Author's Notes: Apologies for the long, long delay in this update! Found myself putting the cart before the horse due to a recalcitrant character! But the next installments are outlined, and I've done some writing ahead as well, so the rest shouldn't take quite so long. As always, Kit and Madhukar are mine; all else belongs to the BBC.
"You know, running into people who are supposed to be dead is getting old," Jack said, sliding off the table into what the Doctor recognized as a deceptively casual defensive stance.
"He said he'd never die," Rose said nervously. "He said nothing could destroy him. Not even a black hole could—"
"Easy, Rose." The Doctor stepped forward, looking Toby up and down. Toby? Toby's body, at any rate, so Toby it is. "Now I understand 'Megiddo.' Can't say I see the humor in it, though," he said, keeping his voice calmer than he felt.'We beat it. That's good enough for me.' What a damned fool I was. 'Good enough' never is. "Jack, now you can tell people you've met the devil himself. At least, that's who he says he is."
The Dalek suddenly, finally, broke its silence. "He is God! You will worship him or be exterminated!"
"What, again?" Jack commented dryly.
"You've found yourself a new god?" the Doctor asked in a surprised tone. "You Daleks are fickle!" Then he gasped and pointed at the Dalek with both hands. "Oh, wait! Wait wait wait wait wait! Not a new god. You think you've found an old god! The Kaled god of war!" He rushed up to the Dalek to look it in the eyestalk. "He's taken advantage of the last shreds of your racial memory, and set himself up to be worshipped!" He straightened up to look at Toby. "Instead of an army of Ood, you have an army of Daleks just waiting in hell! Not to mention the Cybermen! Tell me, how'd you work that out? Cybermen don't have a god or devil."
"Cybermen also didn't have a concept of hell, until you sent them into the Void," Toby answered in that deep, coldly intelligent voice as he slowly walked over to the Dalek. "They do now, and I am their savior who will give them a world in their own image."
The Doctor let out a wild little laugh. "So I sent them all to wait for you! I thought I'd been so clever! But nothing's ever that easy, is it?" His smile vanished and his voice became deadly soft. "I'll just have to try a bit harder this time."
Toby caressed the Dalek's dome. "Ignore this one, my disciple," he said. "We already have plans for him. Soon I will free you and your brethren to rampage across the worlds."
"We will exterminate all unbelievers! The universe will be purged!" the Dalek proclaimed.
"Daleks with a religious fixation," the Doctor scoffed. "Old news. Seen it before. Beat it before. If you're Lucifer or Satan or whatever you want to call yourself, surely you can come up with something a bit more original?"
"You still don't believe? Yet you accept the existence of angels," Toby said, pointing to where Kit was sitting.
"I accept that Kit's people are the basis for the legends of angels," the Doctor answered. "But I've been the basis of a legend or two myself, so I know better than to put too much stock into them. You claim to be from before time. That's impossible."
Kit's quiet, serious voice came from behind him. "Doctor, nothing is impossible."
He swung round to look at her as she rose from her chair, and felt a chill when he saw her eyes. They were cold and stony, with no trace of her usual impudence. No jokes in the face of danger this time. Now I know we're in trouble.
Apparently Rose knew it too. Her voice shook as she asked, "What do you mean? He isn't…he can't be the real devil!"
"Some legends must be believed, Rose," Kit answered, still in that quiet tone. "And sometimes, even the Father of Lies can speak the truth."
"And sometimes lies can come from the lips of an angel," Toby countered with a sneer. He looked at Jack. "You know she's lied to you before. She just lied to you a moment ago. How do you know she tells the truth when she's in your arms?"
"I know," Jack growled.
"Leave him out of this!" Kit snapped.
Toby smiled like a man with a secret as he looked back at her. "Tell me, young one, do the lies come easier now that you've fallen?"
She ignored the snide question. "I knew someone powerful was behind this," she said, looking around the room. "Only someone from the First Circle could copy a reality this precisely. And only you could still use the power of the Vortex without the Music."
"Another lie, young one? Avoiding the issue doesn't make it go away," Toby said. He jerked his head over toward Jack. "Is he worth the consequences of your fall?" Slowly, he circled around Kit, watching her. "Do you understand the cost of your lust? 'The angels that kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.'" He stopped and stood looming in front of her. "The wages of sin is death. You know I speak the truth."
She snorted. "You really can quote Scripture to suit your own purposes! My choice to leave the Circles is not the same as your decision to try to rule them and dictate the Music."
"Circles…" the Doctor said slowly. "He's from the First Circle?"
Toby looked pleased. "You begin to understand, don't you? Maybe even to believe?"
"Understand what, Doctor?" Rose asked.
He looked over at her. "Some legends of angels say they're organized in hierarchies. Sometimes they're called Spheres."
"Or Circles," Jack concluded with wide eyes.
Rose looked stunned herself. "Kit, does that mean that he—that the devil is one of your people?"
"What's legend to some is history to others," Kit replied. "Your legend of the devil's fall is my history."
"But we were speaking of your fall, young one," Toby said. "It is amusing. The coddled little Third Circle brat, so pampered and spoiled, but in the end, falling to lust."
Kit's eyes narrowed. "There's a difference between lust and love," she said icily. "Although the difference is lost on someone who's not capable of either."
"Do you want to see how capable I am?" Toby grabbed her shoulders roughly and pulled her up against him, forcing her up on her toes, their faces bare inches apart. Jack started to move toward them, but she put up one hand in a quelling motion. Jack froze while she and Toby locked eyes for a long moment. Then he said, "No. I have other plans for you, young one. Later." He pushed her away, and she stumbled back into Jack's arms. Jack helped her get her footing again, and stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders.
"A man of many plans," the Doctor mused, leaning back against the table. "Say I accept that you are indeed the truth behind the myth. See, I know that Kit doesn't lie about this sort of thing." He pointed a scolding finger at Toby. "And don't think I'm going to let you get away with calling her a liar, either!"
"But she does lie when she says she cannot do anything without the Music," Toby said, looking at Kit and ignoring Jack. "And she knows it. The raw power is there. The Music just gives it a certain order. You want to stop all of this, young one? Just reach out and take the power! I can show you how," he said in a whisper, holding her eyes again. "Of course, you're Third Circle, so it will cost you your life. Are they worth it?" He chuckled when she looked down. "Apparently not! You're afraid!" he said in an accusing tone.
"Leave her alone!" Jack said harshly, stepping around her to stand over Toby and glare challengingly at him.
Although Jack stood a few inches taller than Toby, the other man didn't back down. Instead, Toby looked amused. "Or you'll do what, exactly?"
"Stay calm, Jack. He's trying to play us all," the Doctor said as he pushed away from the table and walked toward them. He put a hand on Kit's shoulder. "No self-sacrifice, Kit, do you hear me? We all know what we're worth to you. Don't let him goad you." He looked at Toby. "I wanted to ask you something, Toby…Toby…hmm…Kit, what do your people call him?"
"We don't speak his name," she said coldly.
"I'll stick with Toby, then. Now, what was it I wanted to ask?" He thought for a moment. "Oh yes. If I accept that you are who you say you are, then tell me this." He began pacing. "Explain this to me. Compared to you, the Master is a small-time maniac. Why take him as a business associate? What could he possibly do for someone who can manipulate reality to suit himself?" He waved his hand to indicate the Dalek. "You have a pair of armies, so what do you need him for? It's a puzzlement!" He threw up his hands, then paused and glanced over at Rose. "I'm quoting musicals again, aren't I?"
"The King and I," Rose answered. The Doctor was pleased to see a ghostly smile appearing on her face, and on Kit's, too. Jack gave him a barely perceptible nod of approval.
"Still...the Master. Why do you need him?" the Doctor asked again. He crossed his arms and gazed upwards pensively for a moment, then opened his mouth and widened his eyes as an idea struck him. "Oh, I see! You need him for the same reason Kit needed me to re-create the Eye of Harmony! Your people can't create power sources to amplify or disrupt the Music! But he could help you by using the tools you copied and create a signal to bottle the Singers up. Then you could run rampant without being stopped by them. But what does he get in return?"
"Exactly what I've been wanting for a very long time." The Master strode back into the room, followed by Madhukar.
The Doctor's heart sank as he saw his student's eyes. The pupils were dilated, with only a tiny ring of green surrounding them. Just like Grace, he thought despairingly.
"The TARDIS looks beautiful inside," the Master said. "Love what you've done with her. The outside…well, I'll have that chameleon circuit fixed in no time." He smiled slyly at the Doctor's glare. "So, did you all have a nice chat while we were gone?"
"What have you done to Madhukar?" Rose demanded.
The Master reached out and brushed the back of his fingers against Madhukar's cheek. "Just made him see things my way," he answered. He dropped his hand and sauntered toward Rose. "I think the human term for it is 'possession.'" His gaze wandered over Rose's body, and then he threw a knowing glance over at the Doctor. "This one is even sweeter than the one you were with the last time we met, Doctor. What was her name? Grace?" He looked back at Rose. "I possessed her, too, you know. Let me show you how it's done, my dear." He grabbed Rose's upper arm with one hand and put the other hand at the back of her neck, pulling her towards him and inclining his mouth toward hers.
"NO!" Toby ordered. The Master stopped, and with a dark look released her. Toby went on, "That one is mine. You can have him." He pointed at Jack.
The Master looked Jack over. "Not really my type..."
"Neither are you. And I don't say that about too many people," Jack shot back.
They were interrupted by clanking steps on the staircase. "The project is complete," announced the metallic voice of the Cyberman that came partway down the stairs.
"Excellent!" the Master said. He looked over at Toby. "Would you like to see the fruits of their labor?"
Toby shook his head. "This is your moment. I will assemble the armies. Meet me on the platform."
The Master gave a single nod and looked at the Doctor's group. "If you will all please follow the nice Cyberman up?" He drew Jack's blaster out with one hand, and made an after you gesture with the other.
Warily, the Doctor mounted the stairs. He glanced back to see that Jack was keeping the women between them as they ascended, and that Madhukar was walking up next to the Master. He could hear Toby giving orders to the Dalek.
"Go tell your brethren to gather on the plain of Megiddo," Toby said. "Your time is at hand."
"I obey," the Dalek answered. The Doctor could hear the whir of the Dalek moving away as he reached the top of the stairs.
The Cyberman stood next to an open door. "You will enter," the Cyberman instructed.
The Doctor stepped though the doorway, into a room with three other Cybermen waiting inside. They stood beside a control panel. A long metallic slab stood upright in the center of the room. It had shackles arranged near its top, on either side of its center, and at its bottom. Beside it stood a small table holding a silver sphere. Above it hung a lethal collection of drills and blades. Lethal, and familiar. Rose apparently recognized it too, because she gasped and held on to his arm.
"So that's your great plan?" the Doctor asked mildly. "Turn us all into Cybermen?" He heard Jack take in a shocked breath behind him.
The Master walked in and looked around the room, nodding in satisfaction. He led Madhukar over to the control panel, and answered, "No, not all of you, Doctor. Just you. And you won't exactly be a Cyberman." He strolled back towards the Doctor. "You see, if I just take your body the way I did with Tremas and Bruce, your consciousness will survive. But I don't trust you to share my mind. Still, as the American saying goes, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Especially when it's as brilliant as yours. A Cyber upgrade would preserve your mind, but regular Cyber conversion wrecks the body. That would defeat the purpose! So we came up with this: a system customized to keep your body alive without having to regenerate, and to move your brain into this." He moved to the table with the sphere and caressed it.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you forgetting something? That host brain you're using now is decaying."
"Ah, but that's the beauty of it!" the Master said with a dark smile. "Your half-human body can support this host brain. Your mind will remain here in this little ball for eternity, and you will feel the pain of it all. No emotion or pain suppressors for you, Doctor. I want you to know everything that happens. To feel every stab, every slash, and then the phantom pains of your missing body."
"You are a monster!" Rose snarled, releasing the Doctor's arm to lunge toward the Master.
The Doctor and Jack both reached out to grab her and pull her back. "No, Rose! They'll kill you!" the Doctor snapped, and wrapped his arms around her. "Wait for better odds," he said quietly into her ear.
The Master laughed. "Very touching. This is as good as it gets, old friend. Say your goodbyes. But don't look so sad, my dear. His body will remain, with a much more inventive occupant," he added with a leer.
"Try anything and I'll make sure you regenerate!" Rose warned.
Her defiance made the Doctor want to cheer. He gave her a little squeeze for reassurance, and glared over at the Master. "Don't underestimate my friends," he said. "We're not dead yet."
"In just a matter of minutes, you'll be as good as dead," the Master said. "But as amusing as it would be to hear you beg for your life, Doctor, this butchery is beneath a Time Lord. And I have an appointment elsewhere." He looked over at Madhukar. "You know what needs to be done, my student. I leave Phase One to you. I will return shortly for Phase Two."
"Yes, Master," Madhukar replied in a dull tone. Dull, but it cut the Doctor like a knife.
The Master strode over and yanked Rose away from the Doctor. "Come. Time for us to review the armies of hell." He pushed her toward Jack and Kit, and once again aimed Jack's blaster at them to herd them toward the door.
Two of the Cybermen moved toward the Doctor, grasping his arms and forcing him back against the conversion table. The clamps snapped into place around his neck, wrists and ankles.
"Doctor!" Rose's eyes were wide and anguished, locked on his as the table began to tilt back slowly.
"Don't give up, Rose! We're not dead yet!" the Doctor called as the Master forced his companions from the room, the door slamming behind them. He stared straight ahead at the top half of the dingy wall, then the speckled tile of the ceiling, and finally at the deadly gleam of the conversion assembly as the table finished its ninety-degree tilt and locked into place.
"Couldn't I just take some paracetemol and call you in the morning?"