neverwouldiever | Valiantly Living On.

"Oh, yeah. Really accentuates my legs." The Doctor breathed out when Jack went about getting dressed, because that would help make this situation a bit less awkward. "I'd promise to knock next time, but something tells me you'd have told me to come in either way."

He moved backwards until he could lean against a wall, loosely folding his arms as he looked at the ground as if it was of particular interest. "So. I know, it's not exactly the most thrilling journey. And, you know, I have no idea when he... If..." He made a vague gesture that meant nothing at all and glanced up at Jack, a half-smile on his face. "You can leave any time you choose, you know that, right? I don't want to keep you from the people you care about."

Unpredictably, the first thing the Master heard was a very faint drumming, lulling him slowly back into consciousness and away from the comfortable dark he'd been enjoying for the past few days. His head was absolutely killing him, among other things, and his tired brain was trying desperately to work out everything it could before his eyes opened. Perhaps it wanted to prepare him for the shock of what he was going to see. Like the fact that despite his best efforts, he wasn't dead.

And all around him was the gentle hum of this decrypted old rust box of a TARDIS.

The Master jerked as his mind slowly woke up, hands straining against his cuffs. What was happening? This didn't make any sense. He was shot, he died. He definitely one hundred percent remembered dying. And he certainly didn't feel the very familiar pain of a gun shot wound when he was moving.

Hissing, the Master yanked harder against the cuffs, trying to force his hand through the loops. This was far from ideal.

The Doctor felt the Master's presence like a tingle at the back of his mind the moment he woke up and then the sound of his struggling a few seconds later brought certainty. He came out from under the TARDIS, his shirt stained from working on the console, but his smile was bright when he jumped to his feet and looked at the Master.

"You're awake!" Alive, he was alive. It had worked. The relief he felt was palpable. "Welcome back."

The Master's eyes widened with horror as it occurred to him just what was happening. Everything he didn't want was right there in front of him. On the TARDIS, with the Doctor and clearly a prisoner. The drums thudded in his head, making it hard to think as he renewed his struggle, no smile on his face as he tugged desperately, not caring if the cuffs were cutting into his wrists or not. This was a nightmare, an utter nightmare.

"What did you do?!"

"Calm down! Master, please! You're going to hurt yourself!" The Doctor's face had vanished quickly. It wasn't as if he had honestly expected anything else, but actually seeing the reaction was still enough to have an impact and a depressing one at that.

"Just calm down and we can talk about everything." He stepped a bit closer, crouching down to be on the Master's level. "I'm sorry."

The Master reacted as anyone might expect him too. He tried in vain to kick the Doctor in the face, leg straining to so much as reach the Doctor. What a total bastard, he completely cheated! He brought him back? "How dare you! You had no right to do that, you pathetic snivelling little creature!"

Straining forward and ignoring the pain searing through his wrists, he tried once against to reach anywhere near the Doctor. Maybe he could headbutt him? Or spit on him? Whatever the option. "There's nothing to talk about, I don't want to talk to you. You cheated."

That amount of struggling had the Doctor jump backwards, landing on his back. He stared at the Master for a while, swallowing thickly. He had expected this, at least he ought to have, and he knew that. But being faced with it...

"I couldn't lose you, Master. You knew that! That's why you..." Why he wanted to be lost. Yeah, this plan had been bound to go down badly with the Master. "I had to try. I knew there was a chance it would work and I had to try. What would I be without you?"

"I don't care," the Master sneered because he really didn't. The Doctor had done perfectly fine without him and suddenly he needed him? What absolute bullshit. He just didn't want to be alone. No, no, no, no, he couldn't just die like a normal person. No, he had to be dragged onto a TARDIS so they could spent their time in frosty silences. Oh what fun.

"You have absolutely no right to play God. Not with my life, it's mine for a reason," Seething, the Master dropped back, panting heavily from all the effort. Then, in a moment of perhaps weakness, he made a pained noise and sank back, writhing just a little. Maybe he could score some pity if he cowed down and a looked a little hurt. The Doctor was a sucker for those who were in need. "What did you do? It still hurts!"

At least he seemed calmer. Although, hurting? "...you shouldn't be hurting." The Doctor frowned, turning to the console to let the TARDIS scan the Master and check for that. That was very worrisome indeed. While he had his back turned to the Master he explained, thinking it better to not show his expression to him during that. No right to play God. The trouble was, the Doctor knew he was right. But he just hadn't been strong enough, not after all of this. Not with the Master actually dead in his arms.

"Jack. I. Er. I mean. I used the vortex energy. Just. Giving you a jump start. You fell into a healing coma after that."

"You used vortex energy... are you fucking insane?" the Master snapped, feeling so much anger tremble inside him. He wanted to lash out, to beat the Doctor down and force him to apologise. But instead he was stuck here, tied to a pillar with the freak life energy in him somewhere. It was revolting. "You used that freakshow to save me? Oh nice, rub a little salt in the wounds."

Slumping down, the Master knew he couldn't win this battle so the best he could do was stick to the plan. Jerking as if in a lot of pain, the Master bit off a whimper of pain, wishing he knew how to vomit on cue. Looking up at the moronic bastard that had done this to him, he offered his best pitiful look. The one he knew the Doctor wanted to see for whatever sad reason. "Doctor, I don't think I was meant to wake up -- one of my hearts feels weird."

"Well. It worked!" A poor defense, although at least it didn't break any laws. Mostly because no time lord had ever envisioned something so wrong could ever have happened in the first place. The Doctor felt frantic now, ruffling his hair while keeping an eye on the screens, but the information the TARDIS gathered so far wasn't helping with this. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that the Master was likely tricking him. But what if not? What if...

Before he could finish the thought he was on his knees besides him, hands on his shoulders and his ear pressed against his chest. "It sounds normal. Are you sure?" The concern in his voice was only too real. Raw, tender and ever so ready to be betrayed. He deserved no better.

This was too easy. Just far too easy. In a moment that the Doctor raised his head away from his chest, the Master slammed his own head forward, headbutting the Doctor as hard as he could. While the other Time Lord was stunned, he raised his knee and slammed it into the Doctor's stomach, extended it to kick off but not too far away. If he couldn't get himself free, he could at least get revenge.

"You sad little bastard, like I'd need your help. Like I'd ask for it. If my hearts stopped working, I think I'd weep for joy," the Master snarled, leaning forward and growling like a vicious animal. With a slightly unhinged laugh, he grinned in triumph and pushed himself forward, ignoring the way the metal of the cuffs sliced into him and focusing more on how close he was. "That was so easy! I barely had to try."

Should have seen it coming. But too late. Before he could quite find his footing, his head was already ringing and his stomach hurt badly enough he just felt like clutching it and curse. It was pretty much what he did, too, although he managed to roll on his back at least, thankfully just far enough out of the Master's reach. "I'm sorry, Master! I am! If I could find a way to make you happy that didn't involve hurting other, I would! You must know that. I would!"

He slowly tried getting up on his knees, rubbing his face. "Does it help? Kicking me around?"

"I don't want to hear it! Stop saying that, you always say that, I don't want your apologises," the Master yelled over him, trying to block the noise out. Every apology seemed to add to the volume of the drums, his desire to hurt the Doctor spiked at every pathetic grovelling attempt. "I think everyone can benefit from kicking you around. You deserve it after all, no one ever asked you to fix me. Or anyone. Stop forcing yourself into peoples lives."

Huffing angrily, everything inside him felt like bursting out but he simply had no outlet for it. A childish part of him wanted to stamp, flail and basically have a temper tantrum a toddle might have when grounded. Fortunately, even he had better control than that. "You deserve to suffer!"

Jack had been elsewhere in the TARDIS when he heard the unmistakable sounds of yelling and fighting. That could only mean one thing: That the Master was awake. Great. Without delay, Jack hurried back to the control room, pausing to assess the situation. The Doctor looked hurt, and, thankfully, the Master was still restrained.

"HEY!" He cried, rushing over to the Doctor's side to look him over. A quick glance-over was all he needed to see that there wasn't any major damage done. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the Master, eyes narrowed and nostrils flared. He'd been waiting for him to wake up and clenched his fists when he locked eyes with him.

"You." He sneered over at him, resisting every urge to kick him in the teeth for hurting the Doctor. "Finally decided to join us, did you?"

"I actually prefer it when you come in like this. You always look so tense. It's funny." Jack laughed a little and stood to fasten his trousers, listening to the Doctor speak.

He's not sure how he feels about always being let know that it was okay to leave. It almost felt like he was being passive-aggressively kicked out, and frankly, he was getting a little tired of the back and forth. His face looked tired when he turned to the Doctor finally. "Doctor, look," he began, running a hand through his hair. "If you want me to leave, please, just tell me. My feelings aren't made of glass, you know. If you want me to leave... just say so. I don't want to, of course. I don't want to leave you with that psychopath... but I know I'm hard to be around. It can't be easy for you, and I'm sorry for that."

Jack took the phone and looked it over. He'd seen Rose use it before, so he had no assumptions that it might not work. The Doctor was just good like that. He smiled.

"Don't worry about me getting lost. I've got a good memory." He winked and began dialing the number to Gwen's mobile, turning to start down toward the direction of the room the Doctor had let him use last time he was on board. "You're welcome to join me later if you like." Another wink for his half-invitation, not expecting him to even consider taking it for a moment before he began walking toward his room, the phone up to his ear.

With his head still reeling, the Doctor leaned back against Jack, lifting a hand to put on his shoulder. It was mostly to hold Jack back, really, although his head was still swimming and the impact had lowered his mental shields, making the Master's presence all the more pronounced. He could feel his anger and that hurt more than his stomach, even though that was sure to bruise.

"It's alright. He's just upset." Just wasn't the right word and neither was upset, not strong enough. He swallowed and looked at the Master, his words sinking in. "Maybe I do deserve it. I'm not saying I don't. But I don't regret saving you. I could never regret that."

The Master stopped straining the moment he saw Jack, dropping back with a completely confused expression on his face. The freak. He brought the freak? Oh for the love of Rassilon, since when did the Doctor even like the bloody freak of nature, this was-- wait. Hold on. With a frown, the Master looked beyond Jack to the Doctor. "Vortex energy? You fixed me -- Oh for fuck sake, you used him to save me."

Yes, using the word 'use' because frankly, he doubted this was an act of generosity. Lord, he felt repulsive just knowing he had that freaks energy in him. "I'm not upset Doctor, oh no, not at all. I'm furious. And you really do deserve whatever you get."

"It's not like that!" Tense, yes. He was definitely tense. But then, he always was these days, waiting for the Master to wake up and dreading it, wanting to get out of here, have something to do, but not risking it because of the Master and always surrounded by the guilt he felt over using Jack, over everything related to Jack. The Doctor sighed in frustration, running his fingers through his hair and tugging on the ends while taking a few steps further into the room.

"It's not like that at all. I mean, yes, you're..." He moved his hand vaguely. "You and it's always... But I can deal with that. I can!" Some days it drove him crazy, but he was getting more used to it now, fighting his very instincts. "The thing is just... I don't know where we're going. We're going nowhere. I'm just waiting. Just waiting for him and..." He trailed off, head turning to the side as he rubbed his face. Finally he managed to look at Jack again, smiling in the way that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm glad I'm not alone."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly happy about it, either." For the most part, he was over it, and had discussed it at length with the Doctor already. "If it were up to me, you'd be at the bottom of a ravine somewhere getting pulled apart by dogs. But the Doctor is better than me, and you should be damn thankful he decided to share some shred of mercy with you."

Jack was somewhat thankful that the Doctor was holding him back, however subtle the insistence was. "Dying just to spite him... that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of."

The Doctor's hand tightened a bit on Jack's shoulder, not exactly sure himself whether it was because he wanted the support or because he wanted to make sure Jack didn't just lunge at the Master. He knew how good the other time lord could be at provoking and there was no doubt that he had had the time to find out about Jack's weak spots.

"I'm sorry." The apology wasn't empty and meant for them both, for using Jack, for forcing the Master to be alive, to be with him, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. He swallowed and rubbed his face, carefully feeling for any swelling. "You would have done the same, Master. You'd have done anything if I'd tried dying on you."

"Thankful that he took what I wanted from me, using you in the process? To ensure the murderer and torturer you were locked with for a year survived. I should be glad of that? Are you glad of that? Being used to save me? This wasn't mercy, Freak. It was dependence. He doesn't even like me, I'm just the last one standing," the Master reasoned because it wasn't anything he was feeling glad over. He could save himself if he wanted to be saved. And he really didn't need the Doctor. "And I didn't die in spite, I was dying anyway. Did you forget how my wife shot me or do you remember it as a suicide?"

Rolling his eyes, the Master struggled to his feet, pushing himself up so he could stand to look at them. Sitting on the floor was just annoying.

"Doctor, I try to kill you every time I see you. Do you really think that I do that just to save your life a little bit later on?" There was a very loud and annoyed sigh. "I can't believe I'm alive and stuck in this ship, trying to reason with the two dumbest idiots in the universe. Were either of you paying attention the last year or what?"

"You could have survived it if you'd wanted." Jack was already tired of him, and he wasn't hearing any of it. Even the insulting name didn't bother him any more, since he'd heard it so many times before. "The fact remains that you are alive now thanks to him, which means that I'm sure you'll go back to scheming and trying to think of ways to kill him just like your little black hearts desire."

Jack too rose to his feet, refusing to cow to the Master any longer. He was free, he was angry, and hopefully just a little intimidating. "You've been rude to the Doctor, and I think you should apologise."

"I paid attention." Which meant that he could bring up the fact that he'd not been killed at any point there. Which was really quite telling, especially coupled with a lot of other examples he could give, but evidence wasn't what the Master wanted to hear right now.

Here he was in the middle between Jack and the Master and he already knew that this had been a horrible idea. Alright, perhaps wisest to deal with the one who wasn't restrained first, especially since he was also more likely to listen to him. The Doctor got up and turned to Jack, ignoring how his stomach cramped when he unfurled.

"I have wronged him, Jack, from his perspective. He just says the truth." In a rude fashion, admittedly.

Valiantly Living On.

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Everyone's favourite has awoken!

Yay!

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