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crack_van2011-02-28 02:35 am
innocentsmith.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2011-02-28 02:35 am
Entry tags:
Doctor Who Season Four, by Aria (PG-13)
Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: Doctor/Master (Ten/Simm!Master), Martha Jones, Jack Harkness, Torchwood characters
Length: 50,553
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ariastar
Author Website: Master Fic List, or at the AO3
Why this must be read:
Written after "The Last of the Time Lords," this virtual season swiftly became a classic of the fandom. As Martha and Jack return to their lives and loved ones after the Year That Never Was, and find evidence of a disturbing conspiracy connected to Lucy Saxon, the Doctor and the Master have dysfunctional adventures in time and space and manage, somehow, not to destroy each other or the universe completely.
"You had no right," the Doctor says, soft and furious.
"But Doctor," the Master says, shaking his head as though displeased with a slow pupil, "you'd already seen the aftermath. This always happened. That's the beauty of time travel, isn't it? You get to witness the ends of things before their beginnings. Jack, for instance."
"That doesn't give you the right!"
"Oh, but I think it does. Or did you forget that you had the right to prompt Queen Victoria to create Torchwood? And the right to take down Harriet Jones at the very beginning of her Golden Age, because she used the agency you had such a hand in creating? Say what you like, Doctor. Everything you touch changes; you just don't have the guts to take the responsibility."
The Doctor doesn't hit him, because there are far more subtle and effective ways of dealing with the Master and he would never, ever hit anyone, but it's still a near thing.
"But we can still stop it," he says, a little frantic now, "We can put in fail-safes, we can--"
A hand on his chest, gentle. "Doctor. We can't. You know what happens." He tsks softly. "Oh, those pesky paradoxes."
He looks into the Master's face and sees, with a thrill of fear, that the Master understands him. He's never going to get used to this.
"Take me back to your prison," the Master says. "I've had my fun. Tie me up and punish me just like you promised you would."
The Doctor clenches his teeth, takes the Master's elbow in a grip like a gentle vice, and starts walking.
Ten minutes see them back on the TARDIS; the Doctor manacles the Master back against the pillar in the control room, but it's an empty gesture without substance. A check in the clothing bag turns up no further mood patches, for which the Doctor is silently grateful. He goes upstairs and hangs the Master's purchases neatly next to his own suits with slightly trembling hands. He goes back down and sits silently next to the Master. The Master watches him and he stares at the floor and can feel the Master's gaze like a laser, and can't find the words. He aches, so many feelings crowding into his mind that they all register only as a horrible dragging pain.
"Why?" he asks finally. "That's not your style at all-- killing off the population." He looks up at the Master and sees the absolute horrible understanding in the Master's face and says savagely, "That gives you nothing to rule over! What were you trying to accomplish?"
The Master smiles and reaches out, touching the Doctor's jaw very gently. The Doctor barely avoids flinching. "Doctor," the Master breathes, "don't you see? If you will not let me conquer worlds, the only thing I have to best is you."
He surges to his feet, shaking. The Master stares up at him calmly, the barest hint of a triumphant smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Did you think keeping me was going to be easy, Doctor?" he asks softly. "Safe? Nice? Did you think having me with you would mend your poor, lonely, damaged hearts? It won't. Keeping me will be misery. It will be difficult, and trying, and it will always, Doctor, be difficult and trying."
"I know," the Doctor whispers. "I don't care."
"Liar," the Master says easily. "Round one to me."
"It's not a game!"
The Master laughs. "It's always a game."
Fun and painful and touching and haunting. Highly recommended.
LJ index post or at the AO3
Pairing: Doctor/Master (Ten/Simm!Master), Martha Jones, Jack Harkness, Torchwood characters
Length: 50,553
Author on LJ:
ariastarAuthor Website: Master Fic List, or at the AO3
Why this must be read:
Written after "The Last of the Time Lords," this virtual season swiftly became a classic of the fandom. As Martha and Jack return to their lives and loved ones after the Year That Never Was, and find evidence of a disturbing conspiracy connected to Lucy Saxon, the Doctor and the Master have dysfunctional adventures in time and space and manage, somehow, not to destroy each other or the universe completely.
"You had no right," the Doctor says, soft and furious.
"But Doctor," the Master says, shaking his head as though displeased with a slow pupil, "you'd already seen the aftermath. This always happened. That's the beauty of time travel, isn't it? You get to witness the ends of things before their beginnings. Jack, for instance."
"That doesn't give you the right!"
"Oh, but I think it does. Or did you forget that you had the right to prompt Queen Victoria to create Torchwood? And the right to take down Harriet Jones at the very beginning of her Golden Age, because she used the agency you had such a hand in creating? Say what you like, Doctor. Everything you touch changes; you just don't have the guts to take the responsibility."
The Doctor doesn't hit him, because there are far more subtle and effective ways of dealing with the Master and he would never, ever hit anyone, but it's still a near thing.
"But we can still stop it," he says, a little frantic now, "We can put in fail-safes, we can--"
A hand on his chest, gentle. "Doctor. We can't. You know what happens." He tsks softly. "Oh, those pesky paradoxes."
He looks into the Master's face and sees, with a thrill of fear, that the Master understands him. He's never going to get used to this.
"Take me back to your prison," the Master says. "I've had my fun. Tie me up and punish me just like you promised you would."
The Doctor clenches his teeth, takes the Master's elbow in a grip like a gentle vice, and starts walking.
Ten minutes see them back on the TARDIS; the Doctor manacles the Master back against the pillar in the control room, but it's an empty gesture without substance. A check in the clothing bag turns up no further mood patches, for which the Doctor is silently grateful. He goes upstairs and hangs the Master's purchases neatly next to his own suits with slightly trembling hands. He goes back down and sits silently next to the Master. The Master watches him and he stares at the floor and can feel the Master's gaze like a laser, and can't find the words. He aches, so many feelings crowding into his mind that they all register only as a horrible dragging pain.
"Why?" he asks finally. "That's not your style at all-- killing off the population." He looks up at the Master and sees the absolute horrible understanding in the Master's face and says savagely, "That gives you nothing to rule over! What were you trying to accomplish?"
The Master smiles and reaches out, touching the Doctor's jaw very gently. The Doctor barely avoids flinching. "Doctor," the Master breathes, "don't you see? If you will not let me conquer worlds, the only thing I have to best is you."
He surges to his feet, shaking. The Master stares up at him calmly, the barest hint of a triumphant smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Did you think keeping me was going to be easy, Doctor?" he asks softly. "Safe? Nice? Did you think having me with you would mend your poor, lonely, damaged hearts? It won't. Keeping me will be misery. It will be difficult, and trying, and it will always, Doctor, be difficult and trying."
"I know," the Doctor whispers. "I don't care."
"Liar," the Master says easily. "Round one to me."
"It's not a game!"
The Master laughs. "It's always a game."
Fun and painful and touching and haunting. Highly recommended.
LJ index post or at the AO3