standsonhigh | There's nothing here but what here's mine.

This wasn't, exactly, how he had planned his return. He had expected to be on home turf, a place he understood and wanted to be. Surrounded by worshippers and already plotting. Not here with some strange man using the power he gave specifically to his followers to bring him back. The books of Saxon weren't meant to be public knowledge, they were his private notes, and yet this man decided to drag him into a world he didn't want to be in.

The Master always had a funny feeling that magic wasn't something he should of ever tried to toy with because as it stood, he didn't like where this was going. It defied the logic he knew.

Voldemort was a strange creature, a very unpleasant one at that. He looked sickly and his eyes were red like an albino. Still, he didn't say much on it, he'd looked worse himself and damages were just a sign of ambition and desire. It always took everything out of you, especially with humans.

The drums were raging in his head as he followed Voldemort into this meeting he'd decided to attend. He'd only been back a few days and already he seemed to of captured the imagination of this tiny little creature who was all but eager to introduce him.

An ancient ruler from another reality must of been interesting.

He didn't walk behind Voldemort, he kept in step, not willing to seem a lesser. Hey, the dark lord brought him here. If he was going to play with this merry band of psychopaths, he wanted to seem equal.

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"As you wish." Why did they have to? Wasn't the entire point to not have the Doctor notice him before he was ready? But Barty knew better than to argue, especially where the Doctor was concerned.

"Maybe he's trying to confuse you. Draw you out." Or maybe he was just a silly idiot who'd lost his way, which seemed more likely to Barty based on what he'd seen so far, but what did he know. The man didn't even wear his face all that well. "What should we do?"

"I don't know," the Master admitted angrily, clearly not in the mood for this kind of questioning. And a little annoyed because clearly this wasn't some cunning plan of misdirection. Judging by how the Doctor was now reading the road signs, he was lost. Oh Rassilon, what an idiot? Perhaps he would need a giant sandwich board pointing to his location?

"We wait, we always have to wait," Getting to his feet, he groaned and got up, no longer able to watch the Doctor asking for directions. What a mood killer. "Let's just ready a plan for when he manages to somehow find us. One grand day," Note the sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Might be for the best." Barty glanced at the screen again and combed his fingers through his hair, relatively subtle in trying to alter his appearance from that of the man on the screen. He bit down on his lower lip and then shrugged.

"What are you thinking?" Today, he had decided, he didn't feel like addressing him by name. Title. Whatever.

"Of considering making a tourist map with our location," the Master shot back sarcastically as he dropped into a nearby chair to sulk. Days of hard work and tracking led to this and he didn't know what to do. He wanted to talk to him, to reason out what was happening and see if he knew anything new on the drums. His last encounter with an earlier time line had unfortunate complications.

But it was impossible to do any of that with Barty here, it'd make him look too desperate. He didn't do desperate. "He'll find me when he wants me, that's how it always goes."

"Then it'll be a while still." Barty walked toward the Master and casually dropped to his knees, since the remark could be seen as an insult and having him kneel tended to keep the Master calm. Sometimes, at least, when it didn't have the opposite effect.

"I can go out and look for him."

"I don't want you near him," the Master snarled viciously, unable to help himself. Because he didn't, he didn't want the Doctor to mock him. Because he would when the novelty and shock wore off, he'd think he was sad for having someone like Barty, probably remembered his old friends crush.

The thought of that pity hit him right in the gut, like it always did. And because of that, he reached out and harshly gripped Barty's hair, yanking him up a bit so he could get right into his face. Because he needed a little moment of power. "Say my name, Barty. Like a good boy, just say my name."

"Then I shouldn't be near you, either, now should I?" But the words aside he stayed where he was right until he was pulled up like that, straining to rise enough to take some of the pressure of his scalp while looking at the Master, eyes never leaving his face.

His eyes narrowed at first, but he wasn't even sure himself whether it was true defiance or whether he just pretended to be defiant, because he knew the Master liked any show of breaking him. "Master," he finally said, wondering if his voice sounded just like the Doctor's too.

"Don't be jealous, Barty. It's coming across as bitter," the Master mocked as he let go of his loyal servant's hair and let him fall back. He had beaten down Barty so many times now that it was losing it's charm. He only broke him now when he really needed to. He saved the truly nasty stuff for the drum days and today, they weren't too bad. So someone was a lucky boy.

"If he comes, I suppose I can't really hide you. I just don't want you two interacting much," the Master reasoned in his own way, knowing it was impossible to stop this but ... well, he just didn't like to admit to his own issues. Why else would he be so ashamed by Barty?

Barty rubbed his head and glared at nothing in particular for a moment before, when no further harsh treatment came, propping his head on the Master's thigh and looking up at him once more. He didn't particular fancy being broken, so this worked well for him.

"I can hide myself. Or just look different, if you'd rather." He wasn't sure through what illusions a time lord could see, but he was sure he could manage something. "So we don't have to interact at all, unless you want me to."

Once Barty rested against him, the Master heaved a slight sigh and reached out, raking his fingers through Barty's ever erratic hair. He seriously needed a hair cut. They both did. Plotting the end of the world made getting the dull and mundane stuff done awfully hard.

"He'd see through it eventually, there's no point. I'm just over thinking, you'll be fine," the Master insisted, more for himself than Barty. No doubt this would piss the Doctor off, to see Barty and how broken he was. So why over think it? His little moulded toy was perfect. "I'll tell you what I want when I need it, I always do."

Barty closed his eyes for a moment, because although he definitely didn't consider himself the type to enjoy it, he still couldn't quite help the reality of, yes, he liked getting his hair stroked. It was at least definitely preferable to the yanking on it the Master also was all too fond of.

"And I'll listen to what you tell me." And continue to try and figure out what the Master might want and what might be best on his own, because he had been getting punished for things he had been told to do before and around the Doctor he didn't expect any rationalism.

The Master did like the fact that some humans seriously understood their place and acted accordingly. If they were basically treated like a dog with better rights and offered a few rewards, they were usually pretty well behaved. Like Barty. He broke the poor bastard a while back and he was pretty sure the pieces had never been picked up.

But at least he liked a pet on the head. "I know you will, you always do. You're about the only loyal person I can claim to have in my ranks."

There's nothing here but what here's mine.

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