Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or the Far Cry Series.
Hello again, welcome to the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it.
Warning - Experimentation of humans.
The Master Chronicles 8 - What is Insanity?
Palace of Versailles, Paris…1758…
"The Palace of Versailles." The Master said with enthusiasm as he walked with Jaime on his arm into the grand building. "Originally only a hunting lodge for the French Royal Family and gradually grew and expanded to become one of the most beautiful and elaborate royal palaces in the history of your silly little planet."
"I can well believe it." Jaime said as she looked around the extraordinary Hall of Mirrors. She winced again though as she had the discomfort of wearing a corset! "Why did women wear these things?" She said with discomfort at the offending item of clothing that was making it hard for her to breath.
"To keep their figures in line my dear." The Master said with amusement at her discomfort. "Something you granted do not have an issue with but one must always dress for the occasion."
"Always sir." Jaime nodded in agreement as they wandered around, the courtiers milling around with their incessant chatting. They were both wearing appropriate period clothing; the Master a rather elaborate waist coat, pantaloons and wig. Jaime was wearing a midnight blue dress with the ridiculous corset and skirt. She had refused a wig though and merely styled her own hair.
They had been doing a lot of that recently on their 'small' travelling holiday; first going to the courts of Genghis Khan even learning to ride a horse there and Ivan the Terrible before visiting Chicago to enjoy the speakeasys and roaring 1920s but also having an encounter with Al Capone, then going to William Blade, the early nineteenth century poet and artist and even posed for him, Caravaggio in Rome during the Renaissance who had Jaime pose for a painting, Rembrandt who had given them some lessons in painting, visited the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine and even had a chance to talk to the powerful and graceful woman, met Anne Boleyn during her time as Queen of England and then the reign of her daughter Elizabeth the 1st, spoken to Catherine the Great in Russia, the writer Christopher Marlowe, Agatha Christie, and Jane Austin who had even kissed Jaime. They had now come to France strangely going to the Revolution first and acquired some lovely furniture and artwork to 'save it from destruction' and attended a concert by the incredible Chevalier de Saint-Georges, one of the greatest musicians ever to have lived.
It had been a truly awesome tour of history and now they were here to meet the last stop on their little holiday, a woman that the Master had a surprising amount of respect for.
"Madame de Pompdour." The Master said as they found the woman the Master had wanted her to meet. "Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, also known as Reinette, mistress to King Louis XV. A key advisor and aide to the king, built a strong network of her own without upsetting the Queen. Actress, artist, singer, musician, courtier of considerable influence, dancer and a talented gardener. A very accomplished woman." The Master with rare respect for a woman.
"Despite being the King's lover and mistress, she was on good terms with the Queen?" Jaime asked in surprise. The Master just told her distractedly.
"France, it's a planet in its own right my dear."
They waited patiently until they could speak to her, she greeted them politely.
"I see we have new comers to the palace today. I am delighted to greet you, I' am Madame de Pompdour. May I have the pleasure of your names?" She asked with a warm smile that was quite endearing.
"Greetings Madame, I am Master Herbert Jurgens, a traveller and this is my delightful niece and companion in my travels Miss Julisa Jurgens." The Master said with a polite bow of his head which Jaime copied. Reinette did the same before extending her hand which the Master took and made the motion of a kiss, the moment that her fingers brushed his wrist her eyes widened slightly but it was only there for a moment before disappearing.
"A traveller. We get so many faces coming and going at Versailles. From where exactly do you hail?" She asked him, suddenly with more intensity. The Master was actually impressed as she seemed to have noticed his different pulse, due to his two hearts. She was being careful too, he wondered if she had encountered another of his people before, probably the Doctor he thought with disgust as given it was Earth who else could it be.
"Oh, many places." The Master said, keeping up a friendly smile. "I was just telling my niece here that she would learn a great deal from you. After all you have managed to climb so high here at court and maintain your position against all challengers. Among you many other talents of course." The Master said with a sly smile which made Reinette uncomfortable. Jaime too smirked a little at her discomfort.
"Well, hopefully you will learn a great deal here at Versailles." She said before trying to make her escape, the Master was intrigued and actually decided to go out and test a theory.
"He won't come back for you, you know." The Master said with a nasty look in his eye and saw he had hit the mark when she stopped and turned to face him.
"Who do you refer to sir? The king? I speak to him every day." She said with a perfectly calm face but a slight tensing around her eyes gave her feelings away.
"The Doctor." The Master said, now certain he had guessed right by the slight widening of her eyes. "He never does, if they cease to be of value to him or he merely loses interest they are cast aside. There are many little creatures like you scattered across all of time and space. From what I hear he even managed to convince Elizabeth the First of England to marry him before abandoning her in a forest glade. What a naughty little boy he is." The Master said, eager to sow discontent if he could and if not then her destruction.
Reinette looked shocked by that but then she rallied and looked at him strangely.
"When I opened my mind to him and him to me, I saw many things both terrible and great. Among those incredible thoughts he has, well I felt his loneliness and I saw images of a cruel man that conquers merely because he wants too. He wants to hurt and kill. That's you…isn't it? The Master." Reinette said with suspicion. Her love had tried to hide such things from her but when he thought of his own people, apart from those he loved this man appeared most of all although his face had changed several times. He was like the snake in the Garden of Eden, she thought with disgust as she had seen some of the things he had done in her love's mind and they revolted her.
The Master blinked as if surprised for a moment as did Jaime, she had not yet met the Doctor but she knew he was perhaps the closest thing the Master had to a true rival. He didn't consider him that but he was the closest thing all the same. The Master then smirked and told her with actual respect.
"For a human, you really are most perceptive. I must confess that you have managed to surprise me and I rarely am surprised. I bid you adieu my lady." The Master said with a cruel smile before taking Jaime again by the arm and leading her out of the palace.
"You aren't going to kill her?" Jaime asked him in surprise as those that spoke with such defiance to the Master usually ended up dead or wishing they were. The Master just told her with a chuckle.
"Nature will take care of that soon enough my little pet. Now, we had best be off. We have an appointment to keep in a place called the Rook Islands in 2012." The Master said with a vicious smirk knowing how close Reinette's death was and that she would never see the Doctor again and that amused him.
"Oh, that reminds me." Jaime said as they got into the Tardis with was currently disguised as a carriage. She pulled something out of her small bag that she carried with her. "I picked this up during the Revolution and I thought you might like it." She told him with a smile, handing him a solid gold pocket watch with elaborate engraving and coloured patterns designed to look like roses carefully added to it. He opened it and saw the finery continued inside and the golden cogs and gears where exposed in the centre if covered by glass.
"My dear, what a marvellous gift." The Master said with actual genuine admiration for the finely crafted time piece. "How did you find it? Was it in a shop?" He asked her and she just smirked before admitting.
"No, it was the property of a French Aristocrat but…well I prevented him from going to the guillotine…in a way." She said with a childish look in her eyes but there was a slightly demonic glint there.
He had died, over a watch. The Master thought and smirked broadly, oh how much fun pointless deaths were! He thought with amusement and glad to see she had learned something from him. He would treasure the watch ever more now, having heard what she had done to get it. Setting the controls for the Rook Islands in the early twentieth first century where some of his sources had given him information that something interesting was going on there. Normally he wouldn't have bothered but this was something that could prove quite interesting he thought.
Amanaki Village, Rook Islands…2012…
The tropical heat of the Rook Islands combined with its great natural beauty would have made this small group of islands that was close to Indonesia and still relatively isolated a major tourist spot if not for all the local troubles.
The Master would have liked the islands for their beauty if it wasn't for the humans that made themselves home here! He thought with frustration, why did humans have to destroy all this natural beauty in either pointless wars or for inefficient resource taking. The sight of the so-called village did little to improve his mood. It looked horrible, he thought with poorly constructed wooden huts that looked like a good blast of wind would blow them over and he would be glad to get out of here when they had accomplished their mission.
He had not changed his style he thought with stubbornness, regardless of how hot or uncomfortable it might be although he had discarded his usual tweed jacket. Jaime meanwhile was more utilitarian than he was; she had put a red sleeveless t-shirt on with dark blue jeans and good walking boots. She was also the one who was visibly armed with a Colt 1911 handgun, a P416 assault rifle and a Z93 Sniper rifle. A belt about her waist carried spare ammunition and grenades. She had even put on some fake dog tags to play the part he had chosen for her and added a Japanese Tanto short sword they had acquired on a brief visit to Feudal Japan.
Approaching the village after parking the Tardis nearby as a fairly big rock they walked in, although they had a 4X4 jeep for transport that they had picked up along with a trailer piled high with boxes. The locals all looked at them with suspicion and as they got to out, they were both alert for any sign of trouble.
"Who are you?" A man came towards them, The Master couldn't care enough to worry too much about him, African origin and his accent was Liberian. Wearing a ridiculous medallion around his chest with a worn army jacket and jeans. The suspicion in his voice was strong but while Jaime stayed quiet the Master spoke.
"Good day, my name is Professor Gregory Termas. I was hoping that maybe we might speak in private?" The Master enquired with a kind smile.
"No, I am Dennis and we will speak here." The man said with aggression in his eyes. The Master was not phased at all and kept on smiling.
"Very well if that is what you prefer. I am a cultural anthropologist; I am hoping to study the people of the island. This is Ms Sinclair, my…guide and bodyguard." The Master said, establishing their cover identities. Dennis took one look at them and dismissed them quickly. The Master however was already prepared for this and made his pledge.
"Of course, I don't expect to get something for nothing. So not only will Ms Sinclair assist in defending this village from the pirates, I have brought medical supplies, some brand-new tools and equipment for your village, some new generators, a wind turbine and some solar panels too." The Master suggested, knowing they desperately needed some of these things.
That he noticed changed several faces from suspicious to excited very quickly in the blink of an eye, only Dennis still looked suspicious and the Master just smiled as he added the real important thing.
"And we have some weapons that we are happy to donate to your people." The Master said and saw immediately he had them, weapons was the key word in seemed and he could well believe this was a place that he would enjoy merely because it was so violent.
Dennis eventually relented and let them stay, setting up in a hut Jaime moved the Tardis in, now disguised as a dresser so at least they would not be forced to sleep in the tiny confined space while being ready for a quick getaway if needed. The Master checked his pocket watch and nodded for a moment before smirking.
"Almost time. They should be over the island by now." The Master said, having already identified a suitable group of humans for his experiment. Now all he needed was to find someone in the village who could do what he needed. Dennis was a possibility but the Master realised his zealotry in his worship of the arrogant woman Citra could make him difficult to control. So, he sought out another member of the Rakyat tribe, seeing a man with a rifle in his path he smiled and turned to him and smiled.
"Hello. I wonder if you might help me." The Master said with a smile as he made sure the man was looking him in the eye. "Now look into my eyes, look deep into my eyes. Yes, you can trust me." He said with a cruel smirk as he saw the man going under. "Now, I am the Master and you will obey me." He said feeling great relish as he said that line.
"I will…obey." The Rakyat man said and the Master smirked as he took another thing he needed for his experiment. Jaime stood behind him with her arms crossed, smirking herself as she witnessed him at work. He didn't use as much hypnosis these days, it was a shame really, he thought since he was so good at it.
- x -
Two Days Later…
"Fascinating." The Master said as he looked at various plant samples collected from around the island, enjoying engaging in real science for a change as he waited for the first person to arrive at the village. He carefully extracted what he needed from the plants and was looking down his microscope at the chemical compounds inside.
An alert from his device however made him look up and he saw to his surprise that things were moving ahead of what he had predicted. The first of the rather foolish tourists, Jason Brody would be soon brought to the village. But another of the tourists too had broken away from the human traffickers and pirates that had held them, a girl named Daisy.
The Master reached for his communicator, an alien model which was far more efficient than the primitive human radios. Pressing some symbols on the display he called out to Jaime.
"Miss Sommers I am sending you a location on one of the tourists. Retrieve her and bring her back to the village immediately." He commanded and Jaime on the other end answered.
"Yes sir." Jaime said and went quiet as she went to do as he commanded.
The Master then turned to his little pawn, the Rakyat man he had taken control of the first day he arrived here and told him.
"Bring your tools for making the tatau." The Master said with a smirk, it was time for him to see if this was worth his time.
- x -
Daisy was running through the jungle, terrified and with no idea just where she was going but she could hear the assholes that had been holding her all around her. She had heard them talking about selling her and all the others into slavery whether a ransom was paid or not and knew she had to get away…find help! She thought urgently as the sweat ran down her forehead, not sure if there was any help to be found.
Then just as she was about to risk running through some weird looking trees ahead, she collided with someone! Both went to the ground and she was winded but thinking it was one of the pirates scrambled to get to her feet but a someone grabbed her and a female voice told her firmly.
"Stay down!"
Daisy struggled but then saw the woman that she had run into was not a pirate! She had informal clothes but was steadier than Grant was when handling a weapon, proving it when she lifted an assault rifle and started shooting at the pirates. How she could see them in the dark Daisy couldn't understand but cries of men being shot filled the air along with the sounds of gunfire. Daisy tired from all the running and not being fed for days could feel herself getting lightheaded and then finally passing out.
She didn't remember much after that but the sensation of being carried and then eventually when she woke, she found herself in a wooden hut. In her dazed state she couldn't really see anything but heard someone say.
"The jungle speaks through the warrior. The path leads to the heart of the jungle. Follow the path, and you shall find your answer." The accent was strange and she couldn't recognise it in her addled state.
When she finally managed to see again, she saw a presumably native man standing over her with a weird looking tool in his hands and as her senses came back to her, she realised to her alarm that she couldn't feel her right arm! She started up in a panic but firm hands from the other side of her makeshift bed pushed her back down.
"Relax my dear you are safe." A smooth and educated English accent said and she looked to see an old man with white hair and a beard sitting there with a friendly smile on his face. "Forgive the 'ink' as I believe you young people call it but you have to wear the mark to be given shelter here." He told her with a worried smile. "What is your name?"
"Daisy. Daisy Lee." She said with a timid look, not sure if she was safe yet. "Where am I?" She asked and he told her gently.
"In Amanaki Village, one of the few places on the island that those dreadful pirates don't control. I assume you were one of these young people they kidnapped?" He asked her and she told him carefully.
"Yes, me and my friends. Have you seen them?" She asked with some desperation and the Master nodded much to her relief.
"One of them named Jason Brody was brought here some time ago after he escaped like you. You my dear are only lucky Ms Sinclair found you and brought you to the village. From what she told me not only were you surrounded by the pirates but about to run through some very nasty trees that would likely have poisoned you." The Old Man said with a slightly judgemental tone, like a teacher lecturing a misbehaving pupil. The mention of Jason though made her try to sit up again and this time he allowed her too.
"Jason! Where is he? Is he alright?!" She asked desperate to see at least one of her friends safe and hoping he might have news of Grant.
"He is currently out on some kind of errand for the locals. He wants their help to find you and the rest of your friends." The Old Man said and he offered his hand to her. "Forgive me for not introducing myself, Professor Gregory Termas. Here to study the culture of the island." He said with a smile and Daisy managed to smile as she shook his hand rather awkwardly with her still numb right hand.
"Daisy! Daisy!" A familiar voice called out and Daisy's heart leapt as she turned to see Jason appear at the door to the hut. She didn't waste time in rushing to embrace him and he did the exact same. His arms felt like such a relief, a familiar face in a nightmare that had trapped them all.
"Jason! Have you seen the others? Grant?" She asked him desperately and when she saw his face twist visibly in pain, she had her answer.
"Grant…he…" Jason tried to say but it was still too raw and painful to finish although he didn't need too. Daisy understood and tears quickly started falling down her face as she clutched at Jason, needing comfort in that moment which he gladly gave even in his own grief.
"No time for that." A female voice said, American she realised to her surprise and the woman that earlier had saved her from the Pirates. Both Jason and Daisy turned to see a severe looking woman standing the doorway, black hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing jungle clothes on and well-armed with at least three guns on her. "They killed your brother. Your boyfriend! They're probably raping and beating the living shit out of your other friends right now. Are you going to hide while they do that?" She asked them with a bitter voice.
Anger unlike any either Jason or Daisy rose up inside them, Jason even went to strike her but she intercepted the punch with her hand and held it still.
"Good." She said with a firm assurance. "Anger is more useful than despair, if you are going to rescue the rest of your group then you are going to need that anger. I will teach you the things you need to know but I will not carry you." She warned them and the Professor then gave them some terrible news.
"And unfortunately, we cannot merely ask for help. There is no direct communication off the island, the pirates take or smash any equipment there might be. So, unless by some miracle people come looking for us, then we will need to deal with this on our own." The Professor told them with a grim look in his eyes.
Ms Sinclair handed Daisy a machete and a handgun, Daisy looked at them with near disgust at first before Ms Sinclair snapped at her.
"Are you going to be helpless? Be a damsel in the distress for Jason to rescue? If you can't take care of yourself then you are useless. Are you going to be useless?" Ms Sinclair said harshly and Jason shoved himself between them.
"Don't talk to her like that!" He warned Ms Sinclair who just shook her head at his decision.
"On this island, you are predator. Or prey. Which is it?" Ms Sinclair asked sternly.
Daisy, meanwhile could feel the anger inside growing as she listened to their words. Angry to be dismissed so easily and grabbed the machete and gun, almost snarling as she told her.
"I am not useless!" She said with a fury in her eyes.
The others looked at her with surprise at the sudden fury but Ms Sinclair nodded eventually and told her.
"Then you will get a chance to prove it. I am going to liberate a pirate outpost nearby and you both will be going with me. Come on." She told Jason and Daisy, giving the Professor a brief nod and led them outside.
The Professor or rather the Master smirked as he saw the effect the Tatau was already having on the pair. He had learned of it through some sources of his after quite considerable torture and wanted to see if there was any truth to it. So, he needed a study group, two of which he had already and thanks to a few pirates he had under his control he knew where the other three were. He kept the younger brother of Jason Brody aside though, to make sure they had motivation to do the things he wanted them to do.
- x -
Pirate Outpost, Rook Island…A Few Hours Later…
Jaime or Ms Sinclair as she was currently known crept closer to the outpost, she saw Jason and Daisy moving into position for the attack. She set herself up with her sniper rifle, taking careful aim at the only alarm to ensure the pirates couldn't call for help if they realised that they were under attack. She counted at least five hostiles; it was a much smaller outpost but that was fine for a first test.
The moment she pulled the trigger, her silenced long-range rifle was devastating in its accuracy. The bullet with a steel tip cut clean through the unit and cut the power with a single shot. The shot wasn't heard but the noise it made when tearing through the unit was, the pirates noticed and that was all the distraction Jason and Daisy needed, they crept up behind the two pirates on the perimeter and just like she had taught them, stabbed their machetes straight into the chest and through the gaps in the rib cage. She was astonished at how quickly they could pick things up and saw much to her surprise that both of them seemed able to drag the bodies away. Daisy was a professional swimmer but still the pirate weighed twice what she did and she still managed to drag him into a hiding spot before dumping the bodies and then creeping further in to ambush the remaining guards.
The tatau seemed to increase not only baseline strength and endurance but also lower behavioural inhibitors and increased the speed at which they learned. That was interesting she thought and made a point to tell the Master what she had seen as the pair stabbed two more guards before Jason finished off the last with a bullet to the head.
Amanaki Village, Two Weeks Later…
The Master watched the footage Jaime had taken of the latest attack on the outpost, he smirked a little as he saw Jason and his friends in action. They were becoming quite the little soldiers he thought with amusement, all five of them now had the tatau and its effects were most remarkable especially for a species as limited as humans.
The tatau seemed to increase baseline strength and reflexes not to mention endurance. They were able to push themselves harder and longer than a normal human being, he had also witnessed them being hit, bitten and shot and shrug the wounds off with relative ease and heal quickly. So increased healing and pain suppression as well.
But the thing that excited him the most was the reduced moral inhibitors and increased aggression. Jason had taken to this the easiest, killing with ease and enjoying the thrill of the moment no matter what he had to do and how many he killed. Despite some resistance from the others, they too now seemed to be as at ease with killing and enjoying it…winning as they thought of it as Jason was. They were desensitised to violence and murder and had big leaps of confidence.
Looking through the door he saw the group appear in the open doorway, the slightly flushed and ruffled appearance of Jason and Liza showing they had copulated in celebration of their victory over the thug Vaas. The Master felt such actions were hardly appropriate but in the heat of the moment and on a high…what else were hormonal humans going to do he thought with some scorn.
"My young friends, congratulations on your victory." The Master said with a warm smile on his face.
"It felt good, it felt right killing the asshole that killed Grant." Daisy said with a vicious grin on her face, the Master nodded inwardly very pleased at the direction of events. He saw the others all looking rather pleased with themselves and then he dropped a bombshell.
"Well Mr Brody I am glad to tell you that I have discovered the location of your younger brother as despite what the Rakyat have said, he is indeed alive." The Master told them, having kept this information in reserve to keep them going. The shock on their faces was enough to make him smirk at how easy it was to manipulate them.
"What? Where is he!?" Jason demanded.
"He is being held by a man named Hoyt Volker, a truly reprehensible man who runs the largest and most dangerous drug, slave and weapon rings in the South Pacific. He has an army of the most awful mercenaries at his command and enjoys torturing people a great deal." The Master told them, he honestly was almost impressed at the sadism that the man achieved and would like to play a game or two with him if he had the time but alas, he didn't right now and had something more interesting to do. "However, the real problem is that transport there is rather limited but Ms Sinclair has managed to obtain use of a plane that will get you there but has too little fuel to get back. Once there and when you have rescued your brother you will need to find transport back. Ms Sinclair will accompany you to see to that while you get there and will work on finding you transport back." He told them with concern.
Entirely fake of course, he had no feelings either way about any of them and the only reason Jaime was going with them was to watch them. To observe them and their development further while he finished his own work here.
- x -
The Rakyat Temple, Rook Islands…
Citra was a firm believer in the prophesy that the perfect warrior, the Rakyat would be born to lead the tribe named in the honour of the original Rakyat. She had withstood the pirates and every other threat that had come her way in pursuit of that and now she was certain the time for the Rakyat had come again.
Through Jason Brody, who had continued to pass every test that was put in his way. She was sure that he would be the one to father the child…the Ultimate Warrior that would lead their people to greatness on the islands once again.
But she thought with anger, someone had taken their power and given it to the friends that chained him down. The tatau was now on their arms too and it was infuriating, making her so angry that she took a stone and threw it hard against the wall.
"Citra, you sent for me?" Dennis said from the side, she had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed his arrival. She forced herself to be composed and turned to face the last outsider that had taken to their ways.
"Yes." Citra said, sounding calmer than she felt. "How is it that the other outsiders have the tatau? Or all three bases of it!? How did this happen?" She asked him with a piercing look in her eyes.
"I did not administer it, nor did I teach Jason to do it. So, one of our people must have done it." Dennis said with his eyes downcast, disappointed in himself as he could not answer her question.
"Find who it is! The Power of the Rakyat is now within all of them, and that cannot be! Not if the Ultimate Warrior is to be reborn!" Citra said with anger creeping into her voice which she had to force back down.
"His friends, they bind him and they must perish! Find the old man in the village and bring him here! He will answer for his transgressions against the Rakyat!" She said boldly, not knowing if he was involved but as a distraction to Jason, he needed to perish so the warrior in him would be free.
"Yes Citra. At once." Dennis said and went to see to her orders without hesitation.
- x -
The Master had always had a sense of danger, more specifically one that told him when was a good time to stop and get out. He hardly listened to it but he had become better since fighting the Time War. In a conflict where the Universe was literally unravelling as time was rewritten, broken and then rewritten again regularly it paid to be more aware of when was the best time to get out.
That was why he was taking a nice gentle ride through the jungles of Rook Island, taking in the rather pleasant views that weren't ruined by people and wishing he could have seen this island when it wasn't polluted with them. It would be truly beautiful then.
He was smirking as everything was running on time and to his satisfaction, Jaime was sending him regular reports and had sent noted the Tatau seemed to have reached some kind of limit. It actually seemed to grow, expanding and developing the pattern the more fighting and experience they gained. That was a unique twist even he hadn't seen coming and wondered if it was due to the way that it was applied or maybe some kind of mental guide, driven by the ideas placed in their heads. But either way it seemed to be centralised and limited to the area between the wrist and elbow on one arm.
That was a curious thing he thought and wondered if it would be more effective if placed on another area of the body but was distracted by a sudden message from Jaime.
"Sir, they've found and rescued the brother. We are on the way back to the island." Jaime's voice told him and he nodded even though she couldn't see that.
"Very well, trigger the final phase." He told her, smiling as he would soon be rid of these annoying humans and deliberately turned into a Rakyat outpost. He saw Dennis standing there looking angry and smiled as he got out of his jeep, completely at ease as he walked over.
"Hello. Have you been looking for me? I was just enjoying more of the island's natural beauty without those awful pirates around. It is a most delightful environment." The Master said as casually as if they had been talking at a bus stop about the weather. Dennis seemed unsettled for a moment but soon straightened himself out and told two of his men.
"Bind him! Then take him to Citra at the Temple!" Dennis said with anger on his face, the Master suppressed his urge to be flay the pair of fools that dared lay their hands on him and tied his hands with rope.
Rope? He thought with disbelief, not even willing to stretch to a good pair of handcuffs?! The Master thought, genuinely insulted at how little effort they were making to take him prisoner. He felt the Rakyat fool stick a gun in his face which only made his fury grow but he managed to control it. Reassuring himself that soon he would take his revenge on them. They hadn't even bothered to search him? The Master was actually wondering just how little skill they had at this, wishing dearly for someone who knew how to handle a prisoner, at least that way when he escaped and took his revenge, he would feel some sense of accomplishment. This time he would be doing in on general principle!
He was stuffed uncomfortably into the back seat of a jeep with Dennis holding a machete at his chin while someone else drove. The Master turned to Dennis and decided in the moment to drop his act and spoke to him with his true self.
"You know, I have been threatened by true masters of the art. Men who really knew the art of intimidation and you are truly appalling at it. When I do break free, I will take that machete of yours and show you how a real master uses with it." The Master said with a sinister sneer on his face.
Dennis was for a moment struck with the most primal kind of fear that he had ever experienced. Even when he had first arrived and taken the trials of the Rakyat and been forced to face his own deepest fears he had not been as scared as he was in this moment, sitting across from this old white man whose eyes seemed to burn with complete malevolence and his face twisted in a way that didn't seem human.
Dennis for a moment thought that he was faced a genuine real-life demon, someone who was completely evil without any good in them. Every instinct in his body told him to run away, or to thrust his machete into the man as many times as it took to make sure that he was dead.
But instead, he obeyed his orders from Citra, his love for her winning out over his fear and instead smacked his fist into the old man's face. The Old Man just looked up with a slightly bloody lip and sneered at him, the blood only making him seem more terrifying.
- x -
After a very uncomfortable ride they arrived at the temple.
The Master came meekly enough, looking around with absentminded curiosity at the temple. Interested only slightly in its design before dismissing it as irrelevant.
Citra stood there at the top of the stairs and glared at him while he was dragged before her. He was completely unconcerned by all the men with guns around him or by Citra herself and she was surprised by his lack of fear which didn't sit well with her.
"How?" She demanded, unsettled by this old man on a primal level that she didn't really understand.
"How what? My dear it is very difficult to answer a question when a person is not specific about what they are asking about." The Master said with slight irritation at her. Citra was even more put off by his complete lack of interest in what was happening or the complete absence of fear on his part while she felt hers rising.
"How do the other outsiders have the 'tatau'? I did not give it to them nor did my people. How do they have it?" She demanded, trying to get some answers out of him. The Master however just honestly thought it hilarious that this little woman thought she could scare or demand anything of him.
"I haven't the faintest idea. I cannot apply the design nor do I have access to the inks you use." The Master said with a smirk. "If Mr Brody didn't apply it then the only logical answer is that it must be one of your people." He said and Citra was infuriated by his dismissal of her accusation.
"I will find out and if you have anything to do with this…I will feed you to the tigers. You will beg me for your life!" Citra threatened him but the Master just kept smiling and told her.
"Silly little girl. You have no idea just who you are talking too and believe me…it will be you that is begging soon enough. Begging for mercy." The Master said knowing he had already set the wheels of her destruction into motion.
- x -
Air Strip, South Rook Island…Same Moment…
Jaime gritted her teeth as she operated the helicopter, not enjoying all the gunfire that was coming from the mercenaries all around them, especially as the helicopter wasn't armoured and if they hit the fuel tank they were in for some real trouble! She thought, not wanting to test the limits of her regenerative ability by being in a fuel explosion.
"I've got Riley." Jason said over the radio and see Liza, Daisy, Keith and Oliver were all busy with fighting the mercenaries.
"Everyone to the copter, we can't stay much longer!" Jaime yelled to them over the radio and did her best to hold it steady as they all ran for the helicopter.
"We are legends!" Oliver cried out with a loud 'roar' as he and Keith leapt inside the helicopter.
"Yeah man! I can handle my shit!" Keith said giving his buddy a high five and then a hug before Liza and Daisy came in behind them.
"Shut up and shoot!" Daisy said angrily, mindful they were still in danger, she and Liza both with their rifles in hand were shooting out of the hatch to cover Jason as he and Riley ran to join them.
"Jason on your left." Liza called out as she saw a merc coming up at her boyfriend. Jason with a pistol in hand shot the man dead before finally reaching the helicopter with Riley, both climbing in and without any more prompting Jaime lifted off and headed away from the air strip, leaving the mercs behind and setting course for the North Island.
"Riley." Jason said with a relieved sigh and grabbed his little brother in a hug who hugged him back with eager enthusiasm.
"Jason! Guys! I mean…when did you guys become commandoes?" Riley asked with a look of astonishment as he hugged them all in turn.
"It's a long story." Daisy told him as she hugged him.
Jaime kept on flying them north as the six talked in the back. She was in her head calculating what she needed to do next. She knew her part and what she had to do next, the Master if things were going to plan would already be in the Rakyat Temple so all she needed to do was get them to go there angry and already had the reason set up and ready to go.
The commandeered house of the island's only so-called doctor, Alec Earnhardt who was a drug and grief riddled old man.
When they arrived, she landed the copter and told the six in the back.
"The Professor told me that he was arranging with Dr Earnhardt to find us a way off the island. Come on." She said as she shut the engine down and disembarked along with the others.
"A way off? A way back home!?" Riley asked with incredible eagerness, the others too looked surprised. Jaime nodded.
"Yeah, a way back to brain numbing and boring normality." Jaime added, not able to resist a taunt. It hit the mark she noticed as the five tattooed people in the group looked suddenly uneasy, confronted with the idea of having to return to normality after being in this strange little world they'd been the kings and queens of.
Here they were warriors, heroes even and powerful. In charge of their own destinies and able to do anything they wanted.
Back home…they were nothing. Five people in a sea of others, regular jobs…school maybe. Boring regular days with none of the stimulus they had grown used to here.
It would be pure torture.
Jaime could sympathise, she honestly dreaded the idea of having to return to the boring dull life she'd had before. She almost shuddered with the horror of it, being normal again. Working nine to five, staying in one place all the time except for the occasional vacation!
Her idea of hell now. She just wanted to keep travelling…keep living.
Which made what she was about to do a little strange.
"Wait. Are those bullet holes?" Oliver said as they saw someone had clearly shot up the house. Jaime put her hand up and told them.
"Stay here. I'll check it out, be ready." She warned them and once she was sure they wouldn't follow her into the building, she went inside.
She saw the body of Dr Earnhardt which had been shot and a pile of explosives with a switch next to him, strangely they hadn't even had to kill him as the Rakyat had done that themselves. Jaime flipped the switch and started a timer set for five seconds before running at her top speed out of the house from other side and down the cliff out of sight before the house exploded into pieces behind her.
She clung on to the cliff as the debris from the explosion fell, blowing the house into pieces and throwing the group of six to the ground with the force of the shockwave.
With her bionic hearing, Jaime listened from where she was over the sounds of the flames that engulfed the house.
"NOO!" She heard Liza scream out in horror.
"What the hell?" Oliver said with confusion.
"Who? Why?" Keith yelled just as confused as his friends.
"I think I know." Jason said as he found something thrown from the house, a Rakyat Tribal knife with their unique patterns engraved onto it. They all recognised it from seeing their warriors on the island during their campaign here.
"The Rakyat did this!" Daisy said with confusion, thinking they had been their allies. "Why?"
"I don't know, but if they did do this…Citra had to have known." Jason said with anger in his voice.
"Then let's go pay the bitch a visit." Liza said, anger making her voice almost sound like a growl as she considered the harpy that was trying to entice Jason away from her. Riley meanwhile noticed more than ever the changes in their behaviour and was now very worried about what was happening to them.
"Guys, maybe you should take a breath. I mean…maybe they didn't do this." Riley said trying to calm them down but he underestimated the strength of their anger.
"They just killed our only real allies on the island!" Daisy said with fury now directed at Riley. "The only chance we had to leave. Now what are we going to do?"
"Riley. Just…trust us on this." Jason said taking charge of the group. "We know they did this. Now we need to get to the temple."
Jaime listened and with a smile heard them leave, smirking as everything was going to plan. When she was sure they were out of sight she clambered up the cliff and started running towards the village to complete the next stage of the plan.
- x -
Citra's Temple, Rook Islands…
Jason and his friends arrived in the helicopter which fortunately had enough fuel to reach it. Shutting it down they exited and saw the guards outside were waiting for them. Their instincts told them this was some kind of trap but they were so angry they didn't care. Jason at least had the foresight though to tell Riley.
"Stay outside. Whatever happens, don't go in." Jason warned him, Riley looked ready to argue but stopped when he saw the fierce looks on their faces and sat back inside the helicopter and closed the doors, not sure what was happening to his brother and their friends, what this island had changed them into.
Jason and his friends walked into the temple and to their great surprise saw the Professor tied up near Citra.
"Professor! Are you alright?" Daisy asked with concern for the old man.
"Oh, not well my dear. It seems that Miss Citra here wants me and the rest of you dead." The Professor said with a tired look on his face.
"Why? Why did you kill Dr Earnhardt? And Ms Sinclair?" Jason demanded with anger. "Why do you want to kill us? We helped you! We defeated the pirates!"
"Jason." Citra said looking almost pained by his anger. "They are binding you! Holding you back! With them gone you never have to leave!" She called out with desperation, not understanding how this was happening. But the Professor interrupted.
"What she really means is that she wants your friends dead so she could copulate with you and try to conceive a child. An 'Ultimate Warrior' who will rule over the Rakyat and return them to glory or so she hopes. Of course, after she has gained your contribution, she intends to stab the ceremonial dagger through your chest." The Professor told them, revealing all of Citra's plans.
"What?!" Liza said almost foaming at the mouth while others Jason especially was stunned at what she had been planning. The Professor then spoke quickly before anyone could stop him.
"Oh yes, and that is not the only thing. They knew that Mr Riley Brody was alive even before he left the island and had the chance to rescue him but did nothing. Furthermore, they destroyed the boat I was planning to use for all of us to escape the island and stole the only satellite phone I managed to acquire. It's over there." He said nodding his head in the direction of the altar where it was lying broken into pieces.
"What?" Citra said with confusion. She had ordered their deaths and had learned that the younger brother was still alive but the boat and the phone? That she didn't understand.
"You Bitch!" Oliver snarled, he and the rest of the group where now almost boiling with rage and unable to hold him back any longer, he shot the guard who was creeping up on the right.
That was the flash point, the trigger moment where all hell broke loose.
Jason and his friends were all hardened by combat and had instincts that were razor sharp, at the moment they realised the Rakyat were a threat they didn't hesitate…they went on the attack. Jason had his rifle in hand already and shot dead two of the guards straight away and Daisy stabbed her machete through the gut of another before pulling his pistol out of his holder and shooting dead another. Oliver and Keith like Jason started shooting all the guards who started charging in at the sounds, intent on defending Citra.
Citra watched the massacre with wide eyed horror, what the hell was happening she thought with terror. She had no idea how the situation had turned so wrong so quickly! Then just as she turned around to face the Professor as she knew him, Liza appeared before her and stabbed her through the gut with a machete.
"Bitch!" Liza snarled as she impaled Citra. "Jason is mine."
Citra was in shock at the stabbing and over Liza's shoulder she caught a glimpse of the Professor who was sneering at her with triumph.
Him? She thought as she fell to the ground, he was the one responsible? He had manipulated her and everyone else like puppets. She clung on to life but she could feel it slipping through her fingers and all around her she saw her people being slaughtered by those that they had empowered. She had been so wrong she realised with horrified clarity. That creature had allowed her to capture and hold him, had manipulated all of them to reach this moment where for his own amusement…the Rakyat would be destroyed.
It had never been her destiny to bring the Rakyat into this world. Everything was gone! She thought with despair. All she had done, even breaking her own brother and making him into the monster he became…all of it was for nothing.
"CITRA!" She heard Dennis yelled as he ran towards her but Jason intercepted him with a burst of bullets from his rifle. Seeing her most devoted follower fall reminded her again how pointless it had all been.
She was still clinging to life, holding on to life despite the massive amount of pain she was in. Looking around as her warriors fell and her heart broke with each one. The Rakyat would disappear from the world she realised to her utter desolation, the people of the island would survive but her tribe and their way of life and their beliefs would disappear forever.
He had brought her people to ruin Citra realised with anger as she caught the old man's gaze which honestly seemed demonic as he grinned at her, even mocking her by easily freeing himself from the bindings.
Seeing the five outsiders emerge victorious much to her despair, they all turned to look at her and realised that she had ironically created the perfect warrior, all five of them were kings and queens of the jungle. With the last bit of breath she had, she told them with some sense of victory.
"The jungle…will never leave you now. You will always be warriors…it lives in you wherever you go. It owns you…forever." Citra told them, taunting them with the knowledge that wherever they went, the Rook Islands would always be a part of them.
"Maybe. But they will be free of you." Jason said with disgust at what she had been planning.
They then noticed the Professor had freed himself and was dusting himself off, completely unaffected by the scene around him. He even pulled a small cylinder and pressed some button on the end before putting it back in his pocket.
"Well, that was entertaining and most informative. Thank you, Mr Brody, Miss Snow, Mr Ramsay, Miss Lee and Mr Carswell. Your participation in my little experiment has been most enlightening. If you will indulge me though, I have a little story to tell." The Professor said with a calm and cunning look on his face that none of them had ever seen before.
"Millions of years ago this island was home to a colony, belonging to a species that once ruled this world until they went into hibernation to avoid a disaster that they thought threatened their world. But a different natural disaster, many years later destroyed their hidden cryogenic chamber and the chemicals they had been experimenting on leaked out. Those chemicals seeped into the earth and entered the plants that cover the island and through them the animals. Those same things that the Rakyat made their tattoo ink out of. In a strange twist of fate that ink became an extremely effective stimulant of the mammalian body."
They were so confused at what he was telling them that they didn't interrupt which was a good thing as the Master would likely have killed them if they had. So, he continued.
"The ink in this purified form causes a considerable increase in baseline strength and reflexes, not to mention increases the ability to suppress pain, the speed at which they learn, increased confidence and otherwise physical resilience. But at the same time, it helps suppress pesky behavioural inhibitors and increase violent behaviour along with basic aggression. Desensitizes them to things like killing. A rather impressive compound really."
"Strangely though it seems to spread as the user becomes more experienced. I needed to study it and thankfully the five of you came at just the right time to be my study group. The only person that Rakyat truly gave the tattoo was Mr Brody but I…convinced one of their people to give you all the same thing to see if it just what its effects were on a broader range of subjects. After that made sure to keep pushing you all to ensure you all stayed on task such as now. Now though I have the formula I can confirm it is not going to simply fade away. It will be with you for the rest of your lives. Now since I have made sure to remove all ways off the island, I will bid you all farewell.
"Who are you?" Keith demanded, now confused and unsure of what was going on. The Professor smirked in a way that seemed almost demonic and all of them held their rifles in his direction.
"I am the Master. Now farewell. I hope you all enjoy the thrill of killing; it is so much better when one has no morals." The Master said with a vicious laugh as a sudden wind picked up and a wheezing, grating sound filled the air. The humans present had no idea just what was going on and a cylinder-shaped object materialised around the Master before disappearing into thin air, taking him with it.
- x -
Tardis Control Room…
"Thank you my dear the timing could not have been better." The Master said as he saw Jaime standing at the controls, glad to have taught her to fly the Tardis as it had gotten him out of some very tricky situations. Jaime nodded and told him.
"Glad to be of service sir. Shall I set a destination sir?" Jaime asked with a smile but the Master shook his head.
"No, my dear. I have a surprise for you and I want to keep it to myself, a pleasant one I assure you." The Master said as he came over and took over operating the console while Jaime looked at him, not sure if what he had in mind for her was good or not.
- x -
Rook Islands…One Day Later…
"Shit!" Oliver said as he cradled his head in his hands, not able to believe this.
"It's not possible. We'll get it removed once we get back to the states." Liza said trying to reassure the group, holding up her arm with the tatau as if they needed to know what she was talking about but Jason shook his head in disagreement.
"We've killed so many people I can't count. We can't just come back from this! Pretend it never happened." Jason told his girlfriend with a voice shaking with emotion.
"I can the anger inside me." Daisy said, her hand on her chest as if feeling it through her fingers. "We're monsters now! Killers!"
"Not to mention we are stuck on this island!" Oliver said with anger raging inside him while Keith sat near the fire almost comatose as he tried to come to terms with the fact that they had all been used in a lunatic's science experiment and wiped out a whole tribe of people in a fit of temper. Riley nearby was concerned but couldn't fully understand just what they were going through as he was lucky enough not to have the tatau on his arm.
"Maybe this is where we belong now." Jason said with depression as he considered just how much they had lost, how many lives they'd taken.
"No." Liza said with shaky determination. They all looked at her as struggled to say what she needed to say. "Somewhere inside, we're better than that. We are more than that."
"Indeed, maybe we can be of assistance." A British accent said from the side and they all leapt to their feet with their guns drawn except for Riley. A middle-aged blonde-haired woman with white shirt and black trousers with a beige coat appeared with a bunch of men in black combat armour with matching helmets. All armed with assault rifles that were considerably newer and in better condition than theirs. "Stand down. We're not here to fight. We came here because we were tipped off that a criminal mastermind known as 'The Master' was operating on the island. Is he still here or has he fled?" The woman asked and Jason answered her.
"Yeah, he disappeared. Literally." He said not understanding what happened but with everything that had happened he was just hoping that maybe this woman could be trusted. She had an honest face and frankly he was trying to control the beast inside him…the one telling him to just kill them all, so he and his group would be safe and defend their territory.
"Too late, he has been rather active in this century and again he leaves a bunch of victims behind him. Sorry, rude not to introduce myself. Kate Stewart, Chief Science Officer at UNIT, Unified Intelligence Taskforce for the United Nations. We know who you are of course." The blonde woman introduced herself. "And my source told me about the 'tatau' I believe it's called. We might be able to help with that."
"How? This thing is going to be on our arms forever!" Oliver said, holding it up to make the point but then a younger brown-haired woman with glasses and very strange dress sense pushed forward. She was smiling warmly at them and with her white lab coat, long multi-coloured scarf, bowtie and question mark sweater she made all of them blink, wondering just what made her dress like that.
"The one that tipped us off about the Master being here gave us the formula for the ink. I think with the right medication we can alleviate the mental effects at least. Give you all back some more control." She told them and Kate who looked a little annoyed at the interruption glared at her but only for a moment, not seemingly able to stay angry at her for long.
"UNIT is willing to work with you till you can get a handle on this, maybe even offer you a job if you want it. Put those abilities of yours to use." Kate said, hoping that they might be willing to work with UNIT as operatives. People with their skills were rare in this world and with the threats they faced only getting more dangerous as time went on, they would need the best people she could find. "But our first task is to get you all back home. If you want a lift?" She asked them with a smile.
The six of them all shared a look, not sure if they should trust her but if 'UNIT' could help them, maybe give them some control over this…maybe it might be worth hearing them out.
The Master's Tardis…
"My dear you have proven to be most valuable to me. Your skills are impressive but you need to be more educated for some of the schemes I have in mind." The Master said, aware that although a powerful soldier in his service, Jaime's education was hardly sufficient for his purposes so he was going to improve on that.
"Sir? I am…Of course sir." Jaime said, her eyes gazing over slightly as the programming ensured her obedience. The Master blinked for a moment, wondering if somehow, she was trying to fight against the programming. Was some part of the old Jaime Sommers underneath his programming still intact and trying to regain control. He would have to keep watch and analyse the data before deciding his course of action.
"I am sending you to the University of Urbania in the 51st Century. One of the best centres of higher education in the galaxy. I have devised an intensive but highly useful program for you, one that will give the skills that you need to help me in some of my more academic exercises." The Master said and Jaime nodded eagerly, any hesitation now gone and smiling brightly at the idea.
Satisfied she was back under control, the Master set the co-ordinates and smirked, with the Ink from Rook Islands he would be able to trade for some useful information from Narvin that would be helpful in his future scheme.
There we are, hope you all enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you thought.
The Master was interested in the stimulant the ink provides the host, that is just me trying to translate it into Doctor Who terms. But he wanted to study the effects it has on people so he established a test group to see how it affected them.
Next Chapter = The Master and Jaime return to the world of Assassin's Creed and enter the Seven Year War. An unexpected issue arises and forces those who understand the danger into a difficult alliance.
