1. [Holo] | Caught between stations - Butterfingers - I'm losing my patience

[controlparadox]

As the broadcast begins, the Master has taken his LazLabs ring off and is engaged in turning it over and over, checking it for any damage or telltale marks. Although it seems clear that his resurrection did not go according to plan, he'd very much like to work out how it did happen- and, of course, who performed it

Comments

[voice]

[beenthroughhell]

The D-doctor left.

[Of course, there's another regeneration here, but that's a lie by omission; the Doctor she knew, the one willing to let himself be killed to try and redeem the Master... he was gone. To say that she doesn't want to talk to the new arrival is an epic understatement, but if she can keep him from tearing the city down looking for someone who isn't here, she'll try.]

[holo]

[controlparadox]

"Did he?" The Master frowns a little. He can't quite place the voice, but her tone suggests she's already caught on to whom he's really referring. Perhaps a future companion?

Either that or he's stepped straight into the midst of a medical crisis.

"And who might you be?"

[voice]

[beenthroughhell]

[She's not sure if him not remembering is a good or a bad thing. But she figures if she lies to him and he finds out, it will be worse.]

I'm c-called Tara.

[She feels a little bad, being abrupt, which is laughable under the circumstances. But she also can't feel like being voluntarily forthcoming with him is totally right.]

[holo]

[controlparadox]

Smart girl. Too bad she's already lied, in a manner of speaking. The Master cups his chin in his hand.

"Isn't that a pretty name. Tell me, Tara: did he ask you to lie for him as well?"

His voice is quiet, but there's still loads of warning encapsulated the tone of it. And his words.

[allthatlife]

It had been a long time since she'd heard that voice, but Martha hadn't forgotten it. It had remained in her dreams long after his reign was over, after all. Sometimes, she still woke up with a jolt, glancing wildly around her room until she remembered that he was gone and the Earth was safe and the Toclafane were no longer hunting her.

For a moment - a horrible, desperate moment - she wondered if this was just a new variation of her old nightmares. But it wasn't. The Master was real. The Master was in Taxon.

Martha had been sitting in her surgery when she'd heard his voice on her tablet. She thought of everyone she'd befriended since arriving in the city and tried not to picture them living - or dying - as the people of Earth had.

"Oh my god," she breathed, "It can't be. It can't be

[visual] [filtered to Martha Jo-honnnnnes]

[controlparadox]

He's already figured out the privacy functions (how hard could they have possibly been for him?) and at the sound of her voice the Master quickly filters the conversation. And, on second thought, he also switches over to visual. He wants her to know for sure that he's real, and not merely some tacky projection.

He wants her to be afraid.

"Martha Jones!" he calls out in a cheery voice that's far too loud for the occasion, as if they're long lost friends. "Fancy meeting you here! How long's it been? Feels like ages." Or really, for him it's been more like an hour.

And then the Master grins cruelly, twisting the knife. "How's the fam?"

[Visual / Private]

[allthatlife]

She was frightened of him, of course. It was as if the bogey man - someone who should have stayed in her nightmares - had just turned up in Taxon. Except the Master was far more real and far more dangerous than anything she could have imagined.

Not that she'd let him see that, of course. Martha composed herself as best she could before replying, but the hate was clear in every syllable.

"Not long enough." A lifetime without him wouldn't have been enough. "And they're fine. Not here, if that's what you're wondering. You won't be able to get your hands on them again."

In that sense, she was all alone. No one in the city - not even the version of the Doctor - remembered that year.

[Visual / Private]

[controlparadox]

"Ever again?" He flashes her a look of incredulity. "I wouldn't be so sure of that." Meaning that as soon as he does escape this city, he'll be certain to remember to pay the Jones family a little visit.

"So," the Master continues in the same conversational tone, but his smile is deadly and his eyes intent, letting Martha know that he's not fooling around. "Where's the Doctor?"

[Visual]

[a_pretty_fire]

Drusilla's eyes were shining when she switched on the tablet to reply. He had such a beautiful voice. It cut through to the very heart of her. Past the soul that left her rotting and confused. Past the guilt that had bloomed, most unexpectedly, when it had taken root. She shouldn't have been glad to see him, but he'd been so kind to her. He'd embraced her madness - embraced her - when she'd been all alone in the world.

"You came back," she breathed, "I knew you'd come back. You have too much to do. Too many lives left to live. Too many people to destroy."

She clapped her hands like an excited child. The city needed a Master.

[Visual]

[controlparadox]

The Master raises an eyebrow. He can't fault her enthusiasm, but he also can't deny that she's, in some ways, blowing any cover he may choose to construct for himself. Or that he's certain he's never met her. At least, not yet. He'd remember those eyes, a darker shade than Lucy's, but still glittering with that same hint of madness.

Not that it much matters what she says; he's fooled the public before, and right under the Doctor's nose. Even with pests like Vivien Rook snooping about.

"Do I know you?" he asks.

[Visual / Private]

[a_pretty_fire]

She looked a little hurt at that, but responded with a playful pout. She didn't understand all of his games, just as she hadn't understood the noise in his head entirely, but she was happy to play along if she was invited.

“Oh, yes. We’re friends. Or we will be, when you find me.” Matters like time didn’t matter to him, oh no.

"You're the Mister Master," she crooned. And, because Drusilla was cleverer than she looked, she engaged the privacy function before she replied to him. Daddy would be cross if he found out about this renewed acquaintance.

"You visited us before, just for a little. You made the other one ... the broken Doctor ... dance. A puppet on a string, he was. We didn't finish the party."

[Visual / Private]

[controlparadox]

"Did I?" He can't help but smile at the imagery. 'The broken Doctor'. Has he finally cracked, then? Has the Master won?

The name she's given him, though, nearly makes him cringe. It reminds him too much of the Toclafane, and their cloying dependence upon him. It made them useful, loyal servants to the last-- but he can't deny he wanted to bat quite a few of them out of the air some days. Did so, actually, although he was discreet about it.

"And where is the broken Doctor now?" Perhaps if Tara won't tell him anything, this creature will.

[ voice ]

[breakmychest]

Oh, brilliant. Thought we were rid of you.

[ Visual]

[controlparadox]

Yet another he doesn't recognize, but who seems to know him. The Master will have to look into this further, once he's gotten his bearings. For now, he puts on his best good-natured pout, and tsks softly.

"That's not very welcoming."

[ voice ]

[breakmychest]

It's a character flaw.

[visual]

[controlparadox]

"Clearly."

The Master leans against the pedestal as casually as he can manage, not bothering to look at the screen if Loud and Mouthy isn't even going to reveal himself.

"Let me guess. You're under the impression I've been here before."

[holo]

[tailblade]

Aximili is interested in this new arrival who subjects the technology of the arrival room to the same thorough analysis that he attempted himself upon his arrival. He could definitely use more allies with this kind of initiative, curiosity, and technological interest.

«There is one doctor here of whom I am aware,» he says, in cool professional thought-speech. «Do you require medical assistance?»

[Visual]

[controlparadox]

The Master looks him over with a critical eye, not fazed by his appearance in the least; he's seen far weirder stuff, after all. He's created weirder stuff. Still, the species is not ringing any bells for him.

And then the thing 'speaks', the telepathic equivalent of coming up behind someone at a party and tapping them on the shoulder, and the Master flinches just the tiniest amount at the almost-intrusion.

"In a manner of speaking," he says, choosing his words carefully. "Where can I find this 'doctor'?"

[holo]

[tailblade]

The flinch goes unnoticed; Aximili is too oblivious when it comes to humanoid body language.

«If you lift the communication device off the pedestal, a door will open in the wall. Step through the doors, switch the device to the map function, and find Doctor Martha Jones' medical facility. There is a system of public transportation which will speed the journey.» He pauses. «There is one other - a female who calls herself the Doctor, but I am unsure whether "Doctor" is her name or her licensed profession. She is certainly very intelligent, but I have not seen her care for any patients, while Dr. Martha Jones has already treated many injured persons.»

[visual]

[controlparadox]

He lifts an eyebrow. While this creature has done admirably in providing information, it couldn't possibly be right. Female? He switches to the map, studying it again before replying. There, clear as anything, is 'The Doctor', just a point blinking on the screen-- but then he can feel him, too, can't he? He's definitely here.

He has to be here.

The Master switches back to the visual mode.

"You've been very helpful." And the creature has-- though probably not precisely in the way he intended. "Many thanks."

He could sign off now and go investigate this 'Doctor' on his own, but he hesitates.

"No others? You're sure? Named... John Smith, perhaps?"