Imaginary Worlds

"You heard the Doc, work and bed. Tough but fair," the Master added, just to back the Doctor up. Leaning over though, he smiled and whispered in the boys ear. "Behave and you might get a later night tomorrow."

Because, yes, the Master was somewhat useless sometimes and yes, he did encourage the kid to be mischievous and misbehave but who could blame him? The Master did like to be childish sometimes and they had free reign of the world. "But yes, good work on the trains. Keep at the studying and tomorrow we'll go see the train. Epsilon, you want to come?"

Epsilon glanced up in surprise, shifting uncomfortable under Koschei's hopeful glance. "No thank you, Si-Sorry. But no thank you, I don't want to intrude." he murmured softly, shrugging a bit.

"How about...You take Kosch to see the train tomorrow morning and I'll let Epsilon poke about the basement." the Doctor offered softly. The kid would probably get a kick out of the makeshift lab and nobody would be uncomfortable. Even if it meant not having the Master right there with him. But the man wasn't about to take off with Koschei...He hoped, at least.

"Well, that sounds fine but if you ever want to see the train, you're welcome to come with me. Its not intruding. Never is with us," the Master reassured with a small nod, not willing to be considered something to fear. He didn't hit kids-- he did hit his wife once or twice but she was very annoying and he considered that justification.

"Well, either way, we get to see the train," Smiling, he turned his head to Koschei and offered the kid a pat on the back. Because this was going to be brilliant. "Oh I'll be sure to talk to the controller and maybe you can come inside and see how everything works. Trust me Koschei, inner workings of great machines are wonderful to study."

"Like maps?" Koschei asked, cocking his head a bit. Yeah. He was still into the whole geography and puzzle thing. He liked drawing and coloring maps. It was fun. It just wasn't typical for a kid his age.

"Sort of, Kosch." the Doctor granted gently. "They're all put together to form a large thing, sort of like your puzzles. Just more complicated." he appeased. That was simple enough to dumb down to a kid level.

"You'll see when we get there," he always did love the engineering side of things. Any sciences worked, especially the cosmological sciences. He knew Koschei was no academic but what was wrong with hoping the kid could maybe become interested and join in with him when it came building things.

Things like trains. He knew it was technically using his son but he honestly didn't think it was that bad. He just wanted to be able to share something with his son once more... soon reading would no longer be something they did together.

"Well, tomorrow we'll go see and you'll get it. It is like one big puzzle and everything fits perfectly to make the train move."

Koschei smiled and nodded with a grin, turning back to his food once more. It wasn't too long before he was declaring himself done, dragging Epsilon back upstairs. He had to read? Fine. They would read his new book. Something to excite him again.

The Doctor just shook his head lightly at that one. "I'm sure you two will have a lot of fun tomorrow. He's actually fascinated by those sort of things." he murmured, standing and starting on the dishes. Yes, they could be dealt with otherwise. Easily. He just...He didn't want to. He honestly preferred the proper method.

"Shame Epsilon can't come, might of liked a peek but then, I suppose he'd prefer to look at your chemistry set and all that. Either way, it was nice of you to take him," the Master offered because he did owe the other man a pat on the back for that, he hardly wanted Epsilon sitting at home bored and alone.

"I'll work on it though. After Koschei, of course. Once we've seen the train, I'll start working on a way to amaze you. You'll love it," the Master muttered in a determined manner. Because he could and he bloody well would.

((Off to bed!))

The Doctor sighed softly and shrugged. "Alright." he murmured, not really thinking about it. Why would he? The other was going to do whatever he wanted and if the Doctor didn't want to be left behind?

Well, he would be wise to follow along with whether he liked it or not. "It's fine, you know? You want to do this...I told you. I'll go with whatever you want." the Doctor said simply. There was no need to try and make him like the idea or to convince him.

{Sleep well~!}

"But you don't want to! I'm not just going to sit back and watch you needlessly comply because you can;t be bothered to fight, I want you to because you want to," the Master snapped, annoyed that the Doctor was doing this again. They made a deal, the Master would be honest about how he felt and the Doctor would stop this self sacrificing rubbish. The Master was upholding his side, the Doctor was still doing it, even know. He wanted a willing participant. Not someone who did it because he did it.

If he wanted that then he would of just stayed with Lucy, for Rassilons sake. "I hate when you do this! Stop humouring me like a child, develop a backbone and talk to me when you're willing to at least offer a challenge," the Master growled, getting up and storming off, because that was pretty much his answer to everything.

The Doctor followed, catching hold of the other's arm pointedly. "Knock it off! You and I both know that you'll do whatever the hell you want. The safest thing is to just go with it and deal with it. I told you before that you could do this if it meant you'd stay and be happy." he growled sharply.

He had agreed to go along with it in the very beginning. He didn't care. He really didn't. All that he cared about was having the Master. "I'm fine so long as I have you. That's all I want. Why the hell do you think I recreated the Valiant for you?" the Doctor asked softly.

"Well I want you to care! Sod my happiness! You're-- you're just boring like this. You used to challenge me, the greater good was better than my happiness. Where's the game in all of this?" Swaying the Doctor to his side was fun. Fighting the Doctor was fun. Having him letting the Master do as he pleased so long as he was happy was annoying.

It was definitely a 'careful what you wish for' type thing. What was the point of conquering and ruling if there was no challenge? Nothing to fight? He claimed he wanted dominance and power... what he really wanted was to be challenged. "Stop making me happy and just be you."

"I am being me! I have no moral obligations to this place. I'm with you. I'm happy with you. I don't want a challenge. I want you. I have you. I'm happy." the Doctor said fiemly, trying to make the other understand. He was happy. He was content. He didn't want to have the Master running around and playing some game with him.

"Forget it. Fine. You want a game? Here. You can have a game. Get out of here. Do your usual thing and I'll barge in, we'll fight, one of us will lose, and the other will be extremely unhappy. New game, same rules. Right? That's what you want. I've given you power and free reign to do what you wish. And you're still not happy." the Doctor ground out as he backed off a bit. "Fine. But don't even try to tell me you'd be any happier if you could sway me to go along with it. You'd just be bored again."

"But-- We're both so powerful here. We're Gods and this place? Its our playground. I'm not asking or us to lock into a never ending battle like before... I'm asking for you to speak your mind and at least try to challenge my actions," the Master snapped, these people here lived, loved and had intelligence. One would assume the Doctor would at least care if the Master blew half of it up or something.

"Maybe I'll always be bored, maybe I'll always be a prick that does your head in. You want me to be happy, why don't you just make me happy. You have the power, if you want it so much," the Master snapped, why was it always about making him happy. It was driving him mad, he just wanted the Doctor to stop obsessing over his own happiness. And he'd do whatever it meant if the Doctor and himself could at least be satisfied.

"Because I'm happy! I'm content! I don't want to play some game with you. I don't want to challenge you. I actually want to support you in something you want to do. I want to support you and I want you to be happy. I want you to be as happy as I usually am." the Doctor mumbled softly.

Because, yes, the Doctor was happy. He was happy with the Master, but..."You being unhappy and pushing me to challenge you is making me unhappy. And I don't want to be unhappy. I want the both of us to be content." he said softly, shaking his head a bit.

The Master had to pinch the bridge of his nose because this was so hard. He thought power would help. But what good was power and destruction if there was no one there to challenge and stop him. It would be like the Valiant without the Doctor doing anything at all. He did all this for the Doctor, because he liked the games.

But the games made the Doctor miserable. And domestic life was all right, it was amusing at times but he missed the old days. How could he not miss what had been his life for so long. "All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

The Master shrugged his shoulders, he never thought that quote would be relevant between them but what good was any of this? It all felt so ... meaningless. He didn't even know what to do right now.

"Fine. Go. Do whatever you want. I don't feel like dealing with this. I'm not dealing with this. You want the life we had? Fine. Last two true Timelords in existence forever at each other's throats." he grumbled. He didn't even have Koschei to look forward to growing up. The brat would more than likely lash out at him too.

Shaking his head, the Doctor turned away to hunt down the two children. He needed to send them to bed already and he wanted to sleep himself. He didn't see the other being too much of a pleasure to be around anymore. "Enjoy your power! At least one of us will be happy." the Doctor growled in passing.

"Oh shut up!" the Master snapped angrily, kicking the table in anger as he stormed out the house. He needed some fresh air, he needed a break from the insanity that was living with the Doctor. He got what he wanted but now the Doctor was miserable, if the Doctor got what he wanted then the Master was bored.

Maybe they just weren't ever going to work. Maybe they'd fall out all the time. How could he ever cope with domestic living without a challenge like ... fighting for world domination. He loved this place, he loved Koschei and Sigma and he loved the Doctor most of all... but it was so hard to be content with his lot in life.

Hearing the door slam was the worst thing he could deal with. Because the Master was right. He had the power to make the man happy. Which meant that the Doctor had the power to alter his own mindset. Which wasn't a good thing to know.

The Doctor got the two kids settled in before he altered his mindset. It wasn't hard. It was simply removing any and all desire for the domestic life that they had for the moment. Which in turn left him restless and needing to go. To move and leave.

The second thing was a bit harder. He removed the knowledge of this world's creation, which in turn created the moral obligation to this place he'd been missing. Which meant that the Master was in for a very unpleasant surprise when the Doctor couldn't do it anymore. It took three frantic calls to wake Verica, about forty minutes for her to show up, and less than five before be was off. Just because he was stuck in some domestic hell didn't mean he'd leave behind two kids alone.

The Master didn't have a great night, he thought time apart was what they needed... so he slept on a bench in the park. He didn't get up till some hobo kicked him and told him it was 'his bench' for some reason. The Master groaned and rolled his eyes. He didn't get back till 7am and by then, his back was killing, he was exhausted and honestly? He was kind of ready to establish a truce.

He didn't care how it was done, he just wanted to sleep and have the Doctor stop his hatred. Pushing his way into the oddly unlocked house, he didn't expect it to be so quiet. He expected Koschei and Epsilon to be making noise... or the Doctor. Sigma came running too him and the Master picked him up, holding him protectively as he walked tentatively into the house to try and track down the Doctor. "Helllllooo? Anyone in?"

Verica really had no clue what she'd gotten into. Only that the Doctor had said something about taking off to some flat and that he couldn't do it, whatever it was. Hearing the Master, she hesitated before starting down, halting about halfway to regard the other. Right.

"I'm sorry. I don't...I'm not sure what's going on. The Doctor called me in a panic and I couldn't just not come. He needed me here to watch the two kid's. What's going on?" she asked softly. She didn't quite understand what was happening.

The Master had no idea. And it was clear by the look on his face. He held Sigma close and ignored the way the dog licked his face as he peered around the house. He didn't even have time to act stand-offish to Verica. Sod that! The Doctor was missing and he had no idea what to do or where to go from here.

"He just -- left? Oh shit. He's... oh, well this is just brilliant," the Master growled under his breath, setting Sigma down safely on the floor. Running his fingers through his hair, he tugged it as he peered around the place. "Did he say anything?"

"Not really. I mean, mostly that he couldn't do it. I don't know what he was talking about. Something about a flat and he...I don't know. Mostly a lot of mumbling." Verica said softly. She couldn't help but to feel bad. Because this wasn't right. The Doctor hadn't been right.

He'd been different. Frantic and in a panic. "Look. I swear if there's anything I could do to help, I'll do it. I don't know what's going on. He just...He didn't seem like himself." Verica said softly. It was strange. Because it wasn't something that she had expected. It was too out of place.

There was a long pause of contemplation as the Master tried his hardest to work out what exactly to do and where to go. If he ran off as well, what would he say to Koschei. Yes. He wanted a challenge but a sort of mutual friendly challenge where they kept their son. Rubbing at his eyes in frustration, he looked up at Verica.

"In case he forgot to meant it, your partner beats your son," the Master informed her bluntly before getting to his feet and heading to the kitchen. What? Someone had to say it? "And I'm getting a drink. Do you want something? Cause I have no ideas."

Verica froze up immediately. No. Not something that she agreed with. In the least. She hated it. Shaking her head, she followed along after with a frown. "Wait, what? What do you mean he's beating my son?" she asked with a frown. She wasn't sure what to think about that.

"And no thank you. I'm good I just...I don't know. I'm sorry. I want to help. I really do. He didn't seem like himself. At all. He seemed...Completely different." Verica admitted softly. Which meant that she wasn't too sure what to think.

"Zen? Remember Zen? Absolutely bastard we fell out over? Well apparently he's beating Epsilon, the Doctor found out today and he was meant to tell you, it would fell more credible from him," the Master added, knowing she probably wasn't going to believe this but honestly, he was in panic mood and too worried to care.

Opening his beer, he sipped it lazily and gave her a small look. "Hey, sorry, all right. But he's a git and Epsilon is miserable and I can't help right now. Because I've driven a man who I was starting to consider my partner into running away because I made him miserable," the Master informed her bluntly. So no, the Master was too busy pitying himself to care anymore.