matter. Don't care. Bugger off.]
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It would have been better than all of this. The Doctor would still be alive.
He shifted, rummaging through some file folders he found after the rioting and looting had stopped. They had tracked down the corporation responsible for this, the Doctor, with his idiotic grin, went on about how he would stop it. Naturally, the Master had remained less than impressed. He wasn't a starstruck companion by any stretch of the imagination.
A small part of him remembered what it was like to have that awe of him. It lodged itself painfully in his hearts for a moment, and then he pushed it into a dark corner of his mind.
He stood suddenly.]
I'm going out.
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Humanity was dead. She was the last one.
Oh, the irony.
Her eyes snapped up to him, and she had to physically restrain herself from pushing the chair back. She fought down the panic.]
Out? Out where? There is no out.
[So much for the silent treatment. And having a sudden fear of abandonment was a really bad prospect, considering there was only one person left to abandon her, and he'd probably do it for the fun of it.]
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It was frustrating.]
There is an out. It is right outside those steel doors just there. [He pointed in their direction for added emphasis.]
I need information I don't have, or do you think I tote these around with me because they make smashing fashion accessories? [He knocked over a pile of folders, and resisted the urge to sigh. Or pick them up.]
You might be resigned to wasting away on this forsaken rock, but I am not. If I'm going to be stuck here, especially if I'm stuck with you, Ms. Tyler, then I'm going to find something to do. Yes, I know, there are undead hordes that want to dismember us and eat our flesh, but they came from somewhere. I intend to find out what created them.
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Did she mention she didn't want to be alone? Because there's that, as well. Frankly, he's just lucky she doesn't like him, or she'd probably sob in front of him. As it stood, she had too much spite to really do that.
She eyed the steel doors. Doors closed meant safety. Doors open meant the possibility of getting eaten alive. Then again...]
What good is it going to do? We could run around like Scooby Doo and solve the mystery, but it wouldn't change them back. Half of 'em haven't even got limbs anymore. Turn them back, and they'll just drop dead on the street.
[Possibly untrue. Some of them were perfectly preserved, absolutely fine. Maybe there was ( ... )
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There isn't anything that can be done for these flesh-eating idiots, but I don't plan on sticking around the next few centuries and hoping a passing ship gets curious.
Are you following? Good. Now back to our engaging talk about life expectancy! How do you think a few centuries will treat you, Ms. Tyler? You think you'll still have those girlish looks once you hit 150?
[His tirade, it was a good tirade, was cut off by her standing up and asking where he was headed.]
No, see, I'm not being clear. You aren't going anywhere. You are going to seal these doors behind me after I leave, and you're going to wait for me to get back.
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She was working on a really witty reply, too. Something involving the words 'your mum', but the line of thought was unsatisfying and abruptly derailed by his last little tidbit.]
You're joking. There's no way I'm letting you go out there on your own, you'll get eaten alive. I'm not gonna let that happen, I'm coming with you.
[It wasn't phrased as a question. Could that possibly be concern for his well-being? Maybe. Or maybe she was selfish and didn't want to be alone. Whatever the case, she seemed vehemently determined.]
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[He grabs his empty duffle bag and slings it over his shoulder, then he moves to grab the gun he carries with him, one of many, while out looking for supplies.]
You are not coming with me. All you will do is slow me down, and with legions of zombies just waiting to amble after me, I can't afford that. You're staying, and that's the end of it.
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Yeah, it's a right laugh. And what happens if you get stuck? Trapped? Run out of bullets? I'm not sitting here being useless while you're out there, and I'm not staring at the doors until you get back.
[Or staring at them until she realized he wasn't coming back.]
And spare me the crazy. It's not gonna work this time. I'm not having it.
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[He moved to pull her jacket off of her shoulders. She wasn't coming.]
I don't think you understand. If you fall behind, I will leave you out there. Consider this a brief turn on a new leaf, I'm trying to save you from a rather messy end.
[He rolled his eyes, an action directed at himself. The Doctor and his stupid, stunted little apes were going to be the death of him, just as they had been for the other Time Lord. He should have killed Rose Tyler immediately. He should have got her out of his way.
But she was the only human left. She was the only source of DNA that wasn't corrupted.
And she was the last of the Doctor's favorite species. He couldn't--Why did it have to be her left to be the last one?]
You're staying.
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Why did it have to be him? Of the two of them, it had to be him. He shouldn't be the last one alive. It shouldn't be him. The Doctor was ripped apart, and there he stood, with the audacity to smile, to not care. To leave her behind. He didn't have the right.
He just... didn't get it. She couldn't be alone. She didn't do alone.
And she could yell at him all she liked. It wasn't going to work. He didn't respond to it. She tried a new tactic, flicking her eyes away, smoothing down her jacket, calming herself down.]
Please.
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In some small part of his mind, he did care in his own way. A universe without the Doctor was wrong. And this pink and yellow girl that had traveled with the Doctor was the closest he could come to what had once been. It wasn't enough, not nearly enough.
Then came the softness. The subtle shift, and he knew it was to try and change his mind. Lucy used to appeal to him that way when she wanted something and knew he wouldn't be forthcoming.]
If you fall behind, I won't even waste the bullet on you in order to make it quick. Do you understand that?
[In that moment, he hated her, completely and utterly.]
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She thought, for a second, about hugging him. It was a strong and sudden impulse, which she stamped down on mid-shift, moving, instead, to pick up one of the spare guns they'd been stockpiling. Not the Doctor. Not even a little.
And anyway, dying out there was better than waiting in here. Waiting in here meant giving up. He'd be so disappointed in her. So unbearably disappointed.
Never mind that. Focus on doing what she did best. She turned back, grinning something that wasn't really all that sincere.]
Right, then. Let's go and meet the neighbors.
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He ignored her, for the most part, as he did this; making sure he had everything that he needed.]
Should we bring a casserole, do you think?
[Banter was always the easiest, and it was better than silence. He pressed himself to the steel door, ears straining for any rustle or shift that would indicate the creatures' presence outside.]
Are you ready for this?
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