Of course Barty was used to the Master talking about the Doctor. Various incarnations of him, no less. He'd listened to it for hours on end in Asgard and since coming here there had been more than enough of it too, now that he'd slowly pieced together what all had happened and what role the Doctor played in it.
So it wasn't really surprising to have the Master go on about the Doctor again now. It was always a bit fascinating, even if it could get a bit much at times, but his intensity had a certain appeal to Barty, it always had.
He was just listening now, because it didn't seem as if his input was required. Listening and watching the Master sit down only to jump up again. Barty stayed on the bed himself, finger between the pages of the book he'd been reading.
"He left, you see, he always does this. Thinks he defeated me and leaves. So I have to go through all this effort just to remind him that I'm here. That I'm still waiting," the Master continued his rant, now crouched on the floor among various pieces of technology, assembling it all into what appeared to be -- well, a big heap of junk. But he was actually aiming for a tissue compresses again. Laser screwdrivers only ran on artron energy, he needed a TARDIS to make one of those again. What a shame too.
"So I kill a few dirty apes, regain myself some control and I soon get his attention. You watch! I give him thirty minutes after I start."
Leaning over, the Master swiftly input a few more numbers into his stolen laptop, double checking just how many computers he was locked into now. Over 20,000 computers had accidentally downloaded the new virus he'd created. A rather pleasant little one that activated on his say-so and proceed to run an algorithm that should, in theory, alter the stability of the device and lead to some violent self destructions. All the while before, they were feeding him all the important stuff like bank details, hidden secrets, anything he could use really. It had only taken him a night of solid work to kick the whole thing into gear. Honestly, the Doctor didn't appreciate the effort he put into these things.
"When he comes, I'll finally crush him and be done with it!"
"I see," Barty said, although he saw nothing like that happening. The Master had regaled him with more than enough stories of the Doctor after all and ultimately it didn't seem like a very likely outcome. But his voice had the pleasant emptiness he tended to use when the Master was in such a mood. He did watch him with interest though, his knowledge of any such technology was still rather rudimentary, but that didn't make it any less fascinating to him.
"What kind of control do you plan on gaining?" Just curiosity. Also, obviously, the plan that would dictate the next chapter of his life and given the Master's track record and his mortality, possibly the last chapter. All the more reason to try and stay on top of it.
"Mostly I'm looking to gain as much vital information in the most dangerous manner without getting any blame. So I've targeted certain laptops, randomly, across the country with a virus I made. So I'm currently taking as much information as I can from them, this ranges from your dull and uninteresting to the politicians, the rich and the famous. The more I get, the more leverage I have here," the Master explained as he finished fitting several screws into what he was making. Here on Earth, he found very quickly that knowledge was power. Humans were very secretive and he was determined to make use of that.
"Of course when I have what I need, I'll see if any of it is of use. If so, I can move onto my next plan. If not, I cut my losses and blow everything to pieces. Start all over again."
With a slightly amused smile, the Master double checked some of the uploaded date on his laptop before lifting it up and displaying to Barty the picture of a rather famous green politician on a fox hunt. "Hypocrites and liars, you lot are. No offence, of course, I'm glad of it. Makes this so much easier for me."
"I'm not offended. If I thought any different of humanity, I'd be an idiot." And he didn't consider himself to be that. Barty recognized neither the politician nor a fox hunt, but he understood what the Master was getting at and it was definitely a good plan. He knew these things worked, powerful people always were vulnerable in some way and this did seem to be like it would work. Quick and efficient.
He could admire that and since there was no reason not to, he let himself. It was a good feeling to know that he hadn't been wrong in his estimation of the Master, not that he'd ever really doubted it. Not even back in Asgard.
"So he will come to stop you? Will he want to kill you?"
"Ah, see, now this is the grand debate," the Master said with a smile that really didn't fit the topic. He shuffled forward, leaning at the bottom on the bed and looking up at Barty where he lay, trying to make sure he had his attention. "Here's the thing, I can so easily make him hate me. I can. But I'm the last of his kind now, we're the only two left. And he's so desperately lonely."
The Master may have mocked him for it but he understood it. He and the Doctor were each others equals, the only like minds they knew. To lose the Doctor would mean he'd truly be alone. Sure, he have Barty but ... well, it wasn't really the same. It was hard to explain, actually, what Time Lords meant to each other.
"Time was, he'd set me on fire and leave me to rot somewhere but now? He can't do it, he has to forgive and forget. He's a coward," the Master spat, as if the act of mercy scorned him more than anything. He loathed to be forgiven.
Barty reached out to put a hand on the Master's cheek, making sure to catch his eyes, making sure he'd know he was listening. Trying to understand, maybe, but he knew ultimately he couldn't and even if he could, the Master wouldn't accept it.
But he did know loneliness, knew it well enough to be able to imagine how it could drive someone to such emotions. Knew the Master well enough to see why he'd reject it. He gave a nod.
"I should hope so. I wouldn't want you dead." Not mentioning how he didn't have any illusions about his own life expectancy not being enhanced by a run-in with the Doctor.
"I'd come back, I wouldn't die. I never stay dead. I told you that before," the Master insisted, pulling back and dropping onto the floor again, reassembling his pieces to continuing his work. "I'd just be a bit different, is all. I was older before this, you know? A very old man."
An old optimistic human who wanted to save everyone. How ironic.
"Of course, I was to be young again and here I am," the Master bragged, throwing his arms out in a rather grand gesture to show just how well that had worked. He wasn't startling young like Eleven but then he hadn't wanted to be. Young enough to run around and do what needed doing. "It's not so bad, I never change too much."
Barty gave a nod, because he had seen enough Doctors to know the Master spoke the truth, even if it was a strange concept. Not the most difficult for a wizard to grasp though. But there were worries attached to it, worries he'd be a fool to disclose to the Master right now. It wasn't as if he hadn't said it all before. All he had in this world, in this universe, and nowhere to go back to.
There was no need to remind him now, because he didn't exactly delight in being vulnerable. "Do you keep all your memories?" Close enough.
"Yes, eventually. Regeneration is a little -- I guess you could say traumatic. Sometimes memories get lost or misplaced, it takes a while to realign sometimes. I tend to be rather good with memories. I'm more disposed to bouts of movement to try and burn off the energy," he was usually quite good at keeping control post regeneration but he didn't want to discount it. If he ever did and forgot Barty, he needed the reassurance that he wouldn't be forgotten forever.
"Besides. I doubt I could forget someone like you. Even when they wiped my memories, I remember," the Master reminded him, frowning at the device in his hand when it didn't seem to want to connect to the LEDs. "You have a very striking face."
"The Doctor's face." But of course. Kind of a blessing and a curse, that one. Barty rubbed his face now while rolling on his back. He kept the sigh to himself and closed his eyes, wondering what it would really mean to meet the Doctor here. He knew he couldn't stop it, so he'd not even attempt to try.
"I'd find ways to remind you, I reckon." Some way or another.
"Both your faces. I doubt he can call dibs, he only wore it for a few hundred years," Which was, he supposed, vaguely ironic. Because now he seemed to associate the look more with Barty than the Doctor, even if the Doctor spent nearly a hundred years in that body, maybe more, maybe less. Asgard really messed with his head ... not that he really regretted that.
"I'm sure you could. Easily. There was a way before after all."
Barty did find himself smiling at that, something he still wasn't quite used to happening unintentionally. He opened his eyes as he sat up, leaning back on his hands to look at the Master once more, try to figure out just what he was getting up to.
"Unlikely. He's not really a killer, he likes to save everyone. Hence 'The Doctor'. Pompous git thought he could save everyone, cure the universe of whatever sickness it had," he wouldn't kill Barty, that he knew. If he didn't kill Lucy then he wasn't going to kill anyone associated with him. Genocide or not. He'd gotten a little duller in his old age, far too nice to corrupted humans.
"He might think he can fix you. He'll probably blame all your issues on me."
"He'll be happy to know that I've already resolved all my issues." He had killed his father rather thoroughly, after all. Not that he wasn't aware of being far from 'fixed'. Stable, though, he was fairly sure he was that. Most of the time.
"Barty, you're a great guy and everything but your issues aren't resolved," the Master remarked, looking exceptionally amused. He wasn't criticising, hell he had issues that never went away too, that was just part of life. Especially for men like them, who didn't exactly lead simple or normal lives. "I've seen you at your worse. No matter what you claim, you have issues. Nothing to feel bad about."
Baggage was part of the human experience. And he rather liked Barty's, made him more destructive. "On the plus side, you seem more -- sane? I don't know. The tongue thing has definitely been tamed back."
Of course, now that it was pointed out, Barty's tongue did touch the corner of his mouth in a quick flicker of movement. Maybe on purpose, maybe involuntarily. Whichever it was, Barty smiled at the Master, shrugging. "A lot less reason for agitation here." He had left rather a lot behind, after all.
"But if my issues don't hinder me, I consider them mostly resolved. Just makes me more interesting."
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So it wasn't really surprising to have the Master go on about the Doctor again now. It was always a bit fascinating, even if it could get a bit much at times, but his intensity had a certain appeal to Barty, it always had.
He was just listening now, because it didn't seem as if his input was required. Listening and watching the Master sit down only to jump up again. Barty stayed on the bed himself, finger between the pages of the book he'd been reading.
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"So I kill a few dirty apes, regain myself some control and I soon get his attention. You watch! I give him thirty minutes after I start."
Leaning over, the Master swiftly input a few more numbers into his stolen laptop, double checking just how many computers he was locked into now. Over 20,000 computers had accidentally downloaded the new virus he'd created. A rather pleasant little one that activated on his say-so and proceed to run an algorithm that should, in theory, alter the stability of the device and lead to some violent self destructions. All the while before, they were feeding him all the important stuff like bank details, hidden secrets, anything he could use really. It had only taken him a night of solid work to kick the whole thing into gear. Honestly, the Doctor didn't appreciate the effort he put into these things.
"When he comes, I'll finally crush him and be done with it!"
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"What kind of control do you plan on gaining?" Just curiosity. Also, obviously, the plan that would dictate the next chapter of his life and given the Master's track record and his mortality, possibly the last chapter. All the more reason to try and stay on top of it.
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"Of course when I have what I need, I'll see if any of it is of use. If so, I can move onto my next plan. If not, I cut my losses and blow everything to pieces. Start all over again."
With a slightly amused smile, the Master double checked some of the uploaded date on his laptop before lifting it up and displaying to Barty the picture of a rather famous green politician on a fox hunt. "Hypocrites and liars, you lot are. No offence, of course, I'm glad of it. Makes this so much easier for me."
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He could admire that and since there was no reason not to, he let himself. It was a good feeling to know that he hadn't been wrong in his estimation of the Master, not that he'd ever really doubted it. Not even back in Asgard.
"So he will come to stop you? Will he want to kill you?"
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The Master may have mocked him for it but he understood it. He and the Doctor were each others equals, the only like minds they knew. To lose the Doctor would mean he'd truly be alone. Sure, he have Barty but ... well, it wasn't really the same. It was hard to explain, actually, what Time Lords meant to each other.
"Time was, he'd set me on fire and leave me to rot somewhere but now? He can't do it, he has to forgive and forget. He's a coward," the Master spat, as if the act of mercy scorned him more than anything. He loathed to be forgiven.
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But he did know loneliness, knew it well enough to be able to imagine how it could drive someone to such emotions. Knew the Master well enough to see why he'd reject it. He gave a nod.
"I should hope so. I wouldn't want you dead." Not mentioning how he didn't have any illusions about his own life expectancy not being enhanced by a run-in with the Doctor.
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An old optimistic human who wanted to save everyone. How ironic.
"Of course, I was to be young again and here I am," the Master bragged, throwing his arms out in a rather grand gesture to show just how well that had worked. He wasn't startling young like Eleven but then he hadn't wanted to be. Young enough to run around and do what needed doing. "It's not so bad, I never change too much."
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There was no need to remind him now, because he didn't exactly delight in being vulnerable. "Do you keep all your memories?" Close enough.
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"Besides. I doubt I could forget someone like you. Even when they wiped my memories, I remember," the Master reminded him, frowning at the device in his hand when it didn't seem to want to connect to the LEDs. "You have a very striking face."
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"I'd find ways to remind you, I reckon." Some way or another.
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"I'm sure you could. Easily. There was a way before after all."
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"So. How likely is he to kill me?"
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"He might think he can fix you. He'll probably blame all your issues on me."
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"But none of them were caused by you."
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Baggage was part of the human experience. And he rather liked Barty's, made him more destructive. "On the plus side, you seem more -- sane? I don't know. The tongue thing has definitely been tamed back."
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"But if my issues don't hinder me, I consider them mostly resolved. Just makes me more interesting."