AN: Obviously more happened before the beginning of the flashback, and after where I ended it, but the bit shown was the most important part, so…you know. Anyway, again…back to the present... again.
/
"So that's your motivation then- to use them against me," The Doctor announced bitterly, once his eldest son had finished talking them through the story.
"Oh yes," The Master chuckled. "And of course…the difficult relationship that you and Levis sometimes experience, will only serve to make it easier."
"No!" the youngest brother hissed suddenly. "No. And you know why? Because whatever differences we have, dad and I still love each other- 'cause we're family. And what I, he, and Owen have is stronger than anything you can pull. So, yeah, you can try and play this little game…but it won't work." The Doctor smiled, slightly surprised and nodded in agreement.
"That's how it rolls," Owen agreed, grinning.
"We can take anything you throw at us," the younger brother acknowledged with a shrug.
"Yes," the elder brother paused and frowned "Apart from maybe a bomb…"
"Why a bomb?" Ianto questioned, looking at him in confusion.
"'Cause…well, sometimes idiots throw bombs, as opposed to planting them or what have you."
"True…that's rather inconsiderate. Even more so than usual- because it makes it harder for the people attempting to disable to actually find it," the younger brother agreed thoughtfully.
"Exactly. Plus…it's even more self-destructive- you could lose an arm playing a risky little game like that. Not to mention, it's even more dangerous for the innocents involved," Owen stated, shaking his head in something akin to disapproval and disappointment.
"Boys!" The Doctor intercepted, before they could go any further. Both of his sons paused and looked at him curiously. "As much as I've missed you, and love your madness…now is the time," he stated, looking amused.
"Right," Ianto acknowledged.
"Time and a place," the other brother agreed.
"Perhaps making the pair of you Timelord's again was a bad idea," The Master mentioned, repressing a groan of frustration- he'd forgotten just how annoying they truly were. Plus, the boy's and The Doctor in the same room, all three of them hyped up and imprisoned, could probably push him over the edge and towards madness. Well...further madness. "You don't mean that, Koschei- you know you love us really," Owen countered, smirking and raising his eyebrows at the eldest Timelord. Ianto simply grinned.
"That is not my name!" The Master growled, his eyes flashing harshly. The two youngest Timelord's however, were undeterred by his anger.
"Okay, so why is it all right for you to call us Atrum and Levis, but not for us to call you Koschei/Kos?" the younger brother questioned, shooting The Master an overly innocent frown. "That's a valid point," The Doctor pointed out, grinning.
"Because Koschei is not my name. You know my name is The Master. And you're also aware that 'Koschei,' your beloved Koschei," The eldest Timelord snarled; his eyes dark and cold. "Is dead. I'm what was left in his place, and you'd better get used to it."
"I don't believe that…I think Koschei is alive, hidden behind the drums, and all that anger," The Doctor countered sadly, looking at his old friend with eyes full of pain and desperation. "And I know…I know that."
"Does the same apply for Theta?" The Master sneered harshly.
"No…" the other Timelord murmured solemnly, shaking his head and biting his lip.
"Then why is it so hard for you to believe that the same applies for Koschei? What don't you understand about this? He no longer exists!"
"You've changed, and become something twisted…but we've got to believe that the Timelord we knew is still there," the younger brother mused softly.
"He's got to be," The Doctor acknowledged, his voice barely above a whisper, and yet laced with pain and despair.
"Come on! It's just us three, who are we gonna tell? You can still stop all this…and everything can be fine," Owen told The Master. The eldest Timelord growled in the back of his throat, and changed the subject very suddenly. "I'm assuming the pair of you can feel the freak?"
"Don't call him that!" Ianto warned harshly, anger flaring through him, as he shot the eldest Timelord a heated glare.
"Ah, yes….I forgot, that as a human, you and he were in a relationship," The Master stated, his tone filling with disgust.
"And we probably still will be after all this shit is done," Ianto shot back simply.
"You know…I must say, I much preferred your previous choice in partner, back home," The Master stated coldly. The Doctor shook his head in disgust; failing to understand how his adversary could stand there, and use someone who was lost on Gallifrey as a weapon; especially when The Master had lost everyone as well…
"Don't even go there! Don't you dare," the youngest Timelord snarled, his eyes flashing with anger and pain. The Master smirked, looking pleased by the reaction he received.
"You don't seem to understand, Levis…I can say, or do whatever I like… It is my planet now," The eldest Timelord jeered, his eyes flashing with cruelty.
"In your fucking dreams, bitch!" Owen retorted, smirking coldly. The Doctor was considering berating him for his language, but that thought was soon knocked from his head as he watched The Master backhand his eldest son, causing his head to snap violently to the side and drawing a hiss of pain from him. "That wasn't necessary!" Ianto shouted, pulling against his restraints in anger.
"How dare you? It always falls to violence with you, doesn't it?" The Doctor seethed, sounding absolutely furious at the fact that his old friend had dared to hit one of his boys.
"Totally not cool," Owen complained, grimacing in pain and annoyance.
"Learn some respect!" The Master barked harshly; shooting daggers at them all.
"We respected you once," the younger brother countered softly. The eldest Timelord growled and stormed out of the room. The guards followed after him and took up their sentry positions outside.
"Are you two okay?" The Doctor questioned; his expression and tone softening as he glanced at his sons in concern. Owen nodded, grimacing again and rubbing his cheek ruefully.
"We're fine…what about you?" the youngest son countered. The Doctor sighed and nodded, leaning against the wall once more. He remained silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "I'm sorry, boys…For this, for the whole human thing, for Jack, and for…Gallifrey," he said softly, not looking at his children.
"Dad…it's really all right," Owen assured him, reaching out and touching his arm kindly.
"What happened?" the younger brother questioned gently, in reference to Gallifrey. The eldest Timelord sighed heavily and bit his lower lip. He wasn't going to lie or deceive them, they had right to know.
"The war…there was no sign of it ending, and we weren't winning. I had to stop it….I had to stop the Dalek's- because I couldn't let them go out into the universe and destroy it all. I had to stop them. I had to do it...I was the only one who could," he explained, pain, guilt, bitterness and sadness seeping into his quiet voice. He paused and drew in a sharp breath, and then he spoke again; the words tumbling out, almost beyond his control. "I killed them all, everyone. Your mother, my brother, his kids, my cousins, my friends, your friends, Drax, The Rani, The Master's sister, our family, our friends, his family, his friends. Family upon family…everyone.Even Axtran and Kiara…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for everything…"
The two young Timelord's said nothing, anguish and grief written across their faces, so that their expressions mirrored their father's. Although their father had time to come to terms with the deaths -even though he clearly hadn't completely, and still blamed himself- for the brothers, the wounds were fresh; all those loved ones…gone. As he said; 'even Axtran and Kiara'. Axtran had been Ianto's boyfriend, a few years elder than him; and well…let's put it this way, Jack wasn't the first person that Ianto had loved; nor was he the only; as the youngest Timelord still held feelings for his deceased boyfriend. And Kiara, she'd been Owen's girlfriend; perhaps…if things had been different, the two brothers would've married them their respective partners. Yes…all of the wounds were very fresh, but at the same time, they were for their father. The man whom currently seemed close to tears. They understood, the pair of them, that they needed to reassure him, to show him that they didn't blame him; because no matter how much he felt it was his fault, they didn't believe that. The two sons moved closer to their father, offering him comfort with proximity.
"I…We understand, dad…And, you couldn't let the Daleks out into the universe, no. Listen…don't blame yourself, because even if you hadn't taken such action…the Daleks may have done, only they wouldn't have been destroyed as well. And then there would've been no Timelords, and a countless number of Daleks," the youngest assured him softly. There was a long silence, which easily lasted ten minutes or so, wherein the three Timelord's simply sat, brooding, unintentionally feeding off each other's sorrow, grief and pain as they all tried to control themselves enough to speak.
Owen managed it first, eventually breaking the silence with a tentative and concerned question. "Have you seen Jack?"
The Doctor shook his head regretfully, looking anxious and if possible, even more depressed.
"No…but I'm sure you know what's happening, and I'll warn you-" he trailed off and dropped his gaze, shaking his head. "What is it, dad?" Ianto pressed, looking worried.
"Dad?" Owen prompted, biting his lip.
"Sometimes he's so loud…you can hear him, and it's…it's horrible, because you know there's nothing you can do. And I'm sorry, that you're going to have to hear it."
Ianto shook his head and dropped his own gaze, and Owen sighed, and glanced at the ceiling.
"Poor Jack. Wish we could do something."
"Yeah…but it'll be far more satisfying for him to know that we're suffering due to Jack's suffering. We heard him earlier; he wants to use us against dad, so he'll be doing the same with Jack, using his suffering against all three of us. Emotional, psychological torture…if you will," Ianto summarised quietly. The other two sighed and nodded; it was true…so true.
"Dad… could you give us the abridged version of how all this started?" the elder brother asked after a moment. The Doctor nodded wearily and begun to fill them in. After he'd finished, there was yet another moment of silence. "Fuck," Ianto cursed, and The Doctor didn't even bother to chastise him about it this time- because who wouldn't swear at that point in time? "You have a plan, right?" Owen murmured to their father, who simply nodded. "Don't tell us, I'd rather be surprised," Ianto muttered, grinning. "Seriously though dad…he's going to try to use us against you…I want you to promise that you won't give in to him," he then pleaded.
"I don't…I really don't think I can do that. I mean, I can't promise that. I would do anything or the pair of you- you know that," the eldest Timelord sounded worried.
"We do, and so does he. He'll play off on our emotions. And our weaknesses-those we care about. Please…pleasetry not to let him succeed," the older brother beseeched, looking –like his younger brother- anxious.
"I'll try…" The Doctor promised sadly "But if he tries to turn it around, and use me against you…I want you to do the same. Don't let him get to you."
"We'll try," Ianto agreed grimly.
"And the same for each other…" Owen murmured to him. All this talk about them all being used as weapons against each other was incredibly depressing, and not to mention unsettling.
"Can't believe how bad he's got, since we last saw him," the younger brother sighed.
"I know…but we can still stop him- save him. We have to try at least," The Doctor stated, determination filling his eyes with fire.
"Yeah…I agree. But what if we can't?" Ianto pointed out, raising his eyebrows.
"We will. I won't give up on him- we won't give up on him," The eldest Timelord persisted, shaking his head firmly and setting his jaw.
"Look, I'm not saying any of us should. I'm just saying, what if we can't?" Ianto retorted, irritation seeping into his tone.
"What the hell are you suggesting?" The Doctor growled, shooting a glare at him.
"Stop it! This isn't helping anything. Dad, Lev isn't suggesting anything. And Lev, dad isn't trying to undermine you, or anything, okay?" Owen growled, shaking his head- finding that again…he had to be the voice of reason. The Doctor sighed and shook his head; because it was so easy for he and his youngest son to irritate each other, to argue. "Sorry," he told his youngest. "Me too," Ianto sighed, nodding.
"Thank you- that's the mature thing to do," the eldest brother agreed, nodding. For some reason…The Doctor's and Levis' relationship had always been slightly strained- the pair often disagreeing, arguing and combating each other. However, the disagreements they'd had so far…were nothing compared to some they'd had in the past. "You guys really need to stop this- because he will use it to his advantage," he reiterated.
"As I said…we won't let him," Ianto growled. "He's not going to manage it."
It was acknowledged, however, that such a thing was easier said than done.