Act 2 - Stuck
In which people meet in the wrong order - again. And in which Roka and the Master have to cope with something truly new.
.
She hadn't awaited to actually fall asleep again after she had probably rested for quite some hours before. But when Roka woke up she was alone, instantly getting aware of the Master's missing presence next to her. She tried to reach out for him with her mind, curious as to how far this bond was actually reaching. However, she either wasn't capable of controlling it or they needed to be close for it to work. After all, she also had never felt any of his emotions while he wasn't in reach.
Roka pouted into the pillow and groggily got out from under the warm covers to take a quick shower. Only then did she remember that she didn't have any clothes in here and that she would have to go to her own room to get some. But when she opened the bathroom door and went back into the Master's room, she found a bunch of neatly folded clothes, plus underwear, right in front of the door.
A little perplex she picked the bundle up and carried it to the bed. It were some dark blue jeans, a simple black T-shirt and, much to her delight, a red checked hoody. Roka quickly donned everything, wondering who had put it here. Probably not the Master, or he surely would have at least said hello or leave a snarky remark.
She looked up, asking aloud, "Was that you?"
There was a slight humming in the air. The sound the TARDIS was emanating constantly in the console room, only with a different pitch, and it vanished quickly.
"Uh... thank you." Roka smiled. She wasn't used to a TARDIS reacting to her at all. The Doctor's had never particularly liked or despised her, so they hadn't interacted that much over the years. Or maybe she hadn't been able to notice Roka at all, due to the glitch, albeit it was questionable whether or not a machine like that would even be affected by it.
She was decidedly still too tired to think about it any further and strode to the kitchen. The one in the Master's TARDIS looked a lot like one would expect the cantina of a Star Trek series to look, and sometimes Roka got the feeling the Master had watched those series. Not that he would ever admit it. The floor was grey, the walls had different shades of greyish blues and the counter was made of marble. There were several ovens and hobs and a machine that could produce food from air. Literally. It took the atoms out of the ventilation system and rearranged them.
But Roka wasn't interested in any of it, she headed straight to the coffee machine, stuffed a cup beneath it and pushed the button, satisfyingly sniffing the air as it got filled with the scent of freshly brewed coffee.
"That's... ordinary," a female voice remarked from behind her.
Roka spun around in surprise and came face to face with...
"River. Y... you're here?"
She smirked and tilted her head a little. "Seems like it. Guess the Master was afraid you'd be mad at him for leaving me behind, so he came back and took me with you. Not in a very gentle manner, I might add." She sighed and quirked a brow. "I'm also heavily restricted in how freely I can move around in here."
Roka blinked perplex at the information, then once more... and let out an involuntary yawn. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth and she turned to grab her coffee.
"Good to see you're safe," she mumbled and yawned again, before taking a first sip.
River chuckled. "It's almost uncanny, you know. Seeing you fight the way you do, having you jump into your almost certain death, although you were injured. And now you're just an ordinary girl, being groggy and unresponsive before her first coffee."
"Pfffff," Roka huffed and couldn't hide her grin. "And there I went without that stuff for almost half a century. No idea how I managed."
"Half a century... interesting." River strode past her and let the machine produce a cup for herself. Tea, though. "But you are human, aren't you?"
"Huh?" Roka blinked sleepily at the woman before it dawned on her. "Ohhh, right, yeah... my age."
River giggled at her reaction and cradled the hot cup between her palms. "You look no older than... mhm... eighteen maybe?"
"Twenty-four," Roka mumbled and emptied her mug, getting it refilled immediately after. "Well, I was when I met the Doctor. His TARDIS froze my timestream to slow down the glitch." At River's questioning glance she added, "Right... you also don't know about that."
And, in a short version, she explained it. How her matter had been slipping in and out of reality, making people forget her entire existence within minutes, making her invisible, until she physically made herself noticed. How her atoms dissolved faster and faster over the years, until she would have disintegrated completely, hadn't it been for the freezing.
She paused, pondering over her newly regained memories from the incident on the snowy planet. It had only slowed down the process. She knew that, in an alternate timeline, the Master had met her future self, almost completely disintegrated, almost nothing but a ghost, unable to touch anything, or to die.
But this version of her had been at least a thousand years old, and the one that had activated the crystal had been younger than she was now. Meaning the disintegration had started way earlier than expected and only he tremendous amount of energy from the crystal had managed to stabilize her for another while.
With a small shock Roka realized that, if she hadn't activated the crystal, the Master would have never been able to kill her back then, and therefore to dissolve the paradox of her existence and getting rid of her glitch once and for all.
"So, what happened down there?" River's voice tore into her thoughts.
Roka glanced up, downed her coffee and got herself a third one, contemplating how much she actually wanted to tell. "We stopped it," was all she offered, in the end. "What happened to the settlement? Did... anyone survive?"
"Yes. There was a huge wave coming from that crystal, at one point. It eliminated all the crawlers. No one knows if there are any left, but at least there are enough people still alive to tell the tale."
Relief washed over Roka at hearing that. It had been her fault, after all, that the robots had been called towards the crystal in the first place, that the barrier had been gone. Maybe she couldn't make any of it undone, but now the remaining inhabitants had a chance to live in peace, if only for a while.
She smiled and let out a relieved sigh. "I'm really glad to hear that. At least not all is lost. They deserve another chance."
"So, you do care, after all, huh?"
Roka looked up from her mug and into River's eyes. They had a nice blue, she realized, hiding lots and lots of secrets, a good portion of mischief and humour, and also hinting at a dangerous person, if the need arose. Underneath it all, though, was a visible layer of kindness and the will to protect.
Roka wondered what River might see in return. What was in her own eyes after being lonely for so long, after having decided that death was the only alternative, after having found a spark of new hope in her heart after awakening in front of the crystal, feeling the warmth of a bygone, still lingering kiss on her lips, hearing the Master's words in her mind, albeit not consciously. The years after that had flown by like in a trance. Like nothing mattered anymore. Without even the memory of her previous death wish and everything that had to do with it. After she had regained her ability to smile and could now embrace life again, and, maybe for the first time, to its fullest.
Could all of this be visibly in a person's eyes?
"You're old, aren't you?" River asked softly, still not knowing her actual age.
"I lost track of time," she mumbled in return. "But I count at least two hundred earthen years. Probably a few more." Roka shrugged. "Doesn't make much of a difference."
"I see." For a while there was silence, before she spoke up again. "Sorry... I mean, that I called you cold-hearted back there."
Roka shook her head. "You were right. Compared to most people I am."
"Yeah, true." River smiled a little. "But you still care. There is still some good in your heart." She chuckled at Roka's surprised face. "Makes me wonder even more what the Master sees in you."
"I told you already," his snide voice promptly resounded from the doors. "She's my companion. Everything else is none of your damn business, woman."
River shot straight, banged her mug on the counter and strode over to the Master, making herself as big as possible and wearing an aura of threat around her like a cloak. Angrily she stabbed a finger at his chest, hissing, "Then you can finally let me go, already!"
He appeared completely unfazed by her demeanour, only a soft smirk curved his lips, promising more danger than any words ever could. "I'm still contemplating how to get an advantage out of you," he nonchalantly admitted, bending down a little. "You're dangerous enough to be locked away in Stormcage... that has to be worth something."
"Spoilers," River warned, holding a finger up. "I'm not a prisoner... yet. And I doubt my university will pay you a single coin for some random student."
The Master raised a brow at her, then straightened and moved past her to the counter, where he poured himself a cup of tea. Roka silently watched the scene unfold.
"Fine, keep me," River told.
Taking a careful sip from his hot beverage the Master turned slowly, his gaze sceptically wandering over the curly woman. "Why?"
River shrugged. "You've got a TARDIS, so you can drop me off right where I left when you get bored of me. No time lost there." She pointed up a finger. "Besides, you might lead me to the Doctor. And I guess someone has to make sure you won't bite the girl."
"Bite her?" The Master snorted and glanced next to him, a wolfish smile appearing on his face as he leaned down to Roka. "Only if you want me to."
She lifted her eyes to him. "Mhm... maybe... Just a little," she teased and hooked a finger into his collar.
He chuckled and let her drag him down to her, but stopped just a breath away from her lips, wearing a roguish grin that instantly made her knees week. Just when Roka thought he would retreat already, did the Master push a little forward and captured her lips in a short but intense kiss that left her flushed and yearning for more.
Only then did she remember River and blushed even more, hiding her face behind the coffee mug.
"Geeze, you two are messed up," the other woman mumbled almost to herself, then halfway threw up her hands to underline her disbelieve. "Like yeah, hell, why not snogging the guy that nearly killed you."
"You know," Roka mumbled towards the Master, impishly smiling. "She does have a point."
"Then don't tell her about last night," he remarked sweetly and deliberately loud enough for everyone to hear.
Roka slapped his arm playfully and eyed their involuntary visitor. "C'mon, let her go. I still want to look for Josh, and you want to fix your TARDIS. And there is still the problem with the dru... well... you know..."
A deep growl came from the Master, his brows knitted together tightly and there was no answer before he had finished his tea. River, meanwhile, sat down on a chair and busied herself with her own mug.
For a moment Roka closed her eyes and leaned her head at the Master's side, not bothering what River might think about it.
"Stop being so snugly, you annoying little human," he grumbled amusedly and raised a hand to ruffle through her hair, then turned to the food machine and let it produce a plate with sandwiches that he pushed into her hands. "Knowing your sloppy self care, I bet you haven't eaten anything, yet. Don't dare following me, before you have."
Leaving a perplex Roka behind the Master rushed out of the room. She eyed the plate and chuckled to herself, enjoying the small meal.
"Want some, too?" she asked River.
"Nah, I already found out how the machine works." She smiled amused. "Sure you'll be alright?"
It took Roka second to comprehend that question, then she let out a laugh and nodded. "Honestly, I think, I've never been more alright than at the moment."
River's gaze was priceless, her eyes turning sad, though and her next words were meant as a fact, not a question. "He will harm you again."
Roka glanced up at the ceiling, letting the words sink in. "Yeah, he will," she eventually uttered and looked the other woman in the eyes. "But that's a small price to pay for what I get in return." She smiled and waved towards the door. "Come, let's get you out, before he gets any ideas."
oOo~-̶̰͕͑̐ ̵̡͔̕~̷̱̤̖̆͋͘ ̴͍̈́̂̽.̴̯̦̹͛ ̶͍̎͌#̷̡̳̟͆ ̷̲̇̋̑-̸̧͙͂ ̶͕̜̆̐̿~̵̡̛̳͖͂̃ ̵̣̊̓̄.̷͇̺́̏ ̷̞̑͐#̶̢͈̦͌ ̴̰̃̐͠-̸̝́ ̵̛̱͉~̸̫̈̎ ̴̙̇̿̄.̵̧͙̻̓͛̓ ̵̦̠̈́̿#̵̳͎̯̀̑ ̷͓̩̞̉̑͑-̴̮̞̕ ̸̢̭̪̊~̷͔͇̞̈́͝ ̵̙̬̓.̶̰̘̏͘ ̶̯̝͐̿͛#̷̪̆́ ̶̼̎̾͋-̸̨́ ̴͙̹̪͆͊~̵͓̓̔͐ ̶̛͎͍̗.̷̀̎ͅ ̴̳̬͆͝#̵͉̻̭̓̑ ̶͈̗̩̂̈́-̷̢̛̙͆͐ ̶̙̐~̶̬͓̎̈ ̵͓̄.̶̹̪̆͝͝ͅ ̵̥̑̀̈́#̵̭͚͂̔ ̷̤͔̈́͜-̷̥̗̈ ̵̝̀͆͘~̶̓̿͜ ̸̺̣̈́.̴̜͗̅ ̴̿͜#̷͈͉̋ͅ ̴̡̠̒̾-̵̡̯̤̒̕ ̸̺͋͂~̸̦̗͚̾̕ ̸̭̝͋.̸̢͖̻̅̇͝ ̴̨̬͗#̵̺͍̮̂ ̴͖̫̈́ͅ~oOo
"Good news, human," the Master cheered and clapped his hands as the two women entered. "I found some use for you."
"Of course you wouldn't just let me go." River let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes.
The Master chuckled and waved his hand to the door they had just entered through. "Don't whinge. It won't take too long and, right now, we have the same intention."
"Do we now?" she raised a doubtful brow.
"Yes. Come, you two."
He strode past them and they followed, Roka only shrugging clueless when River's gaze met hers. The Master seemed in control of himself at the moment and he probably didn't save River just to harm her now. At least she hoped so.
After a short walk through the TARDIS corridors they entered what clearly was a medbay, fully equipped with alien devices of all sorts and a few beds.
"Told you I wanted to conduct a few tests on you," the Master told Roka with an innocent smile.
Her shoulders slumped a little and a groan escaped her. "I'm not immortal, god dammit!"
"I know, I know." He chuckled and raised his hands in mock-surrender, before he waved her over to a small glass chamber. "Always thinking the worst of me, aren't you?"
"Don't tell me that's surprising."
"Immortal?" River interrupted from behind.
The Master exchanged a quick look with Roka and it wouldn't have needed his mind's nudge against hers to agree on not telling the other woman about what exactly had happened at the crystal. So she only coughed and shrugged.
"Just, err... some running-gag," she evaded. "Would take too long to explain." To the Master she enquired, "And what exactly am I to expect?"
"Tests," he quipped back with a grin that he, however, dropped immediately. "The crystal's energy surged through the very fabric of your existence, if you so will. And there it doesn't matter how long ago that was, it could still have damaged you in some way."
"Do I even want know what exactly you did down there?" River chimed in and crossed her arms. "And what do you need me for, here? I'm not helping you harming her."
Narrowing his eyes to slits the Master trod in front of the woman, bent down - not much, since she was almost as big as him - and gave her a hateful glare. "You will help me making sure Roka isn't harmed, nor will be because of this." He flicked her forehead and immediately rushed back a step when River's hand twitched a little.
From behind Roka giggled at the action, criminally happy about how apparently scared he was of being slapped again.
He hastily straightened and took another few precautionary steps towards a small control table. "Some of those tests might be a little straining to a human body." The impish smile was back in an instant. "Nothing permanently harmful, promise. Just want to make sure, and I'm also a little curious what effects the glitch has left back."
Roka glanced at her hands and took off the thin gloves, earning a sharp hiss from River's direction. It was a disturbing sight, even for Roka herself, even though she knew it wouldn't spread to her whole body anymore.
"Did the crystal do that to you?" the curly woman asked and carefully took one of Roka's hands into her own to observe the floating matter around her fingers.
"No. That's a remnant of the glitch I told you about earlier. My matter lost more and more of its density over the years and, as you can see, it already started to disintegrate my body. The Master stopped it, but he couldn't make undone what already started."
"Which also means your entire atomic structure is probably less stable than it should be," he mused.
"And what does that have to do with the crystal?" River's scepticism was clearly audible.
Roka and the Master exchanged another look, after which he lied, "It's the reason she reacted so strongly to the crystal's energy. I need to know why exactly and how to make sure it won't happen again." Well, at least it was partially the truth. However, Roka was quite sure he also wouldn't mind if he'd find anything useful for himself within her data. "Your job," he continued, "is to press a few buttons for me, so I can read the output in the meantime. You'll also take care Roka won't collapse or anything the like. Can't rely on herself to tell me in time if she doesn't feel well."
His penetrating, accusing stare spoke more than words. Roka cringed a little and poked his side. "I can take a lot more than you give me credit for, you know."
"Yeah, sure," he sneered and bent down to her. "And later I can scratch you from the ground again. Or do you just abuse that to snuggle up on me?"
"Maybe." She poked out her tongue and grabbed his tie to draw him to her. "And it's cute to see how protective you sometimes are."
"Cute?!" he exclaimed and tore himself away with an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me? Take care, little crow, or I'll throw you out together with the other ape."
Roka only giggled at that and obediently let him conduct his tests.
oOo~-̶̰͕͑̐ ̵̡͔̕~̷̱̤̖̆͋͘ ̴͍̈́̂̽.̴̯̦̹͛ ̶͍̎͌#̷̡̳̟͆ ̷̲̇̋̑-̸̧͙͂ ̶͕̜̆̐̿~̵̡̛̳͖͂̃ ̵̣̊̓̄.̷͇̺́̏ ̷̞̑͐#̶̢͈̦͌ ̴̰̃̐͠-̸̝́ ̵̛̱͉~̸̫̈̎ ̴̙̇̿̄.̵̧͙̻̓͛̓ ̵̦̠̈́̿#̵̳͎̯̀̑ ̷͓̩̞̉̑͑-̴̮̞̕ ̸̢̭̪̊~̷͔͇̞̈́͝ ̵̙̬̓.̶̰̘̏͘ ̶̯̝͐̿͛#̷̪̆́ ̶̼̎̾͋-̸̨́ ̴͙̹̪͆͊~̵͓̓̔͐ ̶̛͎͍̗.̷̀̎ͅ ̴̳̬͆͝#̵͉̻̭̓̑ ̶͈̗̩̂̈́-̷̢̛̙͆͐ ̶̙̐~̶̬͓̎̈ ̵͓̄.̶̹̪̆͝͝ͅ ̵̥̑̀̈́#̵̭͚͂̔ ̷̤͔̈́͜-̷̥̗̈ ̵̝̀͆͘~̶̓̿͜ ̸̺̣̈́.̴̜͗̅ ̴̿͜#̷͈͉̋ͅ ̴̡̠̒̾-̵̡̯̤̒̕ ̸̺͋͂~̸̦̗͚̾̕ ̸̭̝͋.̸̢͖̻̅̇͝ ̴̨̬͗#̵̺͍̮̂ ̴͖̫̈́ͅ~oOo
It took several hours - and a great deal of additional bickering - before they were done with all the tests. By now Roka was happy about the sandwiches she had, her stomach growling in protest from time to time until the Master was finally satisfied with what they had gathered, for now.
River had kept her eyes open the whole time, both to make sure Roka wouldn't get harmed and also because some of the results were extraordinarily interesting, as she claimed.
"Especially your brain scans," she remarked at one point. "It's like your whole brain is wired slightly off. But that's not from any glitch." Curiously she bent left and right to take a proper look at the images and numbers and compared them with some from standard human brains. "Seems more like you were born with it."
"Yeah, the Master noticed that before. Could explain why I'm slightly more sensitive to light and sound, and a little less to pain than other people." Roka shrugged. "Other than that I haven't noticed anything weird. And even the things I named are only very subtle."
The Master trod next to them, head slightly tilted. "I once compared your old scans to those of the human population. Similar patterns occur in your species, although it's not that common. But also not concerningly rare." A mean grin split his lips and he purred, "Can't hardly make you any stranger than you already are."
Roka slapped his arm, but he evaded and, with a quick move, got her in a friendly headlock, ruffling through her short hair with a snicker. She playfully lunged at him, but couldn't reach him in that position and instead tried to kick his shins.
"Okay, okay, I surrender," she eventually giggled, giving up her struggles.
The Master released his hold on her, poking his tongue out. Roka observed him, made sure he seemed unprepared and casually stepped closer, before she swiftly grabbed his collar and his arm and flung him to the ground so fast it even surprised herself a little. Judging by the look she found on River's face, the other woman had awaited this move as less as the Master had. He had landed with a dull 'oof' on his back, blinking a few times surprised before bursting into a childish laugh.
"Totally forgot you can do that," he brought out and sat up, still chuckling to himself.
Roka gave him a smug look, staying guarded as he rose to his feet.
"Geeze, are you done behaving like kids?" River tossed in.
"Oh, I don't know." The Master took his time rolling his head to make his neck crack sickeningly loud. He then cast a roguish look at Roka. "Are we?"
She shrugged. "I had my fun."
Snickering he moved towards her, seemingly on his way back to the monitors, when he stopped midway to grab Roka's collar and pull her flush against him. His teeth blinked through his amused grin and he leaned down to quickly press a kiss to her lips. She winced back in surprise, but then pushed herself against him, savouring the intensity of the moment, the delicious tingling that went through her body.
There was a cough from behind, finally tearing the two apart. River rolled her eyes at them and nodded to the door. "Seeing you two have other things in mind, I guess I'm dismissed?"
Growling the Master retreated a little, although his eyes promised they would resume this. "Yeah, alright. Can't stand your face any longer anyway."
They left to the console room and River gave him some coordinates to drop her off. When the familiar sounds of the TARDIS landing resounded Roka was already at the doors, eager to take a peek outside to see where the mysterious woman would reside. At once her empty stomach was forgotten and only her sense for adventure remained, urging her outside as soon as the doors were willing to open.
The Master wanted to hold her back and grab her collar in the neck, but she was too fast and he had to follow outside, both perplex at the place. Somehow they had ended up on a patch of grass in some small park in London and certainly not in any distant future, by the looks of it.
"Mhm, that's not the right place," the Master grumbled annoyed. "Stupid machine is misbehaving again. Come."
He grabbed Roka's arm to drag her back inside the small wood storage hut the TARDIS had chosen as disguise, but the doors suddenly slammed shut in front of their faces, just as River was about to exit. Then the sound of the engines filled the air again, letting shock and threat surge through the Master and Roka at once as the TARDIS quickly disintegrated into thin air, leaving them both stranded and River still inside.
With a disbelieving look he let go of Roka and only glanced down at her with a dumbfounded expression.
"That... did not just happen, right?" he almost pleaded.
But Roka only could stare at the patch of grass where the TARDIS had stood moments ago, the only thought in her mind wandering to the Vortex Manipulator that still recharged in the console room. There was no way to call the time ship back, no way to jump anywhere else, and no possibility to contact River.
They were trapped on earth.
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