oOo

Kyris was tired of being a prisoner, but had to admit it was better than being dead.

The first thing the Master had tried, of course, was to kill him. Still, Kyris had been surprised and even a little outraged at that reaction; what if he, Kyris, was the only one who knew where the data retriever was? Or Susan? It was very shortsighted of the Master, but he seemed to have been rattled by Kyris' unexpected appearance. The Doctor he'd been prepared for, but apparently not his son.

It had taken a lot of shouting and dodging, but finally Kyris had gotten the Master to understand the benefits of keeping him alive. He'd done that in the most expeditious way possible, by simply standing there and allowing the Master to see him heal himself of the wounds that had been inflicted on various parts of his body.

He'd watched, the gun dangling slackly the only indication of his astonishment, his face as stony as ever Kyris had seen. Then he'd spoken. "What do you want, boy?"

Kyris ignored the tone, ignored the fact that this man had murdered his mother ten times over, ignored what he'd seen on the reader screen, ignored everything except his need to keep Ace and his father alive. "I want to trade, of course. My life, my abilities, for theirs."

The gun slipped out of the Master's loosened grasp and fell to the floor with a clatter. They both ignored it as the Master took a step closer, staring intently into Kyris' eyes. "What's to stop me from agreeing and then doing as I wish once you are in my power?"

Kyris met his gaze coolly. "Because I won't ever be in 'your power.'" A hint of a sneer crept into his voice. "Because at the first sign of betrayal, I'll kill you; barring that, I'll burn myself out at the most inopportune moment and let you die when I could have saved you." He meant it, every word, the Master had no doubts.

"And if I do not betray you?" The Master's very posture spoke of his doubt as to that outcome, but Kyris chose to take the words at face value. He'd handle the Master's inevitable attempt to circumvent the deal when it came.

"Then my abilities are at your disposal." There. The deal was offered. If it wasn't something the Master was interested in, he was as good as dead. If it was...

"What makes you think your abilities are something I want?" Not need, never need; the Master would never admit to needing anything.

"Because you've burned out your old body and had to resort to stealing a new one. One that doesn't regenerate. You'll be forced to steal another one, sooner or later. I can make that later a lot further into the future than you expected." Kyris waited for the threat, but it never came; apparently the Master knew enough about the old legends not to attempt to steal Kyris' body for his own.

"And the little bauble Romana made as a gift for your father?"

Kyris had expected that question, but not necessarily the hitch of pain he felt, hearing the Master mention his mother so casually. He ignored it as best he could. "He destroyed it." Believe the lie, he willed, silently, urgently. Believe the lie because of the truth of my offer.

The Master picked up the weapon with an abrupt motion, and Kyris went very still. But the outlaw merely turned and headed for his TARDIS, not even bothering to see if Kyris was following. Which he did, after allowing himself a brief moment to wipe the sweat away from his eyes, to work off the trembling in his limbs and slow the flutter of his hearts.

He allowed himself another moment, hesitating in the doorway to the Master's TARDIS, looking out at the peaceful French landscape, knowing that it might be the last time he ever looked at Earth, his daughter's home, his father's favorite place, knowing he might never be welcome there again. Not after helping the Master; even if he did nothing but keep his father's enemy alive, he was just as culpable for any crimes the renegade might commit. With a sigh, he turned and followed, closing the door softly behind him.

With a flash of light and sound, the TARDIS, disguised as an oversized statue of Venus, vanished.

That had been what, two, three weeks subjective time ago? Hard to tell, imprisoned as he was in a small bed-and-bath suite deep in the TARDIS interior. The Master made sure he was adequately fed, but so far had made no demands on him, required no further demonstrations or performed any tests. Nor had he allowed Kyris any sign of where in the continuum they might be, but he hadn't sensed the small quiver this TARDIS made when it landed.

Not that he could tell very much about the Master's machine; not only was it more subtle than his father's, it was also attuned to the Master and thus inimical to himself. He'd tried a tentative attempt at linking, at communication, only to be abruptly and painfully shut out.

With nothing else to do except wait, Kyris constructed a vividly realized image of Ace in his mind. Sometimes she was drowsing next to him on his bed, sometimes her eyes flashed fire as she stormed out of the TARDIS, sometimes she was laughing, depending on how guilty he was feeling about tricking her and his father.

He frowned as his father replaced Ace momentarily in his mind's eye, his form quivering into place over hers until she disappeared and he was left facing his father's mildly inquisitive gaze.

He couldn't bear to see it for long, even in his own mind; where Ace was a comfort, his father only brought him slamming back to reality. A reality he'd willingly committed himself to, but nevertheless a reality which was nothing like the one he'd envisioned since letting himself become entangled with Ace. "Don't try to find me," he whispered. The clues he'd used to find the Master would be, should be useless to his father now, since they'd moved away from that place. It was comforting, to at least know that future wouldn't happen.

The door to his room abruptly slammed open, and he jumped warily to his feet. He'd been sitting on the floor, leaning his back against the bed, and he felt the stiffness that told him he'd been sitting there for many hours, unaware of the passage of time.

"It seems I might not have a choice in whether or not I keep our bargain."

Kyris stared, uncomprehending, as the Master gestured him out of the room impatiently. "What do you mean?" But he had a sinking sensation in his stomach that matched the hardness behind the Master's dark eyes.

"It seems they've managed to follow us, somehow, to find us. Your father and his latest companion, Ace, is it? They're here." The Master studied his willing captive's stunned face and decided he honestly wasn't expecting them, that this wasn't part of some elaborate trap. Not that he trusted the boy, but he'd not tried to escape, not once, and the Master's attempts to locate any kind of a homing device had come up empty. However, here they were, and thus needed to be dealt with, one way or another. He'd regret losing Kyris' intriguing abilities, but he'd managed without them thus far and had no doubt he'd continue to manage without them if he was forced to take care of the Doctor, and Kyris made good on his threats. Either way, he mused as he strode toward the console room, he got something he wanted. Better to get everything he wanted, but thus far he hadn't come up with a way for that to happen, and so he was content to see which coveted outcome he did get.