When the Master had used his life force to defeat Rassilon, he hadn't expected to live.
To be clear, he hadn't wanted to die. He had just wanted Rassilon to die more than he wanted to live at the time. And far worse than the fear of death was the terror and pain he'd felt when his Doctor had pointed a gun at him. It was almost funny, the way their positions were reversed, the Master with fear painted clearly on his face and sadness in his eyes, the Doctor emotionless.
But his terror was nothing compared to the relief when the Doctor had told him to get out of the way, and the sadistic joy he'd felt upon hearing Rassilon's shout of terror.
The room had been encompassed in light. The Doctor had stood facing the ancient Time Lord with no fear, only acceptance. He thought to himself, Fuck that.
The Master had gone to great lengths in the past to avoid death. He'd stolen bodies and regenerations, once living as a burnt corpse. But he was more than willing to sacrifice himself if it meant saving his old friend and killing Rassilon.
As the Time Lords fell through the time lock, he had turned to look at the Doctor, but couldn't see him. Then it was as though he were in another dimension. He couldn't see or hear anything, couldn't even feel. He'd wondered for a moment if he were still alive or if this was some kind of blank afterlife. That would be just his luck.
Then he felt something strange. Almost like he was something had grabbed hold of him and was pulling him somewhere else.
Finally, he could see and feel again. The floor beneath him was cold white marble, the ceiling much the same with intricate carvings of lilies and daffodils, of men and monsters battling while women watched with apathy.
The Master sat up and looked around the room. There were no doors that he could see, or windows. All there was were statues.
He was scared for a brief second that they were weeping angels, but this was not the case. They were arranged in a circle centered around the largest of them. He couldn't tell who they were, only that the statues were old and made of the same material as the rest of the building. They had been painted to look like real people and all had some similarities. Black hair, green eyes. Their Greek clothes were purple, black, green, and silver. None of the ones in the circle were more than 6 feet, but the one in the middle was easily 20. Her eyes were like acid, her smile that of a devil. Her ink hair spilled over her shoulders in careful waves. A dagger rested in her left hand at her waist. A snake was wrapped around her like a belt.
The Master walked over to one of the walls, sliding his hands over it in the hopes of finding a door.
Behind him, the statue shrunk and started walking silently towards him. She raised her dagger and plunged it down to his back.
The Master whipped around and grabbed her wrist. Before she reacted, he headbutted her and wrenched the knife away.
The goddess staggered back two feet in surprise, insane grin firmly in place. She punched him in the chest, quick as lightning. The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the wall. She moved closer, and he threw the dagger. It landed firmly in her gut and sprung up, pushing her to the floor. Golden ichor pooled at her waist. He held down one of her arms with one hand and pulled out the knife with the other. She used her free hand to grab him by the neck and haul his body down, slamming her knee into his stomach. He let out a choked groan as he resisted the urge to puke. The goddess took the knife from him and threw it over his shoulder. He heard it clatter on the floor. She wrapped her hands around his neck. He grabbed her wrists to try and force her off, but she was too strong. He could go without air for nearly half an hour, but he wasn't sure how much more damage he could take today before his body decided it wasn't worth the effort anymore.
The goddess loosened who grip lightly and kissed him. Her nails clawed lightly at his throat, leaving a thin line of blood down his neck. His hoody tore apart at the seams under her lithe fingers. Blood gathered under the surface of his skin, coloring him pink.
He didn't know what was happening, but he could feel the power rolling off of her in waves and crashing over him. He got the feeling that if he did anything to upset her, his unexpected escape from death would end. And that could not happen. At least, not until he found the Doctor. (Although he'd prefer not to die then too.) So he kissed her back, secretly reveling at the feel of sharp teeth against his tongue and her silk hair through his fingers.
Around them, the other statues were gone.
The Master was far more than a Time Lord now, having accepted Eris's offer of the position of consort. But he never stopped being wary of her, her chaotic powers and sudden shifts in emotion. Just being in the same room with her was enough to make him act like he was walking on eggshells. This was an infinitely more difficult task now that they didn't know where Mara was. She was never in a good mood, always ready to blast someone to Hades. He suspected that the only reason she had not done that to him was because of Mara.
Mara. Within a day, she had grown from an infant to the size of a five year old, and was nearly as powerful as her mother. The Master was almost unwilling to admit how much he already cared about her. She was his child, after all. He was nearly as volatile as Eris when he realized she was gone. He spent his days alone in his private apartments, pacing as he searched time and space with his new powers, desperately searching for her. If she didn't come back… if they couldn't find her…
"Dad?"
The Master whipped around. The woman standing in front of him had dark brown hair and purple eyes, with smooth pale skin, and was almost as tall as him. She looked ordinary, especially dressed in a tank top and jeans. But he could sense the power coming off of her in waves of blue and purple energy…
He drew her into a hug. "Mara! Where were you?" He looked behind her for the first time and saw the unconscious man.
The man was floating horizontally in the air, eyes closed and slack-jawed. His arms hung at his sides, fingers nearly scraping the floor. He was surrounded by a faint purple light with silver flecks.
"Doctor." The Master moved past his daughter unseeingly, and was almost immediately next to the Time Lord. His hands hovered over him, unsure what to do now. He finally settled on using one of them to push the fringe out of the Doctor's face.
"How did you find him?" He asked her, voice filled with wonder.
"I took Sam Winchester, and he found me." Mara beamed from her father's approval with her actions.
"You have Sam Winchester?"
Mara nodded. "Yes. Can I keep him?"
The god raised one eyebrow apprehensively. "What for?"
Mara thought of shrugging, but decided against it. Instead she said, "Whatever I want."
He seemed unsure what to say. But finally he smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Of course you can. But first, go speak to Eris. She's worried about you."
Mara smiled and nodded. "Ok." She skipped away and shut the heavy marble door behind, sealing it closed so no one else would get in.
He smiled at the door before turning back to the Doctor's prone body. He looked so peaceful. It was easy to believe he was just sleeping.
Carefully, the Master leaned down and kissed his forehead, nosing along his hair. Silence hung like a veil in the room until he spoke. "Hello Theta."
Castiel knew as soon as they were gone.
He stood outside the abandoned building, waiting for the Doctor to finish with the wards. Dean fidgeted beside him, occasionally reaching his tongue out to wet his lips. Cas smiled at the gesture, and considered kissing Dean, but that was when he felt it.
Before, he could sense the different people in the building. The goddess's presence was felt like a star; bright, powerful, and full of terrible energy.
Sam's was a direct contrast. Powerful, yes, but in the subtle way that human souls always were, with a layer of softness. Cas could tell there was something wrong. He felt… anxious. Scared.
The Doctor's was strangely similar to that of the goddess. Bright and strong, but with a thin layer of humanity that the Master almost entirely lacked, and that could evaporate in a split second of anger.
While Cas contemplated whether or not to… relieve Dean's tension, they disappeared, as sudden as w bucket of ice water being dumped over a fire. Cas stared at the building in horror and rushed at the door, but the warding burned his hands. "Aghh!"
Dean ran after the angel and grabbed his hands. "Damn it, Cas," he muttered, carefully examining the burns. They had started to fade slightly, but were still red. "What the hell happened?"
"It was the wards. They're still there."
Dean frowned, rubbing Cas's hands gently. "Why hasn't the Doctor gotten them? He's had plenty of time, right?"
Castiel felt like ice had settled over him. "He's gone."
Dean stared at him as horror settled on his face. "No he's not." He can't be. Because if he's gone, then so is Sam.
Dean grabbed Cas's lapels and pulled him closer in desperation. "Cas. Cas, where's Sam?"
Cas took hold of Dean's hands and rubbed soothing circles onto them. "Dean…" He grabbed the spot on Dean's shoulder where his handprint still was, resting it carefully above the jacket. "Dean, don't worry. I will find him."
For a moment, Dean let him see how scared, how tired he was. Then he straightened and let out a sigh. "Ok. Ok, you find him."
Castiel nodded, still holding Dean's hands. He decided it was best that they not stay there lest someone find them, and flew them back to the motel.
Dean clutched his stomach and groaned, resting on the bed. Cas sat next to him and put one hand on his shoulder as he searched for Sam.
He wasn't on earth, but Cas didn't want to resort to checking heaven or hell yet, and decided to search some of the pagan realms instead (although he thought it might be better if he were in heaven or hell. Or at least easier). Within 30 seconds he had found him… on Olympus. Shit.
"I found them."
"All of them?" Castiel nodded.
"Where are they?" Dean asked him urgently, gripping his wrist. His eyes were lit with fear and hope.
Cas wondered if he should tell Dean. It wasn't as though the man could really do anything. It would only worry him.
But he deserved to know, needed to. They needed to figure this out together. He could handle it.
"They're on Olympus."
Dean cursed and ducked his head. "Well this day just keeps getting better and better." He paced in front of the bed, gnawing at his lip. He stopped in front of the bed before suggesting, "Ok, ok… Maybe we can call up Amoriel, ask if she'll help us again."
Castiel shook his head. "No, she told me she wouldn't. Besides, she's not powerful enough to fight them. It's better if we leave her alone."
Dean sighed and tried again. "Fine. How about Nyx then? She can't be happy with what Eris is doing, right?"
Again, Castiel shook his head. "Technically, Eris hasn't broken any rules. We don't even know if she was the one who took them, or if she's working with whoever did. And she isn't exactly a friend of ours. In fact, I think she hates you."
Dean looked at him as though to say 'Seriously dude?' "Well there has to be something we can do! We can't just leave Sam there!"
Or the Doctor, Cas thought, but he kept it to himself. "I know someone who I think might help us," Dean started to look hopeful, "but she might also brutally murder us. It's hard to tell with her."
Dean looked like he was done. "Seriously? That's the best you got?"
Cas shrugged. "For some reason, not many people like us."
Dean thought about this before admitting, "Yeah, I can see that." He tried to think of an alternative, but couldn't come up with anything. "Fine. Who do you want to help us?"
"Hel."
