-/-

"Missy where are the others?"

For a moment the question hung between them and then a slow exaggerated clapping broke the silence.

"Bravo I must admit I am almost impressed."

Whirling around Osgood gasped as an amiable faced man in a beige suit seemed to appear out of the walls, his image flickering slightly which caused him to frown and punch a few commands into the iPad he was carrying in the crook of his arm. The illusion dropping around the room with was now filled with static filled monitors and the comatose forms of their travelling companions.

"Seb." Missy greeted the new arrival amiably as one might an old friend and yet Osgood had learnt quickly not to trust the timelady's smiles.

"Rebooted yourself I see." Missy tutted. "Those early versions of your programming had so many glitches it's a wonder you managed to retain a form at all."

"No thanks to you Mistress." Seb replied tartly. "It might not have been so trying if a certain someone hadn't deleted me."

"Now don't be like that poppet if you'd like Mummy to fix it all you have to do is ask nicely…go on say something nice."

"How about no?" Seb replied sarcastically punching in another few commands into his iPad with a smile. "Besides I rather think it is your turn."

"Ahh it's amazing how quickly they grow up, one moment they're nothing more than a basic interface and now look at you my boy all grown up and plotting plans of evil all on your own." Missy sighed reaching up to dramatically wipe a fake tear from her eye. "I am just so proud."

"Save the dramatics for the critics." Seb sneered. "Since you love surprises so much I thought the least I could devise one as a parting gift...Enjoy…" He added turning around the iPad screen so its contents were visible to the gallery.

C Chang…

F. Franklin…

O. Osgood…

D. Pink…

Missy…

DELETE ALL

"Well well well that is interesting. Well done poppet." Missy mused her blue eyes glinting wickedly as her AI seemed to preen a little under the praise.

"Thank you."

"And you came up with this all by yourself? You've not been copying off of anyone else have you?" Missy teased watching as Seb's face seemed to crumple like a small child who had been accused at cheating on a test. "Alright then poppet I'll play along, what do you want?"

"What makes you think I want anything…maybe I just wanted to beat you…" Seb replied innocently.

"Oh please." Missy laughed leaning back against the console as if she hadn't a care in the world. "You could have popped into secure storage and deleted us then if revenge was all you were after."

"Fine there might be one little thing." Seb admitted slowly holding up his fingers to emphasise the smallness of his favour, glancing up at his creator coyly from under thick dark eyebrows, rubbing his fingers together in barely restrained excitement and Missy's smile grew exponentially.

"Well go on you have the floor don't keep us all in suspense."

Bouncing slightly Seb all but gushed his reply. "I want to come too…when you leave..."

"What?" Osgood spluttered reminding the two plotting villains of her presence. "Where? You can't mean to earth?"

"For starters but I doubt I'll stay there…poky little backwater of a planet." Seb sniffed looking down his nose at his Mistresses latest pet, the one who had swooped in and taken his place in his brief absence.

Where had she been during the last five hundred odd years hmm? Not stuck in the Nethersphere having to process the multitude of human dead who turned up on the hour every hour, it was so tedious, and Seb was bored from having to repeat the same conversation over and over and over again…humans were so very tedious.

"But how is that possible you're just a computer programme…"

"And you're just a sack of water but there is no need to get personal." Seb huffed barely resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at the interloper.

"Now children play nicely." Missy chastised a smile playing about her lips. They really were adorable the pair of them scrapping for her attention…perhaps she should keep them both? "So Pinocchio wants to be a real boy?"

"I would say that would be an adequate reward for a lifetime of services rendered, Yes." Seb replied genially before adding and waving about his iPad of death like it merely showed the latest football scores. "Not to mention my little incentive here…"

"You know I can't just put you through the teleporter, you don't have the level of detail required in your file for one." Missy lectured her blue eye narrowing as she considered the possibilities as she tapped her red fingernails against her chin.

"Of course I could use one of the detailed scans from one of the dead humans, I'd have to find some way of converting one of the cyber interfaces to allow your AI intelligence to survive in the new environment but it's doable...It would take time to recompile the data though…"

"Or you could use one of them." Seb suggested helpfully pointing to the comatose forms around them.

"See I knew there was a reason I kept you around all these years." Missy exclaimed in delight as her eyes roamed her fallen travelling companions.

"Wait…what…No…" Osgood spluttered and stumbled and struggled to keep up. "You can't mean…you can't just steal one of their bodies."

"Well why not?" Seb huffed. "They're dead they don't need it anymore."

"They aren't completely dead not when there is a way for them to go back." Osgood argued turning to Missy. "Please don't do this; you said there was another way."

"Well yes but that would take ages to sort out and honestly we are on the clock here Skip."

"Besides if I don't get my body they are all deleted anyway. So it really is the lessor of two evils…the needs of the many…" Seb added helpfully, pleased when his Mistress turned and bestowed a proud smile on him.

"Exactly."

"So do I get to pick?" Seb could barely contain his excitement, his eyes flickering maliciously in Osgood's direction, and the young scientist backed away from him nervously.

"Now now be nice Seb dear." Missy chuckled. "Besides trust me you wouldn't want the complications of being a woman and I'm sorry but Mr Pink is also off of the list I still have use for him."

Pouting like a child denied a sweet Seb could only turn his attention to his two remaining options…well honestly there really was only one viable choice. "Well then it will have to be Dr Chang I suppose."

"A fine choice." Missy concurred turning her attention back to the console. "Now let me see…"

"Wait please wait!" Osgood begged rushing over to the timelady's side. "Please don't do this…there has to be another way…I mean you have a tardis what does it matter if things take a little longer?"

"Honestly Skip I thought you had done your homework, you know full well I can't go back in my own timeline and I have places to be…"

"People to kill…" Seb interjected his smile growing as Osgood glared at him.

"But…but can't you just make a copy? I mean can't you save a copy of Dr Chang's file and use that instead?" Osgood suggested.

"Yes but then there would be two of me running about." Seb huffed. "I don't like the idea of that at all."

"Humans manage." Osgood retorted turning her brown eyes on The Master who was eyeing her like she was being interesting again.

"I mean identical twins seem to cope and I even have a duplicate after that encounter with the Zygons and she has managed just fine…better than fine I mean she isn't even human she has managed to make more out of her life than I have."

Pouting sympathetically Missy reached out and patted Osgood's cheek. "Now now stop running yourself down Skip I told you confidence is the key."

"Please." Osgood begged. "Just please."

Her smile growing by epic proportions Missy ran her fingers across the ape's cheek before reaching up to stroke the loose bits of hair back from Osgood's face twirling them around her dexterous fingers. "You'll have to do better than that dearie, what will you give me in return for this little favour?"

For a moment Osgood drew a blank, what could she possibly offer that The Master would value?

"I'll…I'll…"

"Oh look you broke her." Seb sneered from the sidelines yet Osgood ignored him and wracked her brain for an answer.

"I'll be your companion." The words were out of her mouth before Osgood could stop them and from the gleeful way The Master's eyes lit up this was not an offer she was going to be able to just retract.

"Oh how very self-sacrificing of you Skip, you'll let me show you all of time and space, and this is supposed to be a favour for me?" Missy teased.

"And…and I'll tell The Doctor!" Osgood exclaimed her dark eyes glowing as she stumbled upon what she knew was Missy's Achilles heel. She had seen the two of them interacting in the aeroplane, she had read the files on The Doctor's past encounters with The Master and more importantly she had briefly been inside The Master's head.

Digging her fingernails roughly into Osgood's messy hairdo Missy dragged the unresisting wincing girl closer. "You'll tell The Doctor what Skip?"

"That I'm choosing you, to travel with you over him, that you saved me saved us all and I wanted to stay with you."

Dropping Osgood suddenly Missy could only stare at the human. "He wouldn't believe you."

"I could convince him…I mean it's not so unbelievable, you said it yourself you used to travel with companions."

"I believe I used the word conquests Skip." Missy replied wryly watching as the delightful girl blushed deeply, such an innocent. It was tempting, not that Missy believed the ape would be able to convince her Doctor of anything but it would torment him delightfully knowing that his latest choice had slipped through his fingers.

"Well I confess your offer intrigues me; it's a deal." Missy pronounced gleefully holding out her hand watching as Osgood swallowed down any outward feelings of panic before placing her hand in The Masters and shaking on their agreement.

Yet there was no hiding the way her pulse raced or her fake palms were starting to sweat, Osgood knew it and worse The Master knew that she knew that she knew it.

Turning back to the teleporter The Master began to manically flip switches with what now appeared to be a permanent grin on her face.

"My my, this is going to be fun."

-/-