The Master woke up slow and groggy. He was sitting in a well cushioned chair in a room so small it could have been a closet. He tried to stand, but his body didn't respond. His eyes darted down, but there were no visible restraints. He tugged again, and this time his shoulder twitched, but nothing else did.
Behind him a door hissed open. The Master dropped his head, closed his eyes, and forced himself to take even breaths.
"You shouldn't have opened the exhibit, you don't even know what it is!" A female hissed.
"It's a living specimen! An alien! What else do I need to know? Just do your job, make sure he isn't going to die on me, and move on. This is far too valuable an opportunity to pass up. You know better than anyone that the living ones draw the most revenue." He had a high voice, but the speaker was definitely male.
There was a sigh from the female, and then a soft mechanical whirr.
"A definite skull fracture," she said after a time.
Ah, the Master thought, that explains the pain.
"Definitely male. And two hearts, interesting. Not a human after all, you'll have to change the plaque."
"If it's not a human, what is it?"
"There can't be many options... though what an ugly species to replicate. I'll look into it. Ah," she said, "look at the readings. It's awake."
The Master frowned. He hadn't meant to let them know that yet. But there was no point in denying it once called out. He opened his eyes, glaring at the two beings in the room with him.
"How alert it looks. Quite a durable little fellow, isn't it?" The male grinned, reaching forward to trace a finger through the Master's hair and press carefully at the wound. The Master flinched at the touch. The man smiled apologetically at him and pulled away. He was short and stocky, his burnt orange skin all but glowing under the light, with dark swirls of blue tattoos extenuating his features. "The wound looks like it's already starting to close up."
The female shrugged. "Maybe it heals quickly. That could be good for your stock portfolio."
"Where did you say they found it?" He raised a finger and tracked it in front of the Master's face. He frowned when the Master's eyes didn't follow. He snapped his fingers, trying to draw the Master's attention, but the Master refused. "Hm. It might be broken."
"It was found one of the subbasements. We're not entirely sure how it entered, however a herd of Zan'halligar went missing as well."
"Blasted things have been nothing but trouble since I got them. Tell the boys to sort it out, and for the gods sake, figure out how our new specimen broke in. Can't have it escaping again, can we? When do you think it'll be ready for exhibition?"
"As long as you don't push it, it should be ready today."
"What do you think about that, little guy?" The man asked, moving closer to the Master's chair. "Are you excited? Are you ready?"
The Master glared at him. His high pitched, sing song voice was grating on his nerves. He couldn't move much, but when the man was in range he lunged, biting as hard as he could onto his forearm. The man jerked back with a scream, and in moments the female was there, jabbing a needle into the meat of the Master's arm.
The Master snarled at her and tried to force his himself out of whatever it was restraining him. He made it a few inches before he was drawn back down. The woman watched him with horror and drew another dose, jabbing him again. The Master knew whatever it was had to be a sedative, but all it served to do was make him dizzy. The woman took advantage of his disorientation to strap a clear, plastic mask over his face that would keep his teeth from injuring anyone further.
"Perhaps not as ready as you'd hoped," she panted, watching the Master distrustfully.
The Master did his best to look menacing while swaying in his chair.
"Shall I give him another?" She asked.
"No, he seems calm now. We don't want it to start associating us with bad ideas, after all, it seems to be a viscous, and rather primitive creature. It doesn't know what it's doing is bad. Now, I want a full work up. Look into how much of that drug you'll need to use next time. And it looks a bit malnourished so see if you can figure out what it eats. And find me the species name, gods damn it."
The Master ignored the man in favor of the woman, whose face had become the picture of annoyance while her companion became more demanding. Her hands moved deliberately despite the expression, various instruments finding their way to her hands and out again, recording his vitals information into a scanner at her wrist.
The man with her pulled a slender pocket watch from an internal pocket and checked the time. "My dear, do your magic, get the cell set up, and message me later with the details."
The woman hummed, but didn't look up until the door shut behind him. "I'm Maggie, and that was Polaris. And yes, he's always like that. You'll learn to tune it out eventually." She patted his immobile wrist and stood. "I just need a blood sample and we'll be set. I don't suppose you'll make my life easier and just tell me what you are? Yeah? For me? Come now, it'll be good to have a friend inside this place, right? No? How about your name then? Hm... I wonder if you can speak then, or if you're more inclined for roaring like some kind of great cat." She smiled and pet his face. "Well. We'll find something to call you in any case. Welcome to hell."
The needle entered his skin smoothly and drew a small quantity of blood. The Master watched the orange tinted liquid curiously. If Maggie only knew how valuable the vial she held was... he was half tempted to tell her just to watch the resulting chaos, but at the moment he was a veritable blood bank, and the idea of being drained, nursed back to health, and then drained again held no appeal.
Blood in hand Maggie smiled at him and left. The door closed softly behind her, and the heavy sound of a lock activating filled the room. He had only a moment in silence when the whole room shuddered, and then he was moving as the chair and the wall behind him turned and shifted until he faced another wall, this one made of glass.
The second the rotation halted it felt as though a great weight lifted, and he lunged out of the chair. His limbs however were unresponsive, resulting with him sprawled across the ground.
He lay there panting for a few seconds before his hands reached for the mask, undoing the simple locking mechanism. He tossed it hard across the room and pushed himself up. The movement was slow and cautious, but he fell back all the same, the change in orientation still too much for his addled mind to tolerate. He groaned and settled on his side, doing his best to keep from vomiting. When he could, he opened his eyes.
Two children and what could only be their parents stared back at him from the other side of the glass. The Master bared his teeth at them, but that only seemed to interest them further. The kids pressed grubby hands to the glass barrier and tapped on the glass. The Master cursed and shoved himself across the floor until he curled in the darkness under what passed as his bed. He watched the family move to keep him in their sights, but he refused to move again until they grew bored with him and moved on.
He hadn't realized how much the light had hurt his eyes until that moment, and he relaxed in the darkness, welcoming it as he took in the new room. It was larger than the last, though almost as sparse. The walls were painted with scenes of Earth, and the floor had a few fake rocks formed in the ground to make it look like packed dirt, though the rough texture and cold feeling made him imagine it was something more akin to cement. A small divider blocked off one corner, that the Master assumed was a bathroom. From what he could see there was a grating in the wall, but it was sealed from the outside. The only other distinctive formation was the cot he was lying beneath and the chair he'd arrived in. The cot was just wide enough for him to lie flat on, and quite a bit longer. It didn't look overly comfortable, but the Master didn't plan on being there long enough for that to matter. The chair he'd arrived in was curiously devoid of restraints and looked completely out of place with its plush red cushions and ornate gold work. It held the Master's attention longer than anything else did.
Aside from that, there was nothing. No source of food, nor trustworthy water, nor anything that could be used as an outlet for his anger. It was interesting that as primitive as they thought him to be, no one had left him with any source of entertainment. Even a ball would have been welcome at this point. Then again, perhaps that was wise on their part. There was nothing he could even begin to fashion into a weapon.
Another group moved in front of his glass wall, and the Master groaned. He pushed back further until his back touched the wall and glared until they moved on as well. He wanted to remain there, but his stomach rolling forced him out. He still couldn't stand, so he crawled to the alcove and clung to the toilet while he emptied his stomach, his head pounding uncomfortably with him. When he felt he could do no more he slumped to the side and pressed himself against the wall in a way he knew would make him invisible to anyone outside. His eyes drooped, and while he knew sleeping with a head wound was bad he couldn't find it in himself to care.
It had only been moments, his internal clock confirmed, when he woke up. Another electric jolt reminded him why. It was coming from the wall itself, and the Master knew it was to drive him back out where he could be seen. He closed his eyes anyway and resisted the pain as it grew in intensity, blocking out the pain receptors all along his back and side. The work was exhausting, and the remnants of the drug in his system were begging him to sleep. In the end he caved and moved out into the cell, slowly dragging himself forward until he could collapse beneath the dark shelter beneath the bed, carefully away from the wall.
The Doctor wasn't actually sure how it happened.
They'd been freeing some endangered Zan'halligar from an underground bunker where it seemed an over enthused hunter had been keeping them for a special occasion. That sounded too much like an excuse for dinner, so a rescue mission had been launched. There'd been a few explosions as there always were whenever the Master helped, and a lot of running as there always was when he helped, and then, just as they'd been about to rush to break through the final barrier to the surface, they'd been separated. Now here he was, safe in the TARDIS with half a dozen Zan'halligar around him, and no Master by his side.
The Doctor wasn't overly concerned. The Master was more than capable of taking care of himself, and he always turned up sooner or later. His fingers flew over the controls, pulling up the proper planet and an approximation of the right time period. His hand hovered over the final switch, ready to throw them out into the cosmos.
He frowned at the display. The Master was still missing, and the adventure would be far less fun without him. He drummed his fingers on the consul trying to tell himself what he was feeling was impatience. The TARDIS hummed questioningly and a Zan'halligar brushed against his hand.
"Right. Exactly. Of course. You lot make yourselves at home," the Doctor said, waving the Zan'halligar further into the depths of the TARDIS. "We'll be away shortly. Any moment. Any second. It'll just be a bit longer."
He spun away from the consul and back to the door, poking his head out into the air of the planet. He could feel the Master somewhere down below the surface and moving further away with each passing second, but he had no reason to be down there any more, and it wasn't like him to linger without the Doctor by his side. At least not any more. He closed his eyes and listened for the echo of explosions, but the building was oddly silent. Well. Aside from the shouts of men in the chaos they'd just caused in any case.
"Hey!"
The Doctor turned and saw a dozen or so guards rounding the far corner, racing towards him. And the Doctor did what he did best. He ran.
The TARDIS disappeared, and materialized on the Zan'halligar's home planet. He saw his passengers safely off and then he was inside and rushing to the controls, taking off into the void. The TARDIS whirled curiously, but the Doctor didn't have time to explain. He needed a plan. And back up.
The Master had grown weary of hiding beneath a bed. It felt far too childish for a being such as he. He pushed out, and carefully took his feet, while looking as confident and composed as he could. He stretched his arms wide, doing his best to appear completely bored and unconcerned with the situation.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed various beings gathering before the glass wall, watching him now that he was visible. They represented a wide array of aliens from nearby planets. He even recognized a few humans among them. The Master scowled at them and stalked to the glass. He smirked triumphantly when the assorted beings took several hurried steps back, but once he reached the limit of his ability to move forward they hurried back, unafraid. A small girl pressed against the glass and started tapping.
The Master snarled at the girl, looming over her. She stuck her fingers in her mouth and watched in fascination. There was a flash of light and the Master looked up to see the child's mother taking a picture.
The Master rested an arm against the glass and glowered at her, though it did nothing to dissuade her. She raised her camera and snapped another picture.
He pushed away from the window in disgust and stormed over to the hidden door, banging a fist sharply on the grating, and then throwing his shoulder against it when no one arrived. He gave up on that quickly. The door was far too thick to be budged. He stormed back out into his cage, pacing the room with short quick steps. With every turn more people gathered to watch him, which did nothing more than to incite his wrath. He tried to take it out on the room. His fists pounded against the walls until his knuckles bruised, and yet the glass was left with little more than a scratch.
There was now a sizable crowd watching him, with cameras flashing every few seconds. The Master bared his teeth and rounded on them. He wanted to throw something. He wanted to kill someone. "You think this is amusing? You think you're safe?" His voice echoed in the small room, but he doubted there was anyone that could hear him.
His fist clenched and he felt the hatred in his mind bubble, but he stopped himself from throwing his mind against them. He was not an honorable man by any means, but it was currently in his best interests to keep certain promises. He smirked. Especially when there were better targets more deserving of his wrath. He turned neatly on his heel and collapsed on the bed.
He tried to calm himself. Killing them would serve nothing. They weren't the ones keeping him in this cage. He needed to find the people in charge.
"Okay, what's the plan?" Jack asked.
The Doctor grinned and threw the controls bringing them to land inside the compound. "Not much of a plan, really. We get him out."
"Of course...should be simple enough," Jack said, faintly. The Doctor frowned at him, but Jack smiled cheerfully at the look and lined up beside him.
The Doctor opened the door slowly and poked his head out, peering down the revealed hallway. He hadn't brought the TARDIS back to its original position, he'd steered her closer to the strong mental presence he'd felt, down deep in the bottom of the structure. Up top there'd been all manner of personal milling around, but down below he imagined it'd be mostly empty. He frowned and opened the door fully, stepping out into the filtered artificial light. The place was packed. And not with soldiers, but with civilians. Families, children, beings of all manner of species, and all of them were moving from glass wall to glass wall, looking at whatever was held within.
Jack stepped out beside him, and the Doctor made sure to close the door tightly behind them. People milled around them, some stopping to look at the TARDIS as though it was some exhibit, though none paid them much mind.
"Where are we?" Jack asked.
"Dunno, let's find out," the Doctor said, grabbing the sleeve of a man walking by, "where are we exactly?"
"What? How could you not know? This place is more expensive than my last car payment!" The man glared and directed his family around them.
"Well, that certainly didn't answer anything," Jack said.
The Doctor shrugged, and together they moved forward to the nearest glass wall. There was an engraved stone within, depicting the fall of the seventh world of Erooc. They moved to the next glass section, where a beautiful oil painting hung suspended between two modulators. "A museum of some sort then."
Jack frowned as he was shoved out of the way by several overly enthused children. "How domestic. For some reason I was expecting more guards."
"There are more around," the Doctor grumbled defensively.
"Sure there are," Jack said. "Hundreds. Thousands even. I've no idea how we're going to get in."
"Shut it."
They moved down the hall quietly, stopping to look into each of the glass displays they passed. Each was different. One had a string of diamonds that could have passed for the brand known to Earth, had this specific strand not been to the digestive track of a species known only to the deepest oceans of Oanea. It angered the Doctor to see them; they were fatal to remove. The next had a naa'el. A toy often given to new born children of a psychic nature. He glanced over to find Jack analyzing a yard of zakaleehna that was casting rainbows under the light.
"Someone's keeping score," the Doctor mused.
"Not a good thing I take it."
"With a private collector it seldom is."
"Sir!" A voice shouted, slightly muffled in the noise.
"Ah, here they come," the Doctor turned around and watched a small group of men and women in tactical gear round a corner.
"Your tickets, please," a sever looking man said. He wasn't brandishing a gun, but the Doctor could see one clearly lined beneath his coat.
"Of course!" The Doctor said. He pulled out his psychic paper with a flourish and presented it to the guard.
The lead guard inspected it carefully. "You're a specialist?"
"Naturally," the Doctor said. "And this is my assistant. We're going to need to talk to whoever is in charge."
The guards exchanged careful looks. "That... isn't possible without an appointment."
Jack flashed a charming smile. "There must be some way to sort this out."
The Doctor rolled his eyes, but the man in charge blushed. Jack winked and insinuated himself into the guard's space, while making eyes at two of the women, and smiling at the other men. He only needed minutes before the guards turned, escorting them to the back. Jack fell back in step with the Doctor, a large lecherous grin on his face. "Guess how many numbers I got?"
"Oh, Jack," the Doctor whined, pulling a horrified face. "Don't tell me these things. It's bad enough hearing it..."
"What?" Jack laughed. "I can't get the visual of you and that lunatic out of my mind, and you're lecturing me?"
"At least you never have to hear me flirting. I mean if you could hear me -"
"No! Stop right there, Doctor, I'm warning you."
"See? Do you think I like it?"
"Oh, come now, it isn't anywhere near the same! I have an incredibly vivid imagination, I'll have you know, if you think there's any chance I can know any details and not keep myself from participating -"
"You are not participating, Jack."
"Exactly. Because I don't know details."
The Doctor sighed.
Away from the crowds and behind locked doors the glass walls had disappeared. Now there were thick, heavy, metal doors. There weren't any obvious locks. No places for keys or cards, no voice or eye encryptors. Beside each there was a screen with a video feed of whatever lie within. The soldiers moved ahead without a glance at the doors around them. The Doctor and Jack moved closer as silently and subtly as they could, cataloging everything they passed. There didn't appear to be any reason to the way things were organized. They didn't see the Master, but considering the things they were passing it was likely he wasn't even in this wing.
Eventually the hallways widened and became more crowded. They kept moving through it all until they reached a large, ornate door dominating the whole of a wall. It opened at a touch, revealing a large room. The floor was mahogany, with a deep red rug placed in the exact center that smelled well over a thousand years old. Marble statues and oil portraits were tastefully placed throughout the room. The wall opposite them was made of glass, and reflected deep blue water. Colorful fish flitted in and out, but dark shapes hinted at something much bigger hiding in the depths.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A paneled section of the wall had opened, reveling a high tech sliver room beyond filled with countless screens displaying all of the exhibits. An orange tinged man stepped through, dusting off his jacket as he made his way further in. "I'm Polaris. Your humble, if confused, host." He stepped to the glass wall and patted it fondly. "Our friend here comes all the way from Xyra Nine. Very few people in the galaxy have ever seen one. If you'd like I can get it closer, let you have a nice long look."
"Get it closer?" Jack asked. "It really comes when you call?"
Polaris removed a slim remote from his pocket. He adjusted a few settings and then pushed a button set in the center. There was a distant cry that resonated through the water, and a few moments later a massive beast passed close to the glass, its dark eye sweeping the room.
"Have one of those remotes for your customers?" Jack asked grimly. The Doctor stood tense and silent beside him.
Polaris laughed. "Oh, no. This guy is just for me. My turn for questions now. Who are you? My guards say specialists, but I don't buy it. Who are you really?"
"No lie, sir," the Doctor flashed his psychic paper again. "Humans. No one knows them better." He could feel Jack smirking beside him. "And I hear that's just what you've got."
"No," a woman stepped out from behind the large man, closing the silver room behind her. "Two hearts. And orange blood, oddly enough. My computers don't know what to make of it, but one thing is certain, whatever it is, it is definitely not human."
"Maggie! What have I said about speaking out of turn? Sst!" Polaris snapped.
"Not human?" Jack said. "What is it, then?"
The woman stepped back, keeping her mouth obediently shut, and her eyes on her feet, though she didn't look at all happy about it.
"A new jewel," Polaris said. "But as my... assistant says, not human. I'm afraid your services will not be needed."
"I'm not so sure about that," the Doctor said. "Could be a genetic mutation, could be a hybrid, in any case, shouldn't hurt to look, right? After all, we came all this way just to bask in your excellence. For us at least, it would be well worth it to have something of a tour."
Polaris frowned. "That really won't be necessary. I have my own experts."
"You don't seem to understand," Jack said, moving closer. "It's not him you need to worry about pleasing. He's just my assistant. Hi, Captain Jack Harkness." Jack pulled a badge from his jacket. A real one. "I'm a time agent, and you, my good sir, are in violation of the Shadow Proclamation."
"I am in no way in violation of anything!"
"According to clause 374 of the Shadow Proclamation, theft of an artifact of great cultural value legitimizes the use of lethal force to ensure that artifact's recovery. An actual living creature? That's quite the theft. Now, we don't know what you've got down here, but I'm willing to bet you didn't acquire it legally, and I'd be more than happy to fulfill my obligations to see it safely home. If you want us to leave here peacefully, you will show us your new acquisition."
"I didn't steal anything," Polaris growled.
"Then you have nothing to fear," Jack said. "Let's see it."
Polaris hesitated, but in the end he rose and lead them out the main door.
"Like I said, I found it. Rescued it even. Poor little thing came to me, obviously seeking some form of shelter or safety. Food certainly, it seems a bit malnourished. We thought it was human, but as my assistant told you, the biology doesn't match. We're looking into it, but right now we have very little to go on while the tests run. All I can tell you for sure is that whatever species it is, is not overly advanced. It has a hard time following basic cues, it doesn't understand when it is being spoken to, so far as we can tell it can't speak, and it is often driven to violence. I was hoping we could make it an interactive exhibit – at least for our higher bidders, after all the damn thing certainly is cute – but that looks like it will be an impossibility. At this stage at least. Perhaps when it's been better trained we can revisit the subject."
Polaris lead them through a nearly a dozen turns of the maze like structure and down two floors, each sectioned off with evenly spaced doors that looked heavy and difficult to budge. Large video screens were embedded into the wall beside each door, each listing air quality, dust per square foot, temperature, moisture content, and half a dozen other readings almost too small to read. The Doctor and Jack paid special attention to the people walking in and out of various rooms. Polaris finally stopped them beside a door that looked identical to all the others. A video feed showed the Master on a small cot, staring motionlessly at the opposite wall. While the man seemed relaxed in every respect, the feeds on the screen were racing.
"Poor thing must be tuckered out," Polaris said, pressing his hand to a smooth panel, reveling a speaker. "It spent most of its day throwing itself at the wall. Three, seven, one, one, nine, zeta, alpha," he turned to the Doctor with a self satisfied smile. "Vocal key. Truly top of the line. It recognizes voice impressions and cadence, so if I were being forced to open the vault, the slightest hint of fear would keep the door most solidly shut, and alert security of a breach."
The door slid open, and the group stepped inside. Several people working within looked up when they entered, but quickly got back to work at a gesture from Polaris.
"You keep saying 'it,'" Jack said. "Is there a reason for that?"
"Well, without knowing its species it is rather impossible to tell gender differentiation," Polaris sniffed. "Now, you two claim to be experts. What can you tell me about it?"
The wall that now divided them from the Master gradually became transparent. The crowd of people snapping pictures of the Master's still form didn't change their behavior. They couldn't see them.
"It's male, for one thing," Jack said.
The Doctor moved forward, and ran his sonic along the wall. It flickered, and then the Master's vitals were up and running across it. The Doctor touched various read outs, moving certain ones aside, and others closer. "And he's far from tuckered out."
"Oh, that's nothing," Polaris said. "The readings are just malfunctioning."
"Does that happen often?"
"My good sir," Polaris said, affronted. "This is the height of technological advances! This is the best equipment money can buy!"
"But it breaks often?" The Doctor asked absently, still flicking through data.
"Well, no. But it is the only explanation there can be. These readings are simply impossible. I have people looking into it, and I'm sure it'll be fixed straight away."
"Of course. Naturally," the Doctor said. "That makes perfect sense. I don't suppose we can get a closer look?"
"No, no. That wouldn't be safe. As I've told you, the creature is violent."
"Um...sir?" A pink tinted woman working at a small station beside a second door looked up. " A word?"
"A moment, gentlemen," Polaris sighed, stepping over to the work station.
Jack moved closer to the Doctor. "So how do we get him out?"
The Doctor shook his head. "The schematics show this as the rooms entrance, but I don't see a locking mechanism on the door... I might be able to get the computer to open the door with enough time, but we're going to need them all to leave if we've any hope for that to work."
A guard walked up beside them. "Pathetic, isn't it?"
The Doctor and Jack turned as one. "Excuse me?"
The soldier sighed and shook his head. "This is the third one I've jumped into. No one knows how to open the door. To think the only thing stopping me right now is a piece of glass and a thrice damned door. I keep hoping it'll be the captain of the guard next, but no, bloody bastard has the day off."
"Master?!" Jack hissed. "What in the seven hells are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm not some damsel waiting for you lot to free me. I am perfectly capable of getting myself out."
Jack looked at him pointedly.
"Don't make me shoot you," the soldier grumbled. "It is my turn, and I could use something to take my mind off this mess. Hey there's an idea!"
"Master, behave," the Doctor said absently.
The Master pouted, the expression shockingly transformative on a different face.
After a moment Jack asked, "Why don't you just take Polaris?"
"Some kind of psychic training," the Master said. "If I take him, he'll know."
"What is the point of ethically wrong talents if you can't even learn anything useful?" Jack asked.
"There's another." The Master snarled. "Fifteen times and counting. But do you see me shooting you? No. Because I am an adult, thank you very much."
"D'alliois, please see to sterilization locations. We'll start with section five-beta-z today," Maggie said, walking behind them, checking things off a tablet in her hands. She hadn't been in the room a moment before, and she had clearly been able to open the door herself, so the vocal key had to be tuned to her as well.
The body the Master wore frowned in annoyance, and snapped a lazy salute. "Of course, madam." He turned on his heal and walked to the door. He waited a moment and it opened for him, closing just as quickly the moment he crossed the threshold. Maggie glared at his back and the Doctor felt a pang of guilt over the soldier who'd likely lose his job after tonight.
"How many people are tuned to the lock?" The Doctor asked. Maggie cast a suspicious look at him and the Doctor held up his hands and tried to make himself look as meek as possible. "Professional curiosity, is all. I'd hate to think what would happen to your displays if something were to go wrong and Mr. Polaris wasn't here in time." "
She didn't seem at all satisfied by the answer, but she wasn't shouting for the guards, so the Doctor counted it as a win. "Only essential staff. Naturally there has to be someone on the clock every shift who can open the right doors to let the crew members into their work spaces. In all there are roughly twelve people every shift with the ability to open doors. Not all can open all the sections, of course." The Doctor smiled and nodded affably, and eventually the woman moved over to her boss. "I hate to interrupt, sir, but what are you going to do about Jaajen?"
"This is really not the time..."
"Sir, it -"
"He," Jack said meaningfully.
"He needs to be fed, or at very least watered," her eyes darted to the Doctor and back. She shifted closer to her employer and lowered her voice. "He's already too skinny, you can't risk missing any more meals. Not if you want him to live for any significant amount of time."
"So take care of it!" Polaris said. "What am I paying you for?"
Maggie's face darkened and she turned without a word. The Doctor caught her arm as she walked by. "Jaajen?"
Maggie's eyes darted to Polaris who was all but looming over the girl beside him. "Had to call him something. Now, excuse me, sir, but I need to get our new...guest... something to eat."
"Do you know what he eats?" Jack asked. "You don't know what he is."
"He'll tell me," Maggie said.
"You said he doesn't speak."
"A creature, no matter how primitive, knows how to feed itself," Maggie said. "You just need to know how to ask." She smiled at Jack, glared at the Doctor, and let herself out.
"Tell me you've thought of something," Jack said as she walked away.
"Yes, have you?" The pink woman had broken away from Polaris and now stood beside them. "I'm getting dreadfully bored. I might have to start taking that out on someone."
"This is ridiculous," Jack said, glaring at the new body.
"Does she know?" The Doctor asked.
The Master closed her eyes and focused. "Hm."
"Hm?" Jack parroted back. "So helpful."
"You're the one here to save me. My noble captain, and his eccentric sidekick."
"Sidekick!" The Doctor said indignantly.
"Sorry, love. And you," the Master pointed at Jack without opening his eyes. "Stop looking at my breasts. It's distracting."
"Distracting?" Jack leered.
The Doctor scowled. "Master. Don't encourage him."
"This one heard a rumor of an incredibly attractive time agent here to bust the big boss over ethical violations. Looks like you're quite the captivating power source right now. Now where was I? The door, yes. Looks like you'll need either the assistant, the shift guard, or Polaris himself to unlock it. Of course, you already knew that. The shift captain for this particular section is currently... three rooms over."
"The room would still need to empty for opening the door to work, regardless of who does it," Jack said. "There must be some other way."
"Do you think you could cause a distraction?" The Doctor asked. "They have to open the door if there's an emergency inside."
"I've tried that, they just take bloody pictures of me," the Master snarled.
"I'm sure you can do better, then," Jack said.
The Doctor readied himself to step between them, but all the Master did was glare. "I'll show you better."
"Zanni!" Polaris snapped. He pointed at the computer terminal beside him. "It is not your job to talk to the guests!"
It took the Master a moment to respond. He curtsied lazily. "Of course, sir." He turned back to Jack and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "That man is so unobservant. Even a marginally intelligent being would have noticed the difference in his people by now."He blew a kiss at the Doctor and then Zanni sauntered back to her computer terminal. She blinked and the shift was so slight the Doctor almost missed it.
Jack shifted closer to the glass division. "What do you think he's going to do?"
The Doctor shrugged. "I'm sure we'll find out soon."
"That doesn't exactly sound like a good thing. How do you know he won't kill anyone?"
"He's... getting better about that."
Inside the room the Master's body arched in one full body stretch. He turned his head cracking his neck and then gracefully rose to his feet. Polaris laughed and moved to stand beside them.
"Little guy can feel that his daddy is beside him. Where is Maggie? She shouldn't be missing this." He pulled the remote back out of his jacket and pushed a slim button on the side.
"That thing have any settings on Jaajen?" Jack asked.
Polaris grinned. "Not quite yet, but with time I'm sure we'll figure something out."
The Master turned to look at them. The Doctor knew the Master couldn't see them, but he made a point to glare at the spot he knew Polaris to be.
Polaris laughed, bouncing on his feet. "Look at that! How can you say he doesn't want to be here when he does that?"
"So you're saying he can see through walls now?" Jack asked.
"I'm saying he can sense me! As a child would his father!" Polaris pressed his hand against the glass. "I can see great things in his future."
The Doctor watched the Master subtly roll his shoulders and close his eyes.
All the color drained from the Master's features and he collapsed, his body bouncing when it hit the floor. They couldn't hear a sound from inside the cell, but they could all see the Master's head crack hard against the cement. He was still for only a moment, and then he shuddered, as though a current was running through his body. His limbs twitched and jerked as his body arched painfully off the floor before falling back only to arch again. A white foam crept its way out of his mouth, and his next shudder moved his head, revealing the orange tinged blood beginning to pool beneath his head.
"Open the door!" The Doctor shouted.
"Ah, ah," Polaris stuttered. "It's too dangerous. The... creature could do anything once we open that door."
"And he could die if you do nothing! You will open that door!" The Doctor snarled.
"Ah, n-no, I really think, ah," Polaris backed away. "It'll snap right out of it...in just a minute."
Jack grabbed Polaris by his shoulders and shoved him up against the glass wall. "Open. The. Door."
"It wouldn't work even if I tried!" Polaris cried. "The tremor in my voice would lock the whole system!"
"Then call someone else," the Doctor hissed. "If he dies I will burn this place to the ground."
Polaris fumbled for his silver remote. He pressed the button on the side, and when that didn't immediately work, he began to press it again and again, as rapidly as he could.
The door behind the opened with a near silent shifting of air. "S-sir?"
"Ah, Maggie my sweet," Polaris said with a large forced grin pressed against the glass. "It seems our poor Jaajen needs a hand. Be a dear and open the door up?"
"Jaajen? What -"
"Maggie! The door!" Polaris said with feigned enthusiasm.
"Three, seven, one, one, nine, zeta, alpha lock two," Maggie said. "What happened?"
Polaris gasped as the door began to swing and he had more room to breathe. "You psychopath, you lunatic!"
Time seemed to stop as Jack shoved Polaris aside and he and the Doctor rushed in. Jack raised the Master's head from the floor to rest against his knees and the Doctor hand quickly found the Master's throat, his other pressing between his chest just to be sure.
The heartbeat he found was calm and steady.
The Doctor closed his eyes and released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He glanced at Jack. Jack nodded imperceptively, and then time seemed to start again. Sound filtered in, the flash of cameras from their stunned audience was momentarily blinding, and in the control station behind them there was a rush of movement.
"Is... is he...dead?" Polaris called from the safety of the partially open door.
"He doesn't have a pulse," the Doctor shouted. "Get a med unit ready!"
"Should I try CPR?" Jack asked with a smirk.
The Doctor glared and looped his arms beneath the Master's neck and knees, raising his pale, drawn body from the floor.
"You can't possibly be thinking of bringing him out here!" Polaris laughed. "He isn't even properly restrained!"
Jack moved forward, shoving Polaris aside. The Doctor followed him through.
"Stop this instant!" Polaris shouted.
The Doctor ignored him and turned to Maggie. "Jaajen needs help. We need to get him out of here."
Maggie hesitated. She glanced at Polaris's outraged face, and then moved forward to the main door. She stood a moment, and then it swung open. "Follow me."
The Doctor and Jack ran just behind her as Maggie navigated the twists and turns of the maze like structure.
"What now?" Jack asked.
"Working on it," the Doctor said.
In front of them Maggie stopped. She turned and smiled beatifically. "Well, boys. How about we get out of here."
"You're going to get that poor girl fired," Jack scolded, although there wasn't much heat to it.
The Master shrugged. "It's not like we're going to let these people stay open much longer."
The Doctor grinned. "That may be so."
"Where did you two land? Maggie here knows this place like the back of her hand, but she doesn't know that," the Master said.
"Near the fall of Erooc," the Doctor said.
Maggie's body smirked. "This way then."
It had seemed like such an incredibly long journey to get to the Master's cell, but with Maggie's body leading them they found the TARDIS easily.
"Here you are, gentlemen," the Master said as sweetly as his new body would allow. "Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you find."
"Thank you, madam," Jack sad with a wink.
The Doctor sighed. "Bring her in, we're not leaving the poor thing to face the consequences of our actions."
The Master rolled his eyes. "You are such a sap."
"In the TARDIS, please," the Doctor said.
The Master shrugged and swung Maggie's hips as he entered the TARDIS.
"Oh knock that off," the Doctor said.
The Master pouted. "What? Don't you think I'm pretty like this?"
"That's seems like a rather big trap to me," the Doctor said tactfully. "Why don't you just let the girl go and we'll get you cleaned up."
The Master sighed, and then there was a shift. It was subtle, the Master was always a craftsman, but for those who knew how to look it was clear everything about the girls stance had changed. The Master held himself a certain way regardless of the body he wore, and gone was the posture he knew so well. Maggie blinked slowly and then jumped. "Where..."
"It is a very long story, darling," Jack said, taking the girls hand and leading her to a bench beside the main consul.
Maggie's gaze turned to the Doctor. "You... stole Jaajen. You two aren't really Time Agents are you?"
The Doctor shrugged. "He is." In his arms the Master yawned and stretched. "Did you really need to hurt yourself?"
The Master shrugged. "You two certainly weren't thinking of anything better."
"Oh my gods, he can speak!"
The Master glared. "Ah yes, your knew pet."
"She is hardly my new anything," the Doctor grumbled. He smirked. "In fact at the moment I think you are her new pet. Isn't that so Jaajen?"
"Put me down," the Master hissed.
The Doctor giggled and cuddled the Master closer. "Aw, aren't you precious?"
The Master growled and struggled, doing his best to twist out of the Doctor's hold.
"Ah, true love," Jack sighed, stretching an arm behind Maggie and slouching further into the bench. "Hi. Captain Jack Harkness."
Maggie blushed. "Hi."
"Well," Jack said with a wide grin. "Who wants to dismantle this place?"
The Master smirked. "Now that sounds like fun."
The Doctor grinned and threw the controls.