Chapter Fifty-One
The Doctor sat in his tent and stared out the hole in the flap at his adversary as he literally danced into the room to some song he had never heard before. He had never seen anything like it. While the singer was singing about someone trying to decide whether someone should live or die, he danced over to Lucy, snogged the crap outta her and then kissed her hand as Lucy walked away from him in a daze. He spun around in a chair, grabbed a cup of tea, took a drink, spit it out and threw the cup on the floor at Francine's feet while she stepped back and stared at him in shock. The whole thing would be comical to him if he wasn't in a bad mood.
The Doctor sighed when he heard the Master ringing a bell.
Showtime. He thought to himself.
He stuck his head out between the flaps and slowly got to his feet as the Master watched him and sang along to the song. He stood quietly and offered no resistance as the Master bounded back down the steps and grabbed him by the lapels. To his surprise, the Master held on to him as he sang the song to his face.
Oookay. The Doctor thought to himself watching one of his deadliest foes serenade him. Just when I thought this whole situation couldn't get any weirder…
He grunted when the Master shoved him back into his wheelchair and began to wheel him around the room, still singing.
Hmmm, seems as though my double's childish behavior is finally rubbing off on the Master. The Doctor thought as they went around the room.
The Doctor kept his face impassive not wanting to give anything away to his adversary. The Master wheeled him over to a window and stopped. He came around to his side and put his arm around him.
"It's ready to rise, Doctor. The new Time Lord Empire. It's Good, Isn't it, isn't it good?"
The Doctor fought to keep from laughing. The Master sounded to him like a little child seeking praise from mummy after drawing a picture for her. He had no idea why the Master would care if he approved of his twisted idea or not, but then the man was certifiable. The Master looked at him expectantly as if he was going to squeal with delight and jump up and down in his seat at the thought of him being the ruler of the universe. He managed to keep the stony expression on his face as the Master waved his hand in front of it and said "Anything, no, anything?"
You want me to say something? The Doctor thought Okay, how about give Rose back to me, you sick, twisted bastard? How's that for feedback?
The Master stared into his eyes as the Doctor remained impassive. He looked out the window trying to figure out what he was looking at and saw several Toclafane fly by.
"Oh!" he said. "But they broke your hearts. Those Toclafane. Ever since you worked out what they really were. Is that it, Doctor? Is that why you're sitting here so down in the dumps when you should be celebrating my victory?"
He smirked at him.
"Or are you missing your little snuggle bear?"
The Doctor looked at him.
"Give her back to me." He said.
"Oh, wow, now that got a reaction outta ya, didn't it?"
"I said, give her back to me."
The Master thought for a moment.
"Nah, not yet. I haven't finished with her. When I'm done, I'll let you have her then."
"I swear, if you've done anything to her mind…"
"Oh, no you don't, I'm not listening to your stupid threats again!" he said, turning him away from the window.
He wheeled him around and shoved him into the wall.
I tried to do this the easy way, Master. He thought as the chair hit the wall. Now I'll do it the hard way. Either way, you will give me back Rose.
He glanced over at Francine and when he had her attention, he very discreetly put three fingers onto his leg. Francine nodded in understanding and walked off to let the others know that they had only minutes left before they revolted. He looked around at the Master who was running around yelling at his workers as they finished up preparations.
The Master paused when he noticed him glaring at him.
"For Rassilon sake, Doctor, quit staring at me like that. Rose is fine. You said so yourself she was an exceptional woman. A little mind probe isn't gonna faze her. She'll be back at your side in no time. Sheesh, some people just have to spoil the party for everyone else!"
The Doctor glanced up at the clock and noticed it was 2:57. He looked back at the Master.
"You're gonna think I spoiled your party in a few minutes, Master, trust me." He muttered.
He looked back as Tish and Francine entered the room. There was so much activity going on that no one noticed when Tish hurried over to the Doctor.
"I let dad and Jack know, Doctor, we're all ready." She whispered to him.
"Good." The Doctor whispered back.
Tish and Francine looked at each other and pretended to be busy so no one would be suspicious. As they worked, the door opened and a woman entered the room.
"Ah, here's Tonya just in time for my massage." He said, smiling at her.
The Doctor could hardly believe his luck when the Master peeled off his jacket and threw it on the table in front of him. He glanced at Tish and Francine and pointed to the jacket.
"Screwdriver's in his jacket pocket." He mouthed to them.
Francine and Tish nodded and turned their heads towards the Master who was standing by Lucy.
"Listen, you met Tonya, she's gorgeous." He said gesturing to the beautiful brunette standing nearby.
Tish and Francine looked back at the clock and saw they had less than a minute now. They positioned themselves around the jacket as the Doctor tensed his muscles ready to spring out of his chair and grab the screwdriver.
"You two should get to know each other that might be fun."
The Doctor smirked as the Master closed his eyes and let Tonya massage his muscles. Too bad he was about to interrupt that. It looked very relaxing. He glanced back up at the clock and saw that ten seconds were left. He looked back at the Master and saw his head was lolled back and his eyes were closed as he enjoyed the massage. He took one last look at the clock.
5…
The Doctor silently wheeled the chair forward a couple of inches.
4…
He stopped and leaned forward gripping the arms and keeping his eyes on the jacket pocket.
3…
Francine inched closer to the jacket.
2…
Tish wiped her sweaty palms on her maid's uniform and took a deep breath.
1…
3:00
The Master looked around in confusion as he heard the Klaxon suddenly go off. As people scrambled around him, Francine took the opportunity to snatch the jacket from the table. As the Master ran up the stairs to see what was going on, she threw it to Tish and she ran over and gave it to the Doctor as he stood up from the chair. By the time the Master turned around, the Doctor was standing at the bottom of the stairs pointing the screwdriver up at him.
"Give me Rose, or I fire." He snarled.
"Oh, I see." The Master said with sudden understanding as he put his arms up in the air.
"Give Rose back to me now, Master. Don't think I won't use this on you."
"You mean to tell me you took the trouble to plan another revolt and instead of escaping, you wasted it on HER?"
"I want Rose back, safe and sound, in my arms this instant!"
The Master stared down at the screwdriver and then suddenly he burst into laughter.
"I mean it, Master! I will fire!"
"Then go ahead and do it, Doctor, because I'm not about to let you have Rose!" the Master said.
"Fine, if I have to use force to get her back, then I will."
He pushed the button and frowned in confusion when nothing happened.
"Something wrong, Doctor?" the Master said when he tried the button again.
Smirking he came down the steps and put his hand on the screwdriver.
"Isomorphic controls." He said grabbing it from his hand.
Tish and Francine gasped when he smacked the Doctor in the face with the screwdriver sending him to the floor.
"Which means they only work for me!"
He aimed it at Francine.
"Like this." He said firing at her.
Francine screamed when he shot the laser at the wall beside her missing her by inches.
"Mum!" Tish yelled running towards her.
"Say sorry!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Francine said in a strained voice
"Didn't you learn anything from the last revolt? Siding with the Doctor is a very dangerous thing to do! Perhaps I should break both your arms this time, maybe that would teach you not to trust him."
He looked at the guards as Lucy timidly helped him put his jacket back on.
"Take them away and put them with the others. I'll figure out a suitable punishment for all of them after I'm done dealing with their ringleader."
He straightened his jacket as he walked over to the Doctor.
"Which is you, gramps. You know, I find it funny when you throw a fit if I breathe wrong on one of these humans of yours and yet you're the first one to put them in the line of fire when it suits your aims."
He grabbed him by the arms.
"Come on, into the chair." He said, helping him to stand to his feet.
He shoved him into the chair.
"So, let's see, all you got accomplished with this foolish little rebellion of yours was the punishment of your friends. How low you're sunk, Doctor, I remember when you were the great and mighty Time Lord who stood up against every monster he came across and beat them without hardly breaking a sweat. Now you're stealing other people's screwdrivers in an attempt to rescue your jail bait human girlfriend so you won't be lonesome in your captivity anymore. How pathetic. The great Oncoming Storm reduced to a senile, lovesick old fart."
He put his foot on the chair and spun him around.
"Still, I have to appreciate all the effort you've made with this attempt, Doctor. After all, you've just recovered from a broken leg and here you are staging another revolt and trying to save your precious Rose. Well, if she means that much to you, far be it from me to keep you two apart any longer. Yes, I think Rose should be witness to what is about to happen next. After all, you and her stand together through thick and thin, don't you? We wouldn't want her to miss your punishment, now would we?"
"No." the Doctor murmured.
"No? Is that what you just said? You just got done demanding she be brought to you and now you want me to keep her away? Which is it, gramps? I mean, I realize it's probably the onset of dementia, but I could have sworn the whole rebellion was because you DID want to see her."
"Punish me, do whatever you like, but don't let Rose see." The Doctor said.
The Master pretended to consider that.
"No, I'd rather she be in here. I have to admit I've become quite fond of the angsty, romantic patter you two engage in. It's like watching a…uh…chick flick…I think is what they call it. But, anyway, in answer to your request to keep Rose from seeing your punishment, my answer is nope!"
He looked at a guard.
"Go to the lab and retrieve Rose Tyler. I want her to personally witness this. I want to see if she'll still have feelings for her alien boyfriend after I show her just what he'd look like if he didn't have the ability to regenerate."
