Hello littluns, still here. I had a school formal last night and spent all night dancing (and my feet still hurt) But I decided you should get another fic today for being so patient during my time away (still sorry) so here is part two of Stockholm. Part one can be found Here. Now I’ve had a couple people telling me how well I portrayed the Master, and I really appreciate messages like that, they make me really happy (😁) but from here onward is what I was a little worried about with him. Because I decided on a little twist in the story line and I hope you don’t mind, I think the Master may be a little OOC (or a lot) but I hope you still like it.
Okay, enough with my insecure rambling and on with the story.
Word count:3670 (Now you see why I made it multiple parts?)
Allons-y!
Edit: Ending One Here
Ending Two Here
(Wow that one’s big...)
Six months
When your door opened you were expecting the usual rough grab of the men who came by every day. What you saw instead surprised you. The Master walked into your room, dropping a chair in front of where you sat on your bed. The door swung shut behind him and he sat down in front of you. You shifted uncomfortably, wondering what might have prompted this turn of events. His face was expressionless as he held his hand out expectantly.
“Let me see your wrist” He commanded more than asked. You wrist had healed the first time around, but it still ached and never felt right and you had a feeling it hadn’t been healed correctly. It broke all over again only yesterday and you were still holding it tight to your chest like the first time. Like you’d been doing practically the whole time you’d been here.
The Master got impatient and started making grabby motions again until you slowly extended your wrist to him. He took it in one surprisingly gentle hand and looked it over a moment before placing his other hand over the top of it. There was a barely concealed glow from between his hands that surrounded your wrist and numbed the pain with a warm pleasant tingling. Your question of what exactly he was doing was quickly shushed.
Only a moment later all the pain disappeared and the light dispersed. The Master let go of your wrist and leaned back in his chair to watch you as you rotated your wrist with a frown. All the pain was gone. It took another moment for you to fully realise your perpetually bruised body was completely free of pain. You looked up at him again. He simply stared back at you, like he was waiting to see what your reaction would be.
“Thank you” You told him quietly, feeling the need to. Even if the wounds you had were because of him in the first place. He simply nodded as if satisfied and stood, taking his chair with him as he left. You continued to frown at the door for a solid ten minutes afterwards, still wondering what exactly had just happened.
Seven months
After the day the Master healed you, whenever your door opened, it was him who walked in. The rough men from before were never again seen. The first few times he came consisted of awkwardness for both of you. Mostly silence periodically broken by a question or statement from him, which gained a response of three words maximum from you. The Master didn’t seem to get too visibly upset, to your surprise. He just sat there trying to think of what to say next until he eventually walked out.
This all changed the day he walked in with a small fold out table and a pack of cards. He set up the table silently and placed the deck of playing cards in the middle, sitting back in his chair to watch you expectantly. He explained a moment later that he’d heard ‘you humans’ played many different games with a single deck of cards. He then asked you show him one. You were confused, but hesitantly obliged. That was the day you taught the master to play Go Fish.
The next week or so whenever he showed up he played a card game with you. Some you’d taught him before then, some you decided to teach him at the time. He quickly took a liking to Snap and Solitaire as well as the first game you taught him, which seemed to be his all-time favourite. Some days you caught yourself even forgetting what he had done so wrong in the first place…
Eight months
The Master had been bringing more and more into your room and you now had a stack of board games in the corner along with a DVD player and movies. He would have someone go down to Earth to pick up whatever specific movie or show you wanted and he’d watch it with you one day. You’d stopped questioning why he was doing all this. It had started to seem actually… nice. The Master was different when it was just the two of you. More childish, more open, more, dare you say, human.
You still played card games of course, and you still played with that old pack he’d brought in the first day he was kind to you. The old black and white deck that must have come from someone’s home, because it certainly wasn’t new. This deck was likely the reason you saw the Master as you did now, a person. He was still a person.
Ten months
It was a month earlier that the Master took you out of your room with him. You wandered around the ship with him beside you a couple times. Mostly empty halls where no one else would see you. Eventually though, you slowly ventured into more open areas. You’d barely even noticed how Martha’s mother and sister stared at you in shock as you chatted casually with the Master.
Your bedroom had been changed to a larger one with a proper bathroom and a bigger bed with a real TV up on the wall. You had a feeling the Master spent more time in there with you than he did his own room. At least, you assumed he had his own room. Who knew, maybe he spent so much time in yours because he didn’t.
You were talking over some differences between growing up on your planet and his when you wandered into the main conference room. You simply followed the Master as he crossed the room and climbed the stairs to the desks, where he sorted through some papers as he spoke. Your eyes wandered around the room, faintly realizing it was the first time you’d been in there since the day the Master took control.
Your eyes landed on one person in particular and your breath caught in your throat. The Doctor was there, sitting on the floor and staring up at you. It took you a moment to decipher all the emotions in his expression. Confusion, horror, pain, sadness, a hint of denial. You realized in that moment that you’d almost forgotten that while you were in your room with your big fluffy bed and your TV and playing cards, the rest of your friends were out here sleeping on the floor and being tortured and, in the case of one, killed. But how could you not think about that?
The Doctor’s expression changed ever so slightly, the tiniest hint of hope shining through as he saw you thinking this over. Perhaps, he thought, he could fix you once the Master was taken care of. You weren’t all gone, and that was a good sign.
“(Y/N)? Are you listening?” The Master asked suddenly, glancing at you over his shoulder. Your gaze snapped back to his and you nodded.
“Yeah… Yeah I’m listening” You nodded, shooting him a smile. He smiled in return and, with the intended files in hand, led you back down the stairs and out of the room.
Eleven months
You spent more time thinking about the Doctor again. The Doctor and Jack and Martha and her family. All of them. They were trapped and you were wandering around the Valliant doing whatever you wanted. The Master was your enemy, wasn’t he? When did that change? When did you forget what he had done to the Earth? What he did to your friends? What he did to you? The Master was your enemy, he had to be.
So why did it feel like he was your only friend?
363 days
The Master had you called to his office when you woke up. It wasn’t a new thing, he’d realised you were good with files and technicalities even when he didn’t understand them himself. That’s right, he needed your help. He had expressed to you his frustration one day by going on a rant about how exactly he could get rid of paperwork forever. You’d helped him that day and ever since he would call for you if he was annoyed by the papers in front of him.
You walked into his office alone. The guards had been given specific instructions ages back that you were to be left alone, even wandering about the ship places others weren’t allowed. The Master had his head in his hands and was leaning over the table but he looked up quickly when you entered.
“(Y/N)” He called softly, holding a hand out. You gave him a small smile and walked over, taking his hand as you shifted to perch yourself on the table in front of him.
“You alright?” You asked just as quietly, eyeing the spot he kept rubbing at his temples. You were sure he was trusting you now because, besides the fact that you had complete freedom on board the Valliant, he had told you about what plagued him day after day. He told you about the drums and where they came from and how long they had been there, and you realised you were the first to see him vulnerable since he was a child.
The Master simply sighed, closing his eyes and dropping his head forward again. You gently nudged his chin up so he opened his eyes to look at you.
“Is there anything I can do?” You asked hopefully, your own hands going to soothe at his temples. When he closed his eyes this time he breathed out a sigh of relief.
“There is, um, one thing I was thinking to try” He admitted.
“What is it?” You asked gently, leaning down slightly to see him properly. “I’ll do anything to help you, Koschei” His eyes snapped to yours, staring at you with a kind of tenderness you were sure no one else had seen in him for centuries. You knew his academy name was a special kind of secret for someone in his position, and that just made his sharing it with you all the more special. All the more of a promise that, enemy or not, you were determined to keep.
The Master simply stared at you for a while, not once breaking his gaze from yours. Then his eyes flickered down to your lips and you felt your breath leave you suddenly. He moved slowly, searching your eyes as if looking for a reason not to continue. He must have found none, because slowly, tentatively, his lips met yours. The touch was like an electric spark in all the best ways and you quickly wrapped your arms around his neck so he couldn’t pull away too soon. He must have felt it too because his arms snaked around your waist and he tugged you down and suddenly you were off the table and on his lap.
When you pulled back you were both staring at the other in shock. You were surprised he would do something like that, while he looked almost mortified.
“(Y/N)” He spoke, swallowing thickly. “I… I Think I might…” Neither of you spoke for a long moment. “I think I might love you”
You weren’t sure what made you do it, but you did know that you did it fast. You jumped up and ran out of the room. You heard his chair hit the wall as he stood too quickly, but no footsteps followed. You hadn’t payed any attention to where you were going. You didn’t even notice passing Martha’s sister or the way she called to you almost worriedly as she saw you. You just kept running, twisting and turning through the halls as if trying to lose him, even though you had known he wasn’t following you.
When you eventually stopped you weren’t sure how long you had been running but you had known you were breathing far too quickly to be normal. But the halls still felt unsafe. You yanked open the nearest door, not paying attention to the fact that it was locked. Your bio scan was authorised on everything on this ship. You practically threw yourself inside before closing the door. You had your eyes shut tight as you slid down against the door. What had you done? That man was not a good man, you knew that. But some part of you didn’t care. Some part of you might even…
“(Y/N)?” You glanced up in confusion at first before your eyes widened.
“Jack” You whispered in surprise, your eyes filling with tears. “Oh, Jack, what did they do to you?”
“I’ve had worse” Jack forced a smile for you, though it looked pained. The man was standing in the middle of the room, both arms pulled over his head and chained to the walls in a way that could never be comfortable. His face was dirtied and there was blood on his… everywhere. You briefly wondered how many times he had died before pushing the painful thought away.
“Jack, I’ve done something bad” You whimpered softly. He watched you for a moment, that same look on his face he always had when he tried to comfort you.
“Is it about… him?” Jack guessed. So he knew. Of course he did. Your friends would’ve found some way to communicate in the almost year that had passed. They wouldn’t leave Jack out of the loop. You felt tears slipping free and you sniffed slightly.
“He kissed me” You said quickly. Better to do it before you change your mind.
“What?” Jack looked shocked, but his shock quickly changed to anger. “Oh, that…” He growled. “If I get my hands on him…”
“No, Jack” You shook your head. “It wasn’t like that. It… I let him” You admitted quietly. The room was silent for a long time and you were almost sure Jack would tell you what you had been dreading. You were on the Master’s side now. You had betrayed them. They would have to get rid of you if they ever stopped the Master.
“Do you love him?” Jack asked softly. You risked a glance at him but he was keeping all his thoughts and emotions hidden from his face. You couldn’t be sure what he was thinking at all. You had never imagined the Captain to be so unreadable to you. Then again, you’d never imagined any of this.
“I don’t know” You responded, almost inaudibly. Jack nodded slowly. “He said he loves me” You added. Jack simply nodded again. “What do I do Jack?” You asked desperately. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know… What have I done?” You stood, taking a step closer to him, you looked him over closer. You could see now all the little tears in his shirt where the blood came from. He been shot, how many times you weren’t sure. Hundreds maybe. “Look what he did to you” You breathed.
“How did you get that door open?” Jack asked, surprising you.
“It, um, the doors run on a bio scan” You responded slowly. “Guards and such are allowed into certain rooms while the Master can get into anything. My genetic code is on the same level as his. I can go anywhere” Jack stared at you for a moment before he smiled slowly. His smile turned to a full on grin and he started laughing. You frowned. “Why do you ask?” He motioned you closer and you obliged.
“We’ve got a plan” He whispered, making your eyes widen. “We’re gonna set a time in two days, and at that time, we’re all gonna contribute to a diversion down here, giving the girls and the Doctor the chance to get their hands on the screwdriver” You frowned.
“What’s the sonic gonna do?”
“Not the Doctor’s screwdriver” Jack shook his head. Your eyes widened as you realised.
“You can’t!” You cried without thinking. “I mean, the controls on his screwdriver are isomorphic. Bioscan” Jack simply smiled. “No” You shook your head. “Jack, I-“
“This might be our only chance to stop him” Jack reasoned. “(Y/N), you are the only one who can” The only one who can kill the Master. You stared at him as you mulled it over in your head. You weren’t sure anymore who that man was to you. But seeing Jack had reminded you of one thing you were sure of. That man had hurt your friends. He had killed half your race and forced the rest to hide in the shadows on their own planet. Decision made, your gaze hardened as you gave a single nod.
“I’ll be back for the exact time in two days” You stated simply. With that being said, you turned and left, trying to ignore Jack’s smile. In two days you were expected to kill a man. A little short notice, but it could’ve been worse. You remembered suddenly who that man was, and realised that it probably wasn’t possible for it to get worse.
365 days on the Valliant
It was today. You’d spent the last two days in your room and the Master hadn’t sent for you. It was like you were both too scared to do anything. Which meant the first interaction you’d have with him since kissing him would be…
Anyway, you woke up around ten on the exact day one year after the world went to hell. You got dressed in what looked like your usual attire. But there was something only you knew about these clothes. They were the only clothes on board the Valliant that you had gotten from the Tardis. Most of your clothes a year ago were from the lovely machine’s wardrobe, and it hurt you more than you let on to see her so cruelly used last time you walked in those beautiful blue doors. One more reason to tell yourself you were doing the right thing.
The clothes you wore for the first time in a year, you wore like a symbol. A promise to yourself that after today, everything would return to the way it was. You would return to the healthy Tardis with the young-looking Doctor and Jack without blood or bullet holes and Martha with you all again. After today it would all be over, and the last year would seem like just a bad dream. You took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to convince yourself that it was what you wanted.
You purposely focussed on the body count, the number of holes in Jack’s shirt, the years on the Doctor’s face, the nights Martha had spent alone. Not the seasons of all your favourite shows on a portable DVD player or the ever-growing scoresheet which showed your board game superiority or the pack of cards still in your pocket now. Certainly not.
With another deep breath you ventured out of your room and straight towards Jack’s cell. You were almost there when you passed Martha’s sister in the hall. She glanced at you and locked her eyes instantly onto yours. Out of the corner of your eye you saw her shift her grip on the silver tray to rest only three fingers on the metal. You shot her a quick wink and she continued on her way silently. So now you knew what time it would be at. It was already one, as you had spent far too much time in your own thoughts before leaving your room.
You ended up sitting on the floor in one of the halls, shuffling your playing cards silently as you watched the clock. You had done that quite a bit since you’d gotten them, so you knew it wasn’t suspicious in the slightest to the occasional guard that passed. Sooner than you’d hoped, it was five minutes to three. Knowing you couldn’t wait any longer, you stood, making your way to the main conference room where everything began. You looked to the clock across the room, waiting by the door where the Master couldn’t see you until the clock hit three and an alarm blared. The Master stood quickly, moving up to the desks as he looked over the monitors confusedly.
As he did this he didn’t notice Martha’s sister grabbing his jacket off the table, or Martha’s mother pulling the metal device from it’s pocket, or that you stepped into the room in time to catch it as it was tossed your way. But he looked up to see you standing in the middle of the room, pointing his own weapon at him. The only other person who could possibly use it was completely ready to use it to kill him. He looked shocked, betrayed, hurt even. You tried to ignore his expression, moving so you held the screwdriver with both hands.
“I can do it” You threatened simply. There was a moment of silence.
“Then do it” Came the almost defeated response. You continued to keep the screwdriver pointing at him even as you tried to hide the shake of your hands. You steeled yourself when you felt your expression threaten to change.
Nothing happened.
Every person in the room seemed to be holding their breath. Everyone staring at you while you stared at only one. Suddenly, your hands dropped to your side and you shook your head slowly.
“I can’t” You whispered sadly. The Master watched you a moment before descending the stairs and walking over to you, his pace never faltering or picking up speed. He stopped right in front of you and looked at you another moment before he held his hand out expectantly. Your eyes flickered down to his hand before they went back to his own eyes. You swallowed thickly before reaching a decision. You placed the laser screwdriver gently back into his hand and he turned to leave the room, snatching his jacket back as he left.
You stood in your spot silently for another moment, ignoring the stares from every direction, before leaving yourself.
