"Here I thought you might like the danger." Although he wasn't overly serious about that remark. Not that the Master didn't like it to some extent, but that extent was pretty exclusively reserved for the Doctor, in his experience. Barty finally stepped further into the room, looking at the Master as he stood there, more like the man he'd met in Asgard and at the same time less so.
There was curiosity, despite knowing better. He did wonder if this Master, on top of the world, would have ever gotten to know him. With a slight shake of his head he focused on Lucy again. So she'd end up shooting him. Good for her, he supposed, no matter the consequences.
"The danger loses it'd edge once you've been killed, then it just becomes annoying. I always thought she'd snap, I was just hoping she'd kill everyone but me. Not just me and no one else. What a cruel move," the Master muttered, clearly not understanding just what had caused the issue. With a small shrug, he started to move up the room, inspecting everyone that was about with either recognition or amusement. There was Martha's family, one of the girls that gave him a massage and, oh, handsome Jack. What fun?
Spinning around, he turned to look at the Doctor, slumped in his wheelchair. So angry, so uselessly defiant. He couldn't hold back the little amused noise that slipped out. "Oh, look, it's granddad."
Barty recognized Jack from Asgard, but everyone else seemed new. He only paid attention to the man in the wheelchair when the Master pointed him out to him and then it still took him a while to wrap his mind around what he was seeing. Finally he did and he took a step back, suddenly feeling sick.
This was a lot to wrap his mind around and he didn't entirely want to. How old... He didn't know, but was it ever an unpleasant reminder of his own mortality. He turned away a little too fast, just to not keep looking.
"Yes, I thought I'd give him a chance to really feel his age. Besides, it's a lot harder to beat me when he's old and senile," the Master sneered, his disgust obvious in his tone. Didn't work anyway, he was still beaten by him, still humiliated. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to do anything to win. Part of him wanted to kick the chair, the knock the foolish old man over and revel in his pain. No matter how immature that was. "Unless he cheats. Always cheats, don't you Gramps?"
Rolling his eyes, he turned away from the older Doctor and back towards Barty. What was he doing? He wasn't paying much attention. Was there something else more interesting?
"You should look. Watch his expression when this idiot dies, it's priceless. Oh he does love these astonishingly dumb apes," He could even pin-point the exact moment the poor bastards hearts begins to break. He remembered looking over afterwards, seeing that look. A mix of loathing and pity. Revolting.
"It's my face. I've never had another. It's strange to see it aged." And it definitely didn't feel nice to see that expression on it. He arched an eyebrow at the Master. Seriously? "Besides, you know I am one of those astonishingly dumb apes." More or less, at least. He swallowed and looked back at the Doctor, trying to adapt an uncaring attitude he'd ultimately never been good at, especially not when the man's appearance and some other factors made it impossible not to empathize to a certain degree.
It wasn't a shock to him that he preferred the Master when he wasn't in power. He had expected as much.
"You're not a dumb ape, you're an evolved monkey at worst," the Master remarked, though quieter than he normally spoke. Compliments weren't his area. He didn't like the idea of Barty being classed the same as humans. He didn't like the idea of his mortality nor his status. It was all a little jarring when he actually thought about it, he'd basically pulled a Doctor and got himself a companion.
Looking up at himself, he watched as that Master, with a manic smile, pulled out his weapon. And without warning, he fired at the poor human kneeling before him, snivelling and scared. With one great flash, the soldier went silent and slumped, his body smoking slightly from the laser. It was funny but ... he remembered it being funny.
As his other self laugh and clapped, the Master simply tilted his head. "They were hurting so much that day. The drums. I thought this would shut them up, I thought they were a real thing I could please. They were just a lie."
"Yes." Barty knew about the drums, of course, and he moved forward to close the distance between them again, although he didn't touch the Master. He wasn't sure how he should deal with it, so all he could do was be there, just in case. "At least you seem entertained."
Whatever by, he couldn't entirely follow but, well. He'd been out with Bellatrix, this seemed about the same. Quite disturbingly similar, if he was to be honest, but he kept that part to himself.
"I always am when someone is dying," the Master informed Barty blandly as he watched his younger self pull Lucy into a dance, even though there was a noticeable lack of noise in the room. No music, no muttering, just the Master humming to himself and dragging Lucy along with. Oh and yeah, here came the kiss.
With an appreciative smirk, the Master turned to Barty. Hey, it wasn't all bad. "I like to think of all my best traits, this one is my best. I'm a world class kisser."
"You are." He could definitely admit that without lying, watching the dancing Master for a much more enjoyable view than the Doctor in his wheelchair. A great kisses, he did agree on that point. World class, he didn't know about that. But he felt no need whatsoever to complain.
"One whole wonderful year," the Master boasted, knowing from experience of talking to other villains that actually conquering somewhere and keep that control was no easy feat. To manage it for a year was truly impressive. Even he saw that now, what a waste that he couldn't hold onto it any longer. And, to be fair, humans were surprisingly relaxed about being conquered.
Well, until he started to kill more of them. "Then the Doctor cheated."
"Of course he did." He knew that much from the Master's stories. However, he also started to get the impression that in this case he might have been on the Doctor's side, which might not be the healthiest thought in his position. Instead of lingering on it he stepped closer to the Master, turning away from the past him to focus on the one with bleached hair he knew so well.
"I've fallen out of my head now, all I can't think of is here," the Master admitted with a small shrug. Since he'd become a little more erratic, he'd had trouble grasping onto thoughts for long. Everything inside of him was so mixed up that he couldn't keep his mind sharp on anything. With a bright smile, he looked passed Barty, eyes on the floating object instead. Putting an arm around Barty's shoulder, he manually turned him so he could look at the lonely Toclafane in the air.
"Look at that," he gestured, clearly amused by whatever they were. "Guess what that is?"
Just an educated guess, given his exposure to the Master's stories so far. He watched the object, trying to make sense of it, but there wasn't much about it he recognized. Metal, sure, but that wasn't exactly an observation exciting enough to state out loud. So instead he just kept looking at it, knowing from the Master's tone that there was definitely something to it that he meant to share.
"Well, I guess you could call it that. It is an alien of sorts. To me, anyway. Not to you," The Master pointed out with the slightest amusement on his face, carefully moving closer. It would be unlikely to be seen by the Toclafane but given how loud and excitable they could be, he didn't want to draw any attention accidentally. "I would like to brag and say they're my greatest creation but I'm afraid I can't have that bragging right. I'll settle for my finest henchmen."
Turning from them, he gave Barty a raise of his eyebrow. "Barty, meet your future. The human races last hurrah."
Barty instinctively stepped closer to the Master, even before his mind inevitably put two and two together. Of course, once it did there was no going back and he shook his head anyway as if he could deny the knowledge.
He was a dark wizard, he knew the Dark Arts, but he felt none of that darkness here and perhaps that was what made it so horrifying to him. Not magic, something he understood and knew the twist things, this was something else and he wanted it to not be true.
"I don't know. Maybe around six billion? I lost count," the Master dismissed as he frowned, curious to see what Barty's reaction was. After all, this was humanity really. In the end. Humanity always sought to be pure and survive by any means, looked like they meant it. No matter what people said or did, in the end they were lost, scared and hateful creatures, locked into destructive metal balls.
"I didn't do a single thing to them. He thinks I did, he thinks somehow, some way, I talked humanity into this," And part of him wished he did just so he could gloat. What a shame. "If it's any help, you'll be long long dead by the time this happens."
"Very helpful." It was said dryly and came out pretty close to normal. He was glad for that. It was only with difficulty that he managed to tear his gaze away from the Toclafane. No soul. Strange thought to have, but then again, probably not, given everything. He wondered if there was still a part of it, somewhere, aware enough to realize, aware enough to want to scream. Too close. Entirely too close for comfort.
But showing weakness wasn't something he had ever allowed himself and while some part of him almost thought the reflex of seeking comfort from the Master was the right one, intellectually he thought it would be a mistake. Especially while he seemed mostly gleeful about it all. So Barty decided to just turn right around and head back toward the exit. At least he could hide his face that way.
"Well, it's a good thing. I saw one of them get turned into this, it was extremely painful. Blood everywhere, organs melted, eyes just -- oi!" Where was he going? Spinning around, he followed after Barty, a confused look on his face. Okay, not that confused. He had a good feeling he knew where he'd gone wrong. It was the Toclafane, wasn't it? Maybe too soon to throw that kind of stuff at him?
He couldn't help it, he wanted to show them off. Hurrying after Barty, he soon caught up with them, a small frown on his face. "Want to leave? I guess we can if you're going to sulk. We may as well."
Sulk? Not quite what he'd call it, but if it got him an out, he could definitely handle skipping any discussion about word choice in favour of a simple nod. Leaving sounded good right now. Not that it would change anything, because what was happening was in his mind and he knew he couldn't run from that.
"Fine, fine, we'll leave," he dropped cannister down and set the co-ordinates for the hotel once again, a simple return trip that couldn't go too badly. He pressed the button till it flatted down and dropped it on the floor, preparing for their trip back. Hopefully being home would prevent any further sulking. He didn't fancy a night of Barty in a bad mood.
"See, going. Happy?" The Master asked as the device started to kick in and light up furiously.
"Ecstatic." Barty closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, his thoughts flashing between the things he'd just realized and lies of memories he didn't believe in anymore, like feeling safe in his mother's arms, like being loved for what he was. In the end the one thing was to real and the other too false to find any comfort whatsoever.
Once they were back, the Master slipped the canister back onto the table and turned to Barty. Oh Rassilon, it was like Lucy all over again. One little glimpse of the future and they all fell into this horrible depression. Hey, he'd seen the future of the Time Lords, he knew that they all burnt. He wasn't getting weepy over it.
Mostly because they deserved it. "Are you angry? Why? That's not your future."
"I'm not angry. I know it's not. Anymore." Barty ran his fingers through his hair and then took his wand out, quickly removing the spells cast over them. Then he headed for the window, just so he could see outside and watch the street beneath them. He wasn't particularly eager to explain that he was actually frightened, because that wasn't something he'd admit out loud.
"You're not fine. You look like Lucy did after I took her to see the Toclafane. And that ended in me dying so I'd rather you were honest with me," the Master insisted because he didn't like this, he didn't want Barty to be angry or scared. Weirdly enough, he got almost no rush from it. It was like when he beat the Doctor the last time, he didn't feel much pride. Just a strange sadness.
It was an odd feeling really. "Or at least warn me before you shoot me because I can't regenerate like this. I can't! I'd just get stuck, bleeding, dying, leaking all my energy. So say."
"I wouldn't shoot you. If anything, I'd use a curse." Barty shook his head and let out a short snort, not surprisingly not an especially happy sound. "Lucy was a normal human. I've seen worse than those... Toclafane. Arguably been through worse."
He turned around and considered the Master, at the same time putting his wand away. "I wouldn't kill you. You should know that. You're all I have."
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There was curiosity, despite knowing better. He did wonder if this Master, on top of the world, would have ever gotten to know him. With a slight shake of his head he focused on Lucy again. So she'd end up shooting him. Good for her, he supposed, no matter the consequences.
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Spinning around, he turned to look at the Doctor, slumped in his wheelchair. So angry, so uselessly defiant. He couldn't hold back the little amused noise that slipped out. "Oh, look, it's granddad."
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This was a lot to wrap his mind around and he didn't entirely want to. How old... He didn't know, but was it ever an unpleasant reminder of his own mortality. He turned away a little too fast, just to not keep looking.
"The Doctor?" More rhetorical than anything.
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Rolling his eyes, he turned away from the older Doctor and back towards Barty. What was he doing? He wasn't paying much attention. Was there something else more interesting?
"You should look. Watch his expression when this idiot dies, it's priceless. Oh he does love these astonishingly dumb apes," He could even pin-point the exact moment the poor bastards hearts begins to break. He remembered looking over afterwards, seeing that look. A mix of loathing and pity. Revolting.
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It wasn't a shock to him that he preferred the Master when he wasn't in power. He had expected as much.
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Looking up at himself, he watched as that Master, with a manic smile, pulled out his weapon. And without warning, he fired at the poor human kneeling before him, snivelling and scared. With one great flash, the soldier went silent and slumped, his body smoking slightly from the laser. It was funny but ... he remembered it being funny.
As his other self laugh and clapped, the Master simply tilted his head. "They were hurting so much that day. The drums. I thought this would shut them up, I thought they were a real thing I could please. They were just a lie."
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Whatever by, he couldn't entirely follow but, well. He'd been out with Bellatrix, this seemed about the same. Quite disturbingly similar, if he was to be honest, but he kept that part to himself.
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With an appreciative smirk, the Master turned to Barty. Hey, it wasn't all bad. "I like to think of all my best traits, this one is my best. I'm a world class kisser."
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"One year, was it?"
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Well, until he started to kill more of them. "Then the Doctor cheated."
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"What else did you want to show me?"
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"Look at that," he gestured, clearly amused by whatever they were. "Guess what that is?"
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Just an educated guess, given his exposure to the Master's stories so far. He watched the object, trying to make sense of it, but there wasn't much about it he recognized. Metal, sure, but that wasn't exactly an observation exciting enough to state out loud. So instead he just kept looking at it, knowing from the Master's tone that there was definitely something to it that he meant to share.
"What is it?"
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Turning from them, he gave Barty a raise of his eyebrow. "Barty, meet your future. The human races last hurrah."
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He was a dark wizard, he knew the Dark Arts, but he felt none of that darkness here and perhaps that was what made it so horrifying to him. Not magic, something he understood and knew the twist things, this was something else and he wanted it to not be true.
"How many are there?"
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"I didn't do a single thing to them. He thinks I did, he thinks somehow, some way, I talked humanity into this," And part of him wished he did just so he could gloat. What a shame. "If it's any help, you'll be long long dead by the time this happens."
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But showing weakness wasn't something he had ever allowed himself and while some part of him almost thought the reflex of seeking comfort from the Master was the right one, intellectually he thought it would be a mistake. Especially while he seemed mostly gleeful about it all. So Barty decided to just turn right around and head back toward the exit. At least he could hide his face that way.
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He couldn't help it, he wanted to show them off. Hurrying after Barty, he soon caught up with them, a small frown on his face. "Want to leave? I guess we can if you're going to sulk. We may as well."
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"Let's go."
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"See, going. Happy?" The Master asked as the device started to kick in and light up furiously.
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Mostly because they deserved it. "Are you angry? Why? That's not your future."
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"I'm fine."
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It was an odd feeling really. "Or at least warn me before you shoot me because I can't regenerate like this. I can't! I'd just get stuck, bleeding, dying, leaking all my energy. So say."
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He turned around and considered the Master, at the same time putting his wand away. "I wouldn't kill you. You should know that. You're all I have."
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