standsonhigh | Asgard AU timeline

"You can't. And I knew it! Just knew it. I was the centre of your life, it must of been so hard," the sarcasm was obvious as he took a moment to look at Barty, to try and judge just how long they'd been away. He had a pretty good sense of time and how it passed but lately, it all blurred. He looked at Barty and he didn't see a time stamp, just a tired man he wanted to be with more than he wanted to admit.

Lately, he found himself losing his ability to care how sentimental he was. He blamed the Doctor, he was the one that wormed his affection into his head.

He let the comment about his staying anywhere slide because yes, he had been sleeping rough for a long time now. Not exactly ideal for his new guest. But he'd find somewhere, he always did, Clicking his tongue, he raised his hoodie up to display the swiftly healing wound. It was already starting to fade into his body, barely bleeding any more. Artron energy, dangerous but good for healing. Like pure regenerative energy trying to seep free.

"Alien, remember? Good thing, too. You're very stab happy lately," Though who could blame him? "Did the towns folk properly turn on you yet? Pitchforks and fire, all that type of thing."

Barty had slept in Azkaban, if it could be called sleep, he had slept under his father's care and he had slept at Hogwarts only ever long enough to wake up for another sip of potion. He hadn't exactly been sleeping nicely at Asgard most of the time either. There were worse things than sleeping rough, but if there was a choice he did prefer it.

"They didn't have much to turn on, given most don't know my face." Barty shrugged, because his time in Asgard recently hadn't been anything he'd really like to dwell on. Bearable but dreary. There were more interesting things to explore here, as showed when he dropped to his knees, his hand hovering over the already almost healed wound he had left on the Master. "Merlin's beard..." He just muttered it under his breath, amazed and excited. This felt like magic. Not quite, but similar. Power. It was then that he became aware of his own magic in ways that he never could have been in Asgard. If this was true, he might owe him another thanks.

"How does it work?"

Well, the streets of London didn't exactly compare to Azkaban but it wasn't a pretty situation, needless to say. Not that he noticed much. His mind was so everywhere lately that sleep in a scrap yard and eating whatever was about just seemed logical to him. It was surviving. Surely Batty understood that?

"Shame, what a lovely face it is," Smirking, he reached down and ran his fingers along the nearly healed wound, curious if it would leave a mark or fade forever. His body was in such an unpredictable state, he couldn't say even if he wanted too. He was just lucky he was keeping it together for this reunion.

"What? The healing? It's biological, it's not really like a skill or a talent. Didn't I tell you before? Regenerations. Our race doesn't die easy. Which is slightly ironic, given our status as near extinct," Even he could find it amusing. With a curious frown, he gestured at Barty to follow him. They needed to find somewhere to stay otherwise it was going to be a disappointing night. "I'm not quite sure how well your magic will work here, universes tend to differ on their rules of logic but if you can find a wand, you're free to try."

Then, he paused, realising what he'd just suggested. "Not on me! On everyone else. You do it to me, I'll destroy you."

"I prefer to keep it among those who appreciate it." He watched the Master's finger brush over what was already more a scar than a wound. With a shake of his head he got back up, following behind the Master and nodding. "I can feel magic here. I never could in Asgard."

It was tempting, of course, to take out his wand and try something big. But he had always been careful rather than pompous and they were in a city, so in the end he just focused, muttering a spell under his breath and then smiled when some sparks flew from his hand.

Nothing special, not even in the least, but he had felt the potential and he knew his own abilities. He'd always liked power, that was the way out of oppression after all. This was doing wonders for his mood already.

"Don't worry. I'd not want to harm you." True, damning enough, because Barty doubted that the Master really shared that feeling. But right now he didn't care. He was himself again.

"Asgard was like some sort of dampener. I don't know what it did but it suppressed everything. Even after I left, it was all kind of off. I couldn't remember a single thing from Asgard until something just hit me. Then it all came flooding back," Everything with the drums and Rassilon just triggered the memory of the eleventh Doctor explaining it all to him. And when he looked at the tenth, he was hit with such a strange yearning. Like he'd lost someone but he didn't understand who or why. Everything had just triggered into place and he knew what he had to do.

Hell, if he didn't get Barty, he was going back to a soulless existence that could only be called a living hell. What sort of future was that? Such a waste of talent.

"At this point, I doubt you could. I'm having a little regeneration issue. Funny story, I tried magic and this is what happened," Legitimately. It was just a magical immortality spell that was meant to bring him back to life. Needless to say, it didn't work. "I can't say I'm a fan."

But then he didn't know if he was to blame his ex or the magic. They were both kind of imperfect. Though, clearly, next time he needed magic, he knew just who to ask about that. Barty was a natural at that kind of thing, the Master preferred technology personally. He'd always been so much better at that kind of thing.

"I left Asgard for a while. Couldn't remember a thing, either, but there wasn't enough time for anything to hit me." Barty stared at the ground as he kept walking, then decided that, no, he definitely didn't want to linger on that longer than necessary. He pushed the memory away, together with the fear tied to it, and focused on the now instead.

"Magic is dangerous." He looked at the Master from the side, frowning. He wasn't quite used to it anymore, concern for someone. Will back at Asgard, maybe, but that hadn't gone quite that far. Perhaps because he did owe the Master if he actually really managed to bring him here permanently. Perhaps because their bond, strange as it might be, was stronger. "Very often unpredictable, too. More so than science, as far as I know."

"I can't deny that. Science tends to have very set rules if you do it all to the book, magic is way too open ended. I think I've learned my lesson, wouldn't you agree?" the Master remarked as he raised his hand and demonstrated to Barty the way the energy seemed to spark from his handle, a blue energy crackling in his fingertips, almost like magic. But sadly not. Just a defect, too much energy trying to pour out of him.

"Any chance you know how to undo spells? As far as I know, all I achieved was trapping myself in this dying body. And I don't think I can keep it going forever," he couldn't regenerate while this unstable but he at least he wasn't dead. So one could argue he achieved his goal.

He figured that doing something selfless like saving Barty had to have benefits somewhere. Heroes always got the good karma. And he'd done the right thing, hadn't he? Saving the day like this. "I saved you, you can save me. Nice and fair, don't you agree?"

"Of course I know how to undo spells. But I don't know what kind of spell was used in your case." Barty reached out, careful as he put a hand on the Master's shoulder. It wasn't as if he was worried over any conscious reaction, but whatever was happening was apparently not entirely under his control.

"But if this body is dying, as you say, we need somewhere else for you to go. Or a way to trigger the regeneration." Having spent as much time with the Master as he had, he had learned enough about timelords to at least understand what the term meant somewhat. "Alternatively, maybe we can heal this body."

He smiled then, actually genuine, which was seldom enough for him, though usually happened more around the Master. It hadn't happened in a while now. "Nice and fair."

"I have it written down. Or did. It sort of blew up, actually," Everything did, hence why he was in this mess in the first place. His cult, his followers, his wife. All gone. Fortunately, he wasn't alone as he'd originally thought. If he'd known about Asgard before, it would of been top priority. At least he had something. Rassilon had managed to take everything from him but he couldn't take things like this.

"The best method would be to heal it. I'm not stealing bodies again, that never ends well. And I don't think a regeneration is likely unless I fix everything else. Right now, I'm sort of all over the place," Pausing, he turned to Barty as he felt that hand on his shoulder, almost looking confused by the gesture. Even if he appreciated it.

Almost on cue, the grinning started, unable to contain himself. It was better to focus on the better things, the nicer things. "We can focus on that later though, can't we? For now, we should find a place to stay. I would say we should catch up but I can imagine what I missed. You flirting with everyone with even a twinge of evil and snarking at everyone else. Am I right? Or do you have a new mode of dealing with people I don't know?"

"Depends on how evil you consider Will to be, I suppose. Oh, and I sort of used an assassin. Flirted with the woman I accidentally killed in the fire." Barty shrugged, giving the master's shoulder a squeeze before letting go again. "Nothing too exciting happened, mostly they are all concerned over the final battle. I could care less." And now he really didn't have to anymore, because he wasn't there. It was still sinking in, but he could already tell that it would be a pretty good feeling when it finally did. "Both Moriartys had gone, you weren't there anymore... The place was lacking. Although I did find my socks."

He considered the Master from the side for a few moments, then looked around them. He knew London, but it had been years since he'd walked the streets freely and this wasn't quite his world, going by what he knew about it already. "Do you want a hotel?"

"The last thing I can remember of Asgard was seeing the Doctor. I asked him a few things, we parted ways and I just woke up," the Master remarked with a small frown, turning to Barty as something struck him. "We never did say goodbye. And I never really left you anything. I know the convention was to leave a letter but I didn't feel like sitting down and writing one."

Nope, no attention to write him a letter but plenty to hide his socks, underwear and whatever else he could find.

The Master ran his fingers through his bleached hair, looking around for a sign of anything he could use. "Cash point first, we need money. Then a hotel. You'll have to book it in. Long story, I can't show my face. But you can though. But if anyone calls you Doctor, I'd play dumb."

"Don't worry, darling. We can just say hello instead, it's going to be much more pleasant." He hadn't ever expected any such letter, it was even surprising that... Well, all of this was surprising, really. He'd have to reevaluate a few things.

"They are muggles, right?" He knew the word was ridiculous, he knew the Master thought it ridiculous, but he also knew the Master knew what it meant, so he might as well use it. "We won't have any problem." He did reach into his pocket to take out his wand now, at the same time turning to face the Master and grabbing his arm to stop him from walking.

The most difficult thing about this maneuver was dealing with the Master's current smell, but he had lived through worse. At least he made for a good shield for when the next person passed them and he, muttering 'accio wallet' under his breath, played pickpocket wizard-style. Not exactly glamorous, but it worked. He looked down at the wallet in his hand and quickly transfigured it, then put his wand away again and inspected just what he'd managed to steal.

"My treat."

"Humans. Don't say muggles, it's embarrassing. I have to be seen with you here, remember?" Says the man currently doing a brilliant impression of a homeless man. Still, he hadn't seen Barty do any sort of magic since that whole mess with Rose, it was impressive to watch actually. Not that he'd tell Barty that, he never did like praising anyone beside himself. Occasionally the Doctor, if the mood struck him. But whenever he wanted to say something actually flattering to Barty, it just came out as an insult. Sentiment wasn't their thing.

He watched as Barty effortlessly stole the wallet, amazed at how simple it all seemed to him. Like it was just some extra extension of his being.

"Nice parlour trick," the Master remarked without much praise in his tone, mostly seeming a little bemused by the actions than anything. "Can you magic a bunny out of a hat? Or can you only do that sort of thing with ferrets?"

With a slight smirk, the Master continued to move to make sure they didn't look too suspicious suddenly stopping like that. The last thing they needed was to run all around London. "Looks like we just need a hotel now. Nothing low rent, look for four star or higher. Otherwise you're just pissing away money."

"I'm human too," Barty pointed out, while not pointing out that if anyone should be embarrassed to be seen with someone currently, it would be him. But it wasn't as if he actually cared, apart from the practical issue of how to best get him into a hotel. "Non-magical humans."

Muggles. But the terminology didn't matter much and Barty just smiled. "I can't create something out of nothing. I could transfigure a hat into a bunny though. If you're in need of one."

He nodded and started to look around. Couldn't be that difficult to find a hotel, this was London after all. "At the moment I believe anything with a shower would do."

"You're all the same to me. You can just do better tricks than the normal ones," the Master remarked in a dismissive fashion, hands going into his hoodie pocket as he kept on moving, trying to recall just where in London they were. He didn't actually know where they were specifically but London was one of those places where everything always appeared the longer you looped around the place.

"I'll shower when we get a room. It's remarkably hard to wash without one, you know? Tried to do it in a duck pond, didn't quite work," the Master admitted as he started off again, returning to the hunt so he could hurry up, get washed and get this whole unpleasant look sorted out.

It didn't take long to find somewhere that looked suitable but wasn't too over the top, they didn't need to draw too much attention.

The Master gestured for Barty to lead the way, he was the one that would have to book the place. The Master just needed to not draw any attention... which was hard given how he looked and smelled. It definitely stood out in the more upscale areas.

"Still makes a difference to me. Hence different terminology." He raised an eyebrow at the mention of the duck pond, thinking that it had probably gone worse for the ducks but deciding not to say that out loud. It just seemed like the better idea.

He had his wand out again, but inconspicuously enough. All he used it for were some Confundus Charms as they passed people in the hotel, because he reckoned that anyone trying to force the Master of the premises might end up regretting it. As it was, they could get checked in without too much trouble, even if the receptionist was slightly dazed as she handed over the keys.

Ah, magic. He had missed it. Barty led the way to the elevators, considering what they should do next. "Do you need food?"

Seeing all those humans so dazed and confused did amuse the Master, he hadn't seen anything like it since the stupefying ray-gun they released in the 42nd century. Then swiftly recalled because apparently it was 'inhumane'. What nonsense. As they moved into the elevator, the Master leaned against the wall, pleased he didn't have to deal with anyone staring at him or trying to kick him out. He doubt that would of ended well for anyone.

The very mention of food made his stomach rumble aggressively and he nodded, hoping he could continue to ignore his hunger for the most part. When he gave into it, it wasn't a pretty sight.

"I need to eat a lot to replace to energy I've bleeding out. We should probably get something. But after the shower."

He wanted to be able to get near people without repulsing them by accident.

Since Barty, for the moment, planned on being the only people the Master would get near to he agreed with the sentiment. However, food could be a problem, if this energy release worked anything like he imagined it. He nodded his head anyway. Shower first, then he could figure out the rest.

Once the door opened he headed out, one hand on the Master's arm again without him really having thought about it. But then, he definitely seemed in overdrive enough that it might be a good idea to provide a bit of guidance. At the room Barty stared at the lock for a few moments before deciding that he didn't want to deal with figuring out how the card fit in there. Instead he used a spell and then held the door open, like the gentleman he had supposedly been raised as.

"If you give me your clothes I can try a cleaning charm." If that could save them.

Really> Magic to open a door? It was literally sliding a card in. This wizards, they were shockingly clueless.

It was odd but at the request to give over his clothes, he started to feel a little attached to them. Not in a strange way, just in the way that he'd been stuck in them so long, he didn't like parting ways. Hence why he frowned at Barty for a good long moment before reacting and pulling his hoodie off, holding it out with a stern expression. "Don't ruin it. And don't fix the holes either. I like it that way, I don't want it improved. Just cleaned."

With the hoodie removed, it became slightly more obvious that he had a very loosely worn dog collar on which had previously blended a lot better with his clothes. He didn't even know why he still wore it. Not for any other reason than he'd simply not bothered to remove it. He hadn't put much thought into what he was wearing these days, which was strange coming from someone who always lectured people about how good a well fitted suit was.

Removing everything else with little issue, he shoved them all towards Barty, making a move for the shower with a slight sigh. "They better have free shower gel or we're in trouble."

He hadn't been sure what way to hold the card and doing a spell was just less fiddling and thus much less embarrassing. Also, he finally had his magic back. For the first time in longer than he cared to think about he was in his own body, using his magic and there were no restrictions. There was no threat of it being taken again. It was exhilarating enough that he thought he could get drunk on it if he wasn't careful.

The door shut behind them he watched the Master, his own expression softening without him being entirely aware of it when he was given the instruction. "As you wish. Just cleaned." A lot had changed in the Master and he'd have to figure it out without doing any damage. Also without having his eyes linger on the collar too obviously. He stared at it only for a second before he turned to the pile of clothes and focused on the cleaning spell. Household charms weren't exactly his strength, but he did know the more useful ones.

"Do they have shower gel?" He called out after the Master, now that his clothes looked as if someone could wear them again.

"They do! Several little bottles of it," the Master called back, though he couldn't say he was overly thrilled with it. Smelt a little like cheap guest room soap but it did the job. He was as thorough as he could be, washing everywhere several times over till the coat of grime was gone and he started to look a little less revolting. He did debate shaving but was there much point to that? He would be fine as he was for a little while longer.

Climbing out of the shower, he swiftly towelled off and made his way back out, leaning in the doorway as he watched Barty curiously.

"So do I get my clothes back or did you magic them into rabbits or something?"

"What's your obsession with rabbits?" Not that he entirely wanted to know if there actually was one, to be honest. Closing the distance between them with a few quick strides he held the clean clothes out to him, while considering him.

He had changed. Quite astonishingly so, at that. Barty supposed he might have changed a bit as well, even if the difference might be easy to miss. Lived through losing his soul, certainty, no hope. But he had hope again now, didn't he? A future.

Because he could he ran his hand through the Master's bleached hair. Definitely felt different, must be the bleach. "Better."

"I read somewhere that humans who do magic like rabbits," the Master remarked dismissively because seriously, humans were not his area. The Doctor knew that stuff, he just knew what killed them the most effectively. And what sort of free labour they could offer in a pinch. "Personally not an animal person, they tend to be rather revolting. Plus they always need attention and food, neither of which I'm willing to share."

With an amused look, he let Barty toy with his hair, curious if it actually looked half as bad as he thought it did. It hadn't been a decision he'd thought on, everyone knew his face so the logical option was redirection. It would of been smarter to do something else rather than bleaching his hair in a public toilet.

"So glad I'm up to your standards, I feel flattered," Barty didn't look half bad himself. He'd clearly worked on the whole 'I look like I've been locked away for 12 years' thing he had going once. Though still no suit... they could work on that one later.

"Generally it's more owls and cats where I'm from." Not that he planned on acquiring either of them. Seemed like he would have his hands full with the Master for the time being anyway. Needing attention and food, yes, that definitely appeared to fit the bill right now. "You are my standards," he said in one of these admissions that got as close as anything was likely to get between them - although the Master had surprised him before.

But now it was him, with his hand at the back of the Master's neck and his fingers running along the collar, who pulled him close and kissed him. It might not be how time lords expressed themselves, but it certainly worked for him. He could put more emotion into this than when he'd thanked him before, than actually trying to grasp how much he'd missed him.

"You're too kind," he mocked, rolling his eyes as he felt a tug forward and just like that, it was like being back at Asgard again. Mockery then kissing, it was their signature move. It was a nice familiar feeling, one he hadn't experienced for a long time now. Raising his hand, he threaded it through Barty's, moving him in closer.

Time Lords didn't have many ways to express love, honestly. Lots of ways to express logical theories, affection for plants and paradoxes. But few for much else, including love and friendship. This way was probably the best way. Though he only didn't often do it with any old ape. Barty was ... special?

Pulling back, he smirked brightly. "See, I knew stealing you back had it's uses."

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