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

One order for mild, forgivable evil?

[horrible_penny]

[Penny is still wandering aimlessly from dream to dream. It would be nice to wake up, but that isn't happening. Would it be polite to stop intruding? No, because she'd have to stay in one person's dream all day.

And so, quite by accident, she finds herself in a long corridor that, for all intents and purposes, seems to be connected to nothing else but other long corridors. There are doors everywhere. Would it be bad to look in one? Maybe she would at least be able to figure out whose dream she's stomping around in.

Penny opens an older-looking door with attractive antique knobs slowly, curiosity winning out over caution. It's just a dream, right? Nothing that bad can happen.]

I'll do my best!

[neverendingbeat]

Directly behind the door is a wall of electronics, less than a metre away. It has blinking lights, lines of switches and levers, and big spinning things on it that look like it's feeding tape. Although it's not obvious to 21st century Penny, it's a computer. It occasionally makes whirring and beeping noises.

It doesn't block off the entire way, however. There's an opening beside it into further computer-blocked pathways, leading deeper into the room from which a thrumming noise is emerging. If she chooses to go further in, she'll find herself in a grey and white room, long console block to her left and a white-haired man in velvet and a ruffled shirt slumped in a chair to her right, beside a strange, flashing device the same size as his chair.

You're awesome. :3

[horrible_penny]

Woah. Electronics. Penny doesn't recognize it as a computer; in her mind, computers are tiny things without too many complicated attachments.

Curious, she enters the technological maze. Where there's a maze, there's an end of the maze--which, in this case, appears to be a rather stark room. She doesn't recognize the man in velvet or the flashing thing.

"Hello?" Penny gently touches the man's shoulder. Is he the person who's dreaming? Is he alive? "Hey, can you hear me?"

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

go wild; Jade can handle it

[trollomancer]

For just a moment, there's a young boy standing in the snow outside the TARDIS, reaching for it urgently.

"Professor--"

Then he blinks, and he's a full-grown man, a good quarter-century older, and he knows that can't be the house he once accidentally burnt down with an ill-advised arte, mortally injuring the woman inside. It's much too small. But for a moment it certainly looked that way.

Jade stands there in the snow of his hometown for a while longer, still smelling the fire, and regards the little hut in front of him. He waits until awareness trickles through to him.

"Hmm..."

He lays a hand on the door.

"The City will even interfere with dreams. How cruel."

But he's a curious man, and so he opens it.

[neverendingbeat]

If this was a normal TARDIS, the door would have opened into the control room. But that room is protected and distant in the Master's dream and instead the room ahead is filled with people, not so many that personal space is not available but enough that the gymnasium-sized room contains approximately 200 people. The room is grey and drab and so are the people. They are all dressed in the same grey shirts and trousers, men and women and children alike and they all have the same expectant, waiting air about them. The air is heavy with despair. The room is concrete, dimly lighted and empty, except for a high balcony at one end.

[trollomancer]

Once he's stepped into the room, Jade evaluates it--and allows himself a moment to frown. Of course, he's figured out that it's a dream, and not one of his usual ones--although how it's different, he's not sure. The only way to tell is to keep going. But still, he's a little dismayed at the lack of internal logic it shows. This room is far too big.

He notes the despair, but does not allow himself to be affected by it. The emotions of others are something he observes, not something he takes part in. The frown fading into his usual calm almost-smile, he makes his way for the balcony.

[neverendingbeat]

Someone catches at his sleeve when he's halfway through the room. A young woman, maybe only 18.

"You musn't, sir," she says urgently. "You're so obvious already...you shouldn't--" She cuts herself off from what she is about to say, and changes it to, "Our Master is merciful. Our Master is kind..." She seems desperate now, though her voice is still hushed. "But...but...you really musn't! Head to the corners, sir, it's the only way you might...the only way."

Let's evil it up in here~

[letxequalnull]

[Like the shadow he sometimes is, Xemnas drifts from dream to dream. He doesn't have any dreams of his own, just memories that will bow to dream-logic. Or so it is as far as he knows, anyway. So it's interesting to see what other people dream of. It's a glimpse of who they are.

He makes no effort to hide his presence. Merely walks into the TARDIS with the same calm that he always seems to carry with him. The labyrinthine passages are nothing unusual to him, given the castle he ruled over.]

Righto!

[neverendingbeat]

A little down the hallway, the Master exits a room, music blaring from it and then getting cut off entirely as he closes the door behind him. He turns to face Xemnas, grinning like a hyena.

"Hello! Nice here, isn't it? I hope you're enjoying yourself as much as I am!" He taps at his lips with a finger. "Even if you haven't really been here long. Oh well!" Walking toward Xemnas, he stops just before him and lets a sliding door that wasn't there previously open for him. "Excuse me." He walks through it and onto the deck of the Valiant, his lovely, self-designed airship. The Doctor collapsed hopelessly against the stairs, the Freak dead by the conference table, Martha held prisoner by his guards and Lucy, loyal Lucy, coming instantly over to cling adoringly to his arm. It's time to bring down hell upon Earth.

[letxequalnull]

Xemnas makes no real comment on the music. It's not his dream, so he doesn't expect to know all of the details.

"It's certainly an interesting place," Xemnas answers politely. "Unique, even." He almost wants to ask how it works, but decides to save that for later, provided he actually remembers the details comes morning. So for now he settles for following along behind the Master. He doesn't mind a spot of hell-raising.

....I think this is what comes of writing whilst tired. Sorry, man.

[neverendingbeat]

"Right!" says the Master. "Where was I?! Oh yes." Pulling his arm out of Lucy's, he runs over to the window, yelling, "Down you go kids!" as millions of Toclafane stream from a red crevasse in the sky. He watches for a while, and then turns around, speaking to Xemnas.

"That's Earth, down there." He gestures violently at the window. "Mine. All mine." He bounds over to Lucy and kisses her with equal violence, bending her back as one hand grips tightly in her hair. "Lucy," he says, after he breaks the kiss. Lucy smiles absently and lowers her eyes. "My wife. She'd do anything for me. Lovely, loyal--NO." He grabs her arm before she can raise the gun that is suddenly in her hand. "Wrong!" He wrenches it away from her and sideswipes her to the ground. She maintains the absent smile throughout and eventually, he smiles back fondly and then strides over to the Doctor.

"The Doctor," he announces, ruffling the Doctor's hair. "Also mine. In fact, I see no reason to even age you, Doctor, really. I know what happens. And you'll be so good anyway

You didn't think I was letting this go, did you?

[lady_wandering]

Of all the minds she expected to find herself in, this was the one she'd hoped to avoid. A TARDIS is a TARDIS and she stands at the console checking readings from habit. It's not the Doctor's TARIS, there no... peace to it, nothing welcoming to her senses. It feels as hostile as its owner, whatever he thinks he's playing at.

She runs her fingers over the dials, noting the differences in placement from the Doctor's and waiting for the Master to arrive.

Uh...well, the Master hoped, at least... XD

[neverendingbeat]

"Now, what exactly are YOU looking for?" says the Master, a nasty edge to his voice, leaning on the balustrade and looking down on her from the raised platform. He wasn't there a second ago.

Too, bad!

[lady_wandering]

"Nothing. I'm just here."

She slowly turns to face him, not surprised at the suddenness of his arrival, it was a dream, after all.

[neverendingbeat]

"There's nothing you want?" asks the Master, descending a staircase. "Nothing that you hope to gain from this?" He walks toward Romana, step echoing in the room.

[notverypriestly]

Priestly can't stop staring at the Gallifreyan writing. Of course it just looks like art, like little swirly maps to him, but it makes it no less intriguing. He follows along the corridors for what seems like years and when he finally begins to think he's gotten lost inside forever, he finds a door. Against his better judgment, Priestly opens it and ducks in.

[neverendingbeat]

"I'm not certain whose dream this is exactly," says the Master, lying for the art of it, because it will make the dialogue more interesting.

"Now, I thought it was mine but here you are walking through it, and believe me, I did not put you there. On the other hand--" and Priestly will find himself no longer standing in the doorway of the sterile white room but abruptly manacled to a doorless wall, "--there is somewhere I did actually put you."

The Master is suddenly visible, suddenly in the room, walking up to Priestly. "So if it's your dream, involving me, perhaps I'd better indulge a few of your misconceptions." He smiles happily. "What do you think?"

[notverypriestly]

His heartbeat amps up a little at the sounds of the voice, and Priestly whirls to try to put an origin to it. There's really no mistaking it for Harry's but Priestly didn't think he was so glib about weird shit. He was obviously still getting used to the not-human part of all of this.

"I keep finding myself in other people's. Mine usually aren't this--" he stops abruptly as the scene changes. The restriction takes him by surprise and it's awhile before he registers it.

Priestly looks up at the Master as he approaches, tries to pull forward to greet him and then realization dawns on him. "My--my mm-misconceptions?" A beat. "Oh, fuck. C'mon, Harry look it was just, I'm not--! Shit I'm just an idiot from California, okay!?" He's still pulling on the manacles, fruitlessly of course. The heartbeat is now pretty much revved to the max.

[neverendingbeat]

"Oh come on, I'm interested," the Master purrs. "And it's only a dream, Priestly. Right?" He tilts his head slightly. "Now really, all that remains is to find out exactly what you were expecting." He thinks a moment, and then smiles. "Well, there's always the option of you just telling me. Otherwise, I get to find out whether mind-reading will work if you're just a dream."