58 - Forget him
"Turn the Gate off!" I yell, as we enter the hall. "right now!".
"At arms!", a uniform says, pointing his gun at me.
"No, no, no, no, no", the Doctor says, raising his hands. "Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device".
"Oh, like that was ever going to happen", the Master says, throwing off his strait jacket. He stretches and does that Iron Man leap on energy again, this time going over the soldiers and the Naismiths, landing straight into the gate.
"Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now", he says, theatrically, then winks at me.
"Deactivate it!" the Doctor instructs, screaming. "All of you, turn the whole thing off!"
But everybody is confused, shaking their heads. Nobody moves, I run towards the Master.
"He's inside my head", Naismith says.
"Get out of there!", I scream, but he knocks me down with a blast of energy.
"Doctor! Doctor, there's, there's this face", Wilf says, walking into the room.
"What is it? What can you see?", the Doctor asks him.
"Well, it's him. I can see him", he says, pointing at the Master.
The Ood, their vision. We look around, the tv is on President Obama's speech but even there, it seems like everyone is affected by the same vision. I run to the computer.
"Doctor", I call him, shaking my head. "I can't turn it off".
"That's because I locked it, my love", the Master says, tilting his head smirking.
The Doctor looks at me, thinking quickly. Then grabs Wilf and pushes him in a glass sided booth. "Wilfred! Get inside. Get him out". Wilf swaps places with a technician, while the Doctor enters the other booth. "Just need to filter the levels".
"Oh, I can see again! He's gone", Wilf says.
"Radiation shielding. Now press the button. Let me out".
"You what?".
"I can't get out until you press the button. That button there". Now the Doctor gets out and Wilf booth's locked him in. I don't really understand the reason for this complicated system, but I have a tiny bit of a bigger worry as the Master counts down.
"Less than a minute now".
"To what?", I ask.
"Oh, you're going to love this", he gloats.
"What? What have you done with the template?", I insist.
"Hypnotism? Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?", the Doctor looks around, as everyone's faces start to blur in motion.
"Oh, that's way too easy. No, no, no. They're not going to think like me", the Master gloats. "they're going to become me. And, zero!".
A blast of energy moves out from the Master and the Gate, expanding around like a wave, past the doors and the walls and probably spreading across the world… It mends whole planets.
"Oh, you crazy egomaniac", I whisper.
She looks at me and pretends to courtsy in mockery, as if accepting an applause.
"You can't have", the Doctor says.
Wilf is on the phone with Donna. "What is it?", he listens to her, then calls us. "Doctor? She's starting to remember".
The transformation stops. Everyone is now the Master, except the Doctor and me.
And Wilf, who is astonished. "What is it? What have you done, you monster?".
"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me?", he says from inside the gate.
"Or to me?", other Masters start to answer from every side. "Or to me? Or to me? Or to us?".
On television, the Master happily announces he's everyone. From the White House press room, the Master dismisses his financial solution, laughing.
"The human race was always your favourite, Doctor. But now, there is no human race. There is only the Master race", he boasts, laughing histerically.
The Doctor steps to me, takes my hand. I feel him trying to reassure me through the psychic link, but I'm feeling too shaken. What have I done?
The Master in the gate sees it, and blasts me again with a flash of energy. "Enough, you two!", he roars, stepping down from the gate until he's in front of me.
I fall back, the Doctor tries to hold me, but two Master soldiers grab him and pull him back. "Don't touch her!", the Doctor cries.
"I said, enough", he repeats, crouching down. "After all, now it's time to thank my beautiful wife for bringing me back".
"I'm not your wife. And I didn't bring you back", I whisper. "Koschei".
He laughs, but I know he's irritated. "Oh maybe your tiny feeble connection with the Doctor made you forget. I'm in your head. I see you. I know. You could have stopped the resurrection, and you didn't".
I feel tears coming up my eyes.
"Oh, are we sad, my love? How many times do I have to repeat myself? Forget him!", he snarls.
I close my eyes, letting a tear slide down my cheek. I turn my head to look at the Doctor. He's staring at me, tense, he's trying not to show any emotion, but I know he's worried, terrified, even. The Master turns my face so I have to look at him again.
Angrily, I hit him through the bond again. He jumps up, shaking his head, as if I just tickled him.
"Ooh, feisty, are we? I've got some bad news for you, since maybe you haven't noticed, our bond is a little… unbalanced", he snarls, and he hits back. Except it's not just him. It's him, and everyone else on the planet.
I slam to the floor, twitching in pain.
"Stop it! Let her go!", the Doctor screams. The Master hits him with a flash of energy.
"Take him away", he orders.
When I regain consciousness, I find myself laying on a beautiful ornate canopy bed. I blink, alarmed, and pat my pockets, searching. I sit up, fast. The Master is splayed on an armchair, twirling the laser screwdriver in his hands.
I look around. There's only us in the room. My coat is hanging at the back of a desk chair. My boots are tidily aligned beside the bed.
"Don't you have a planet to run?", I ask him, running my hands over my face. "What have you done with the Doctor? And Wilf?".
He glances quickly at me sideways, smirking, then looks at the laser in his hand. "I'm a little disappointed that this doesn't work for me anymore, but still", he turns to me then, "I have to admire… the mastering of your abilities".
His gaze stays on me. It's a little intimidating. "It's not the only thing I learned from you".
"I know. You really are my greatest asset. Quite… the masterpiece". he says, soflty. "The Doctor and the old man are fine".
"Enough with the puns, Koschei".
"Stop calling me that. That hasn't been my name for a long time".
"I know all your names".
He giggles, tossing the laser, then jumps out of the armchair and climbs on the bed. I draw back, but he gets very close to my face. "Don't you see, my love? You are indeed my masterpiece. So clever, so beautiful, so brave. And our bond, getting stronger every second. Made for me", he says, softly, gently moving a strand of hair away from my eyes. "And yet, you choose him".
"Well, you've gone so mainstream now".
"You know me. Loove a good clonation plot".
I tilt my head to the side. "Are you serious right now?".
He blinks, his face twitches, tense. "You let me come back", he whispers.
"You're trying really hard to make me regret that".
"Stop it. I know you. And I know why you let me come back", he hisses, his face getting so close I have to turn away to avoid kissing him. "Turn away all you want, but I know you want me".
I snort, laughing, but he's inside my head.
"Oh, you beautiful thing. You don't need to pretend – I know you. You don't like me, you don't trust me, but you want me".
I flinch, trying to raise up my shields. He giggles.
"Wow", he says, his voice deep, huskily, as he draws again close to my face. "I built your mind. You're getting dangerously better at keeping the bond dormant, and manipulating the psychic link, but your psychic shields are mine. They don't work with me".
I close my eyes, trying to distract my mind, but aware of how easily I let him find me through the bond the last time I ran into him. How stupid I was, to assume it didn't work backwards, retroactively. I look at him defiantly.
He groans. "Oh, please. Don't you see it? What I'm trying to do here? This is me being gentle. I could make you beg. I could have taken you by force. Or while you were sleeping, my ungrateful, beautiful girl. You're not even tied to the bed. Your friends are safe".
I try to slide further back to put some distance between us. He is right, I'm not tied up here. "That's… do you expect me to thank you? That's basic decency, you caveman". I tell him, grimacing.
He draws back, laughing nervously. "You're right". He looks away, rolls his eyes, then turns to me again. "I'm sorry".
"What is wrong with you?", I groan. And I don't mean the abusive comment. I mean, replicating himself on the whole human race.
Oddly, he seems to be thinking about it. "The drums", he says, "How does it feel for you?".
"It's horrible", I answer, quickly. He puts his hands on my temples, I flinch, but then let him draw me closer, until he makes me rest my head on his chest, hugging me.
"I'm sorry", he says, caressing my head.
I sit up again, and look at him. "The Doctor might be able to help. Let us help you", I say, tentatively, but I'm scared at his possible reaction.
Instead, he slides his hand down his face, as if really considering it. "Do you really think he could help me?".
"Yes".
He laughs, bitterly. "Is this why you let them bring me back? Because you want to help me?", he asks, again, his fingers trailing on my hair to make me look at him again. His face has softened now, and… well, he's handsome. He smiles, genuinely. "Saw that".
"Get out", I whisper, shaking my head.
He doesn't waste time, he slides again on the bed and comes closer to my face again. "You do want me".
I look at him. I don't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing it, but he knows. He's in my head, but I also think he can easily read it in my eyes.
"Poor girl. Silly… silly girl", he jokes, whispering, so that I feel his soft breath on my cheeks, on my neck. His hand trails again over my short hair, tickling the skin on my scalp. He caresses my neck, gently. Is this really happening? Is he tricking me, taking advantage of this impossible, inevitable attraction?
He stops, stares at me again. I bite my lips, guilty. He's in my head, he felt my doubts just now. Then he grabs the base of my neck, firmly, and kisses me, impatient, rough.
And I melt.
I've never felt this wanted, not like this. The urge, the power we have over each other, it's unbelievable. I can't breathe, I gasp. He draws back, I feel his breath getting shaky, too. He slides down, pulling me down with him, and kisses me again, this time slowly, softly. He lingers there, it's like we both want to stay in that instant, make it as long as possible.
Then the hunger returns, and he's fast. He draws back just enough to take off his hoodie and t-shirt at once, and I lay pinning on my elbows as he takes my t-shirt off, gently swiping my hair away to kiss me again as he lays down on me, kissing my skin. His hand trails down from my neck, lingers to hold the pendant between his fingers, but I feel like I'm burning, and the power shifts, I take charge and turn him so I'm sitting on top of him, my hands sliding on his chest, until I unfasten his belt. He laughs, smirking, and pushes me down again, so he can unzip my trousers and slide his hands down. I moan, loudly, and he shuts me up kissing me again, taking my breath away.
His hands run over my waist, he slides one arm under me to pull my body against his, he wants my skin against him, he doesn't want to waste time. I feel like I'm melting again when I finally let him in, and I lose my mind. It feels so good, our bodies so perfectly fitting together that I almost scream. He wants me, he wants me so much, and he's taking me with all his power. He strokes my face, kissing me again. His hands cling mine, then when I start to move with him he groans in pleasure. I moan. "Oh… fuck". He giggles, pulling my hair so I tilt my head back, he kisses my neck, bites the soft spot between my collarbones.
I cry again in surprise, he stops, drawing back. "Am I hurting you?". He sounds slightly worried.
"A little bit", I say, breathless, and I see him retracting, his hand leaving my hair. I lean forward, pulling him back against my lips, "Do it again", I whisper. He moans again, shaking in pleasure, then bites the same spot, his hips pushing into me. His name rings in my head, through the bond, and he lets my name ring too, it's like music from the stars. We dance on that bed, his hands firm and strong on my body, but always careful, delicate. It's an ancient feeling, and yet I'm experiencing for the first time. I push that thought away. I moan again, and he likes it, and his skin is burning too, until we both scream in pleasure.
He pulls out and rolls to the side, breathing hard, shaking, smiling. I turn and kiss him, still astonished. We're both out of breath. And then, shame washes over me, thinking I don't know what he actually did with the Doctor, while I allowed this to happen, I lingered into this, quite literally sleeping with the enemy.
"You don't need to do that", he says.
Is it so weird, that I willingly tried to hide any comparison, that I didn't want him to know?
"I know when you're thinking about him", he adds, then he shakes violently, his body vanishing again into a skeleton buzzing with energy. I draw back, shocked, thankful that it didn't happen before.
"My love", he says, his voice shaking in fear as he strokes my neck. "Help me".
"Okay", I whisper, worried. "What can I do?".
He smiles. "Bring me the Tardis".
"Oh", I jump up, sitting on the bed, laughing. "Fuck no. Forget it".