The Time Lords left the Hub, the equipment that wasn't broken and was deemed useful stowed away in their pockets. Once outside, they found that Jack had come back to life, but he was motionless. He was staring at Ianto's broken body, and didn't, or couldn't resist when they started to drag him away. He felt empty, and shocked.
Eventually, he found the strength to speak. "What're...you gonna do to me?"
The Master rolled his eyes. "Torture you, of course! Humans. So thick. Even when you see the obvious, you don't know what's gonna happen!"
"But...why?" he managed to rasp.
"Because it's fun. Duh."
Jack didn't say anything else, but the Doctor looked at the Master. "I dunno."
The Master stopped and stared at him. "What?" he spat.
"Well, if it's pointless, there's no point to do it."
"But it isn't completely pointless! It's fun! Having fun is a point, isn't it?" The Master demanded. The Doctor scratched his neck, looking like he couldn't tell whether or not the Master's argument made sense. Eventually, he nodded in agreement.
The Master grinned. "Good." he hissed.
The Doctor shrugged and tugged on his ear, and Jack looked up at him pleadingly. "You can't do this, Doctor. This isn't what you do."
"Oh, are we doing that again? Tell you what, it gets a bit dull. I mean, all that begging. Watching people beg can be fun, but when it doesn't stop and they just repeat everything over and over…" the Doctor smirked down at the human. "I just feel like I want to kill someone."
The Master beamed at the Doctor and then down at Jack. "Come on, then. Back to the TARDIS we go." he said, snatching the man's arm and hauling him to his feet. Jack refused to move at first, so the Doctor slashed him in the back with a searing laser, making the immortal cry out and curse. The Doctor and the Master hauled him out of the Hub and tossed him into the TARDIS. The doors creaked as they swung shut behind the two Time Lords, but Jack wasn't afraid of the Master. He should've been. He knew what the Master could do - what he enjoyed doing. This time, however, it was the Doctor that scared him witless. The whole time he knew the Doctor, he knew there was something underneath that tough exterior the Time Lord put up. Something dark. Now, the darkness was out and it was about to inflict its fury on Jack himself, and he didn't want that. "I'll do whatever you want, just please…" he begged. The Master sucked in his cheeks and looked at the Doctor.
"What d'you want to do with him?"
"I thought we were gonna torture him."
"Yeah, but he's your prize. You get to decide what."
"I'll admit I don't know many methods of torture."
The Master rolled his eyes and sighed with aggravation. "Fitting, considering you've been a goody two shoes your entire life." he growled, stalking toward Jack. "I'll teach you a few tricks, I suppose."
The Doctor grinned with that boyish excitement he radiated most of the time, but Jack didn't want to smile with him. "Right! So, what do we start with?" the Time Lord asked. The Master swooped in on Jack and dragged him through a corridor of the TARDIS until they reached a small, dark room with some chains dangling from the walls and cupboards set neatly in rows. The Master hauled Jack over to the chains and strung him up - his arms extended above his head. He was allowed to stand on his own, but the chains weren't slack enough for him to attack either Time Lord. The Master gestured for the Doctor to follow him over to one of the cupboards. The doors swung open easily, and there was an assortment of torture devices hanging neatly. "This is quite organized." the Doctor commented. The Master grinned proudly. "I did it myself."
"You've had too much free time."
"Why d'you think I brought Jack here? I don't have anything to keep me busy most of the time in here, and I can torture him until the end of the Universe."
Jack tried to peer over their shoulders at the tools as the Master whispered explanations. "No peeking, Girlie. I want it to be a surprise. Let's see just how creative our Doctor can be."
The Doctor looked on as the Master explained what pain he could inflict with the tools. "Maybe with this," The Master began, "We can gouge out his eyes. Oh, I've also got that ice cream scoop I used on the Valiant." he began, gesturing to a pristine, sterile scoop. Jack grimaced and there was a touch of disgust in the Doctor's eyes. The Master noticed it too and wrapped an arm around the Doctor's hip. "But it's your choice."
The Doctor glanced at Jack, and then leaned down to peer into the cupboard. "Well, what's this one for?" he asked, bringing out a long iron rod with an iron 'M' at the end. The Master grinned. "That is a brand, darling."
"So, you burn this onto his skin?"
"I think you'll recall how it works." the Master said smugly. The Doctor nearly dropped the thing. He knew exactly what the Master meant, and his hand flew to his chest, above his right heart. The Master grinned and winked at Jack. "So, the brand?" he asked innocently. The Doctor gripped the brand tightly and shook his head. "It won't last."
"Not like it did on you."
"No. I want something that will destroy him. Psychologically, of course."
The Master grinned sickeningly and the Doctor stood back up. "What can we do?" he wondered. Jack looked up, desperately hoping he might be able to wrench the chains free, but they were secure. He was starting to genuinely panic. The Doctor stalked to him and circled him, and then turned to the Master. "What do you recommend?"
"Oh, I dunno. We could skin him alive."
"That sounds like fun."
"Ooh, or we could cut tiny slits all over his body and slowly bathe him in salt water."
The Doctor grinned excitedly, making Jack's stomach twinge. "Or we could do it with Krillitane oil." he suggested. The Master beamed at him proudly. "That would work. Well done!"
The Doctor blushed and smiled shyly, and now Jack was disgusted. This was sick. "Doctor, think about what you're doing!" he shouted. The Master rolled his eyes ago and snatched the brand from the cupboard. He tossed it in the air and caught it a couple times with a smug smirk. Jack paid no attention to the madman and kept trying to plead with the Doctor. "What would Rose do if she saw what you're doing here?" Jack demanded. Before he could utter another word, the Master swung the iron bar like a pro baseball player and crushed Jack's side. He screamed in pain, nearly drowning out the sounds of his ribs shattering and the sickening thud of the metal making contact with his skin. While this happened, the Doctor stopped. Rose? The name sounded familiar, and yet… distant. Like an old memory that could've been a dream. He felt the Master's hand on his shoulder. "You alright?" he asked genuinely. The Doctor looked up at him with a frown. "Who's Rose?" he wondered. The Master frowned.
"It's been awhile and you're not the same Doctor… it makes sense that you would forget her."
"What?"
"Nothing. She's no one. Jack doesn't know what he's talking about."
"Yes I do!" Jack cried through gritted teeth. He hissed at the pain of simply speaking but pushed on. "Doctor, you know who Rose is! You know her! You fell in love with her!"
The Doctor looked back up at the Master quizzically. "Is that true?" he demanded. The Master paused to think and grinned. "Yes. It is true."
Jack was about to yell an objection but he stopped in the middle of taking a breath. "What?" he demanded. The Master glanced at him and then back to the Doctor. He extended a hand to help the other Time Lord get to his feet. "Yes, Doctor. It's true. You fell in love with an Earth girl called Rose Tyler."
"An Earth girl?"
"Yes. She stole your hearts."
"What happened?"
"She broke them." the Master snarled venomously. The Doctor's brown eyes widened and he ignored Jack's protests, intent on what the Master had to say. "What do you mean?"
"She twisted you and used you for what she wanted and then she left you for dead. My poor Doctor. You were shattered. And then you were stuck with that stupid doctor-in-training. You were destroyed. All that time on the Valiant, I was trying to help you - don't you remember?" the Master purred. His eyes shone so brightly, and his voice was sweet and smooth… he couldn't possibly be telling a lie with that kind of voice and those kind of eyes. The Doctor felt something pulsing in the back of his mind, but he chose to ignore it. Only his hearts beating - just the four beats. Now that he thought of it, he could remember the Master trying to console him. Well, not distinctly. Everything was so fuzzy… he could remember someone holding someone else, but didn't know which of them was the holder. Of course the Master was telling the truth. He looked back up at the Master and could distantly hear Jack screaming something about manipulating memories and lies. Jack's the liar. The Doctor got to his feet, fuming, and wrenched the brand from the Master's hand. His eyes were dark and his expression one of murder. The Master leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and smirked as the Doctor beat the living hell out of Jack. The human's cries grew weaker with every swing of the Doctor's powerful arms, but the crunch and thud of bone shattering and iron against body didn't diminish. A spatter of Jack's blood landed on the Master's hoodie and a bit of his face and he grimaced. What an inconvenience. He wiped the blood off of his chin and looked down at his already-grimy hoodie with distaste. Some of the blood had stayed stuck in the stubble of his chin, so it remained as a smear of red without his knowing. When the Doctor was finished, Jack's blood was spattered everywhere and his corpse was unrecognizable, swinging limply from one arm still attached to a chain. The other arm was all the way across the room, unmoving. The human was badly disfigured - his face and body could no longer pass for human.
The Master sidled up to the Doctor and wrapped his arms around the tall, thin Time Lord's waist. He could sense the Doctor's fury, and it was beautiful. The Doctor's hatred was so pure, it acted as a potent aphrodisiac for the Master. He plucked at the Doctor's blood soaked suit. "You're gonna have to get that washed."
The Doctor looked down at the suit as well and frowned. "Does blood come out? I've never really had to worry about that, but this is my favorite suit…" he complained.