"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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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."