neverwouldiever | Valiantly Living On.

The Doctor looked over his shoulder back at Jack, raising one eyebrow meaningfully while he got out his sonic screwdriver. No, he didn't trust the Master, but he'd give it a shot and he was sure Jack was ready either way. He trusted him.

"Good. I don't want this to get any more painful for anyone." With that he turned back and walked around the pillar, aiming the screwdriver at the Master's cuffed hands and unlocking first one and then the other. Now to see what he'd do.

Jack looked somewhat disappointed when the Doctor decided to comply with the Master's request. That hadn't been what Jack meant at all! Still, here he was, being released, much to Jack's surprise.

"Wait, what? Are you serious?" Jack watched the Master closely, ready to pounce on him at even the slightest twitch toward the TARDIS doors or console. Did he seriously trust the Master not to escape after everything he just pulled to get his weapons off him?! Sometimes, Jack thought, the Doctor could be very, very stupid.

The Master pulled his hands forward, trying not to smile too big as he rubbed his cuffs. He'd cut into his flesh fighting and there was a track of blood on his arm, going onto his shirt's cuffs. What a pain, blood took forever to get out. The Master looked between them both and, hands in the air in a neutral manner, he actually started to comply, walking towards the corridor trying to look as innocent as he could. "This way? I assume. You know those cuffs were so brutish. Next time ask," See, look, so well behaved. And, of course, once it looked like both of them almost even slightly seemed to believe him, that was when he ruined it.

Slamming into the Doctor as hard as he could, he knocked him off his feet and made a mad desperate dash for the door. His legs pumped as hard as they could as he valiantly managed to slide into door, hastily fiddling with the handles and --

Oh shit. Locked. Spinning around, he flung his fist out, assuming Jack would be coming for him and hoping he at least landed a hit before he was tackle down.

The Doctor landed on the floor, not especially shocked at the development overall. He quickly tried to get back up, smiling when he saw that the doors wouldn't open. Well, there was always someone who came through for him. "Thanks, old girl."

Everything was happening very quickly, but the Doctor's next move was toward the console, so he could stop the Master from messing with it should he intend to.

The Master was right, Jack was heading for him within seconds, and had full expectations to slam him against the unbudging TARDIS doors to knock him down, but was met with the Master's fist instead. It didn't do much to stop him, but he was somewhat dazed when he slammed his shoulder hard into the Master, sending him crashing into the doors he so desperately had tried to escape through.

With his attack complete, he struggled to pull the Master's hands behind him and yank them upward as hard as he could, just so he could bind them together with the Doctor's tie. "You are stubborn, aren't you? Stubborn and stupid."

That was true, the Master really was stubborn. And even if he'd basically been smacked into the doors very hard by Jack's shoulders, effectively winding him very painfully and once again slamming his head into something, he still struggled and fought every inch of the way, managing to kick Jack in the shins as he tried to get away, arms unable to do much than pull against the tie, trying to slip free or break out. Once they were successfully bounce, the Master cried out in frustration.

"You can't do this! It's not fair, you can't!" The Master never knew how to react to losing, it was such a hard concept to grasp and yet it happened so often to him that he should have adjusted by now. And yet. "I'm not your prisoner, you have no right to lock me up! We're the last ones, you can't just stick me somewhere like a collectable!"

Looking at the Doctor, he growled in anger, his pride and his body now very much wounded. "Get your freak off me. Now!"

"I don't want to lock you up. I'll let you out when I can trust you enough." Hitting him where it hurt, of course. The last ones. The Doctor leaned back against the console, clutching it hard enough to turn his knuckles white. He bit down on his lower lip and then spoke again, his voice quiet but insistent. "You know that's not the way I want to do this. We are better than this. All we have is..." He broke off and shook his head. "Please, Master. Please, just stay." Stay with him, stay sane, stay alive.

He shook his head sadly and pushed away from the console, heading toward the corridor the Master had turned to before. "Come, Jack. I'm sorry."

Jack had dealt with whiny prisoners before, and instead of replying to him, he just yanked his wrists up his back and kicked him in the heels to get him walking forward. "You can apologise to me later once we've got the boy tucked in," he said flatly. His patience was paper thin by now, held together only by the Doctor's presence. He was certain that had he been left to take care of the Master by himself, that he'd have removed at least three or four of his teeth by now.

"Kick me one more time and I'll pull all your skin off. And you know I can do it too, you've seen first hand," the Master snarled angrily as he stumbled along, fighting the whole time because he refused to give in and willingly be a prisoner. He was a Time Lord, they weren't locked away in rooms, they were supposed to be out in the universe. He shouldn't even be punished for killing those apes, he had the right to! They weren't worth anything more alive than dead.

"And don't call me a boy," the Master snapped, trying once more in vain to turn around. He skidded his feet to a halt the best he could, trying to use his shoulder to force Jack back. Maybe he could still convince the Doctor not to do this? He couldn't seriously want to lock him away! That wasn't fair. "Doctor, you can't be serious. This is insane! I'm not your prisoner, you're not a jailer either. No one really died so what does it matter? The year didn't count!"

"I'm not locking you up as punishment. You're right, I'm not a jailer. But I can't trust you not to hurt someone again, so I'll have to keep you from it." The Doctor smiled, if it could be called that. It certainly didn't reach his eyes. "I hope I can trust you enough to at least let you roam about the TARDIS freely soon."

It was true, actually, as idealistic and naive as it sounded. The way his hearts broke when the Master had been dead in his arms... He never wanted to feel like that again. The Doctor stopped next to a door and opened it for the Master and Jack, catching Jack's eyes. He didn't say anything, but the 'we can talk later' was definitely there. Then he turned to actually look into the room and his eyes widened, he quickly shut the door again. It had been about the size of a broom closet with no furniture and absolute darkness.

"Come on, old girl. Don't be petty." He waited a few moments, then opened the door again, this time peering in first. "Right, alright. There we go then."

This time the room was considerably bigger and there was a bed, bookshelves and even a desk and chair, as well as a door leading somewhere, presumably a bathroom.

Once the room was finished assembling itself, Jack peered over and into it. It was actually fairly nice. Nicer than anything he'd have given his prisoners in Cardiff, anyway. Especially the homicidal ones. He didn't even need the order to be given before Jack was untying the knots he'd done in the Master's bindings and shoving him toward the room. No reason to be gentle. After all, he wasn't exactly a "guest". Even the TARDIS thought so. That thought actually made him smile a little.

"You've practically got your own little flat here. Not bad." he said. Jack wasn't happy that the Master had been given so much when he hardly thought he deserved even the bed to sleep on.

The Master stumbled into the room, seething with anger and wishing he could escape and just go. He didn't want to be in this room, he didn't want to hear the Doctor talk down to him and he certainly didn't want to look at that freak any more. The lamp sitting on the soon met an unfortunate and ugly end when the Master threw it in the Doctor direction, unfortunately missing him entirely and just landing in the hallway, dented and half broken.

"I won't stay in here, I'm not your prisoner," the Master glared at the room, annoyed he'd missed the Doctor with his lamp. It didn't even match the décor of the room! "You're going to have to let me out eventually, I'm not just going to stay here."

The Doctor had held still when the lamp was thrown, watching the Master have his tantrum in silence. He parted his lips to say something, but finally he just shook his head and, without another word, shut the door. He used his screwdriver to lock it before turning and gathering up the lamp, considering it and then heading back down the hallway.

"Broken. But I think I can fix it." He was talking about the lamp. Mostly.

Jack frowned at the lamp, folding his arms and shaking his head. "I told you this was a bad idea," he said with a sullen voice. "I just hope you don't end up regretting it."

Jack reached out and pat the Doctor on the shoulder before turning to walk toward his room to sort out his thoughts. What a disaster.

Valiantly Living On.

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