Imaginary Worlds

"No, no...I will talk to Epsilon about it. Until then, I'm more concerned with this one. I can...Take Koschei for a couple of days if it would help you sort things out. Or I can...I don't know. I should take Epsilon and head home. I just want to make sure you're alright." she mumbled softly.

Verica was honestly worried. "If it helps...I don't think the Doctor was in the best state of mind. He seemed...Confused, almost. Could he have been in another accident? Because, if that's the case, a missing persons report might help." she offered.

"No, I think I know where he is, I'm going to go check. You stay here, all right? Just ... stay," he was not having his son in a house with Zen. No way in hell was he leaving his son to that. "Watch the dog and Pest is probably hiding in Koschei's room. He's a neurotic cat."

The Master frowned slightly, walking over to the sofa and giving Sigma a good petting. He was going to miss the mutt but he wasn't returning till he had the Doctor. "I'm going to his flat, might be a while. Just house sit for me while I try to talk him around... I'm going to wake up Koschei, I need to reassure him."

The last thing he needed was Koschei thinking he was leaving him. Heading upstairs, he opened the bedroom door carefully and moved as quietly as he could to Koschei bed, crouching down and shaking him lightly.

Oh, she really hoped this worked out for the best. She liked the Doctor...She liked the Master as well. It was just hard to deal with him when he had acted like that. Like she couldn't make her own decisions. "Sorry. I'll...Cover it here." she assured, sitting upon the couch tiredly. She had been woken in the middle of the night.

And Koschei wasn't much better. The kid whined and squirmed away, blinking his eyes open slowly. It didn't take long to realize just what time it was. "Dun I get to sleep in?" he asked slowly, confused. He'd never had to wake up early on the weekends before.

The Master had to smile, silly bastard. "Sorry kiddo but I've had a bit of an emergency so me and the Doctor are going to be out for the day but Verica is here to watch you. I just wanted to make sure you knew."

Because he was done running off and leaving the boy scared and worried over them. He was a megalomaniac second and a father first. He had some priorities, even if they were all mixed up and misjudged. Ruffling the kids hair, he ran his fingers through his hair once more. "I'm sorry, I can't take you to see the train today. Not until I sort all this. But I will, I swear."

Koschei sat up with a small frown, fidgeting a bit. "Kay..." he granted softly. He wasn't too happy about that, but he understood. "We go later." he granted with a small nod. He couldn't do that one easily. Especially if things worked themselves out.

"Epsilon an' I can play." Koschei assured softly. They had the train set still. He would easily manage that. He leaned over and hugged the Master tightly before settling back once more. He was tired and he trusted the man. The Master would work it out.

The Master offered a smile and hugged the boy back, feeling somewhat comforted by it. Curse that kid, the Master would forever have a soft spot or him. If it did come to the point where he took over, he'd make sure his son was at his side. "See you soon, have a good lie in and I'll see you soon."

Tucking the boy back in, he dashed out and into his and the Doctors room to change. After showering, shaving and putting on some casual dress, he dashed off and paused in time to see Verica. "Right, thank you and watch the house. Bye."

The Master did stop to talk, he dashed right outside and took the car, speeding off into town. Because he knew where to go, he'd been there when Koschei had been burned. So why not try the Doctors apartment. It was a long drive and it was still raining. The Master tried to turn it off but with his mood so erratic, he actually made it worse. By the time he parked up and walked across to find which one was the Doctors apartment, he was soaked and he did not look pleased. "Doctor?!"

There were a few snags that the Doctor hadn't considered in regards to alerting his mind back to what it had been like before. One was his lack of energy. He was drained and honestly a little bit frightened. Because he remembered being on the Valiant and then in his Tardis...And then he was in a large house with two kids and no real idea of how he'd gotten to that point.

Especially when that point also involved being around things that were most definitely the Master's. Such as the Toclofane. He just...Needed to get off of whatever planet he was on. And to do that, he needed to remember. Which is why he gave a start and hesitated when he heard the Master call his name. He didn't want to answer the door.

But the Master might also be the only one who happened to have some sort of answer for him. Slowly, he stood from the couch, a blanket clutched tight around his shoulders. He wasn't sure what had driven him to this place either. He slowly opened the door, just enough to peek out, eying the other in a wary manner. "What?" he asked slowly, not bothering to hide the suspicion from his tone.

"This drama better be worth it, Doctor. Its 7am and I am running around in the pissing rain to find you!" the Master snapped, slamming the door open and almost knocking the Doctor in the face with it. shoving his way inside, he tracked plenty of rain along as him as he took off his jacket, tossing it to the floor.

"I get it, your mad. Running away is a little childish but I can't talk. I get we, we both keep stepping on each others toes but you scared Verica and no doubt Koschei will wonder where you are," the Master ranted, not even considering anything could be up with the Doctor. Rolling his eyes, he headed into the living room and dropped down on the sofa. "You look awful, by the way. Have you slept yet?"

That was just a bit much. The Doctor stumbled back, staring with wide eyes at the other's actions. That wasn't typical. This wasn't right. He slowly shut the door and shot the other a confused frown that morphed over into surprise. Wait, what?!

"It has your name?" he asked quickly. That was a bit much. He'd just thought that kid had looked like the Master used to. Not that it was possibly more than a coincidence. This wasn't right. This was...Oh, this was that panic coming about again. That wasn't pleasant. Because he had no idea what was going on. "What alternate dimension have I crashed into? What is this place?" he demanded sharply. Right. Not backing down. Not showing fear or weakness. Asserting himself and taking charge to get his answers.

"I'm sorry, did you say it? He's a HE, you twat," the Master asserted, not sure what was going on any more. He was making no sense at all. He was starting to get the feeling that he wasn't the only confused one. After all, the Master was starting to get the funny feeling that something had happened to the Doctor.

"You crashed again, didn't you? Or did you do something? You're making no sense," the Master ordered, frowning as he got to his feet, confronting the Doctor firmly. He rather wished that he was dressed in his suit instead of a fleece jumper... he felt a lot less threatening. "You've been living here for-- well, I never kept track of time, you did. Maybe a year. Koschei is a year old so I suppose so. Koschei is our son, you made him, remember? So, stop sulking and come on, we have to go to the hospital and sort out your head."

Sulking? Sulking? He wasn't sulking! He was panicking! He was losing it. "A year..." he said dully. He didn't have a year. He was missing an entire year of his life. Sure, that was nothing for a Timelord, but it was still significant. "And I don't do kids! I don't...I need to go. Just...I don't know what I'm doing here." he said slowly.

And that was the most frightening. "I don't know what you're doing here!" the Doctor snapped pointedly. Because, unless the both of them had been stranded...But the Master was acting off. The other wasn't acting like the Doctor was use to, and that was almost as worrying.

"Well you made him!" the Master snapped, getting frustrated. Because of all the things he wanted, this was not one of them. sure he wanted a challenge but not one that meant he lost the man he'd been with. Instead of feeling interested or intrigued... he actually felt quite hurt. It was his fault but everything was entirely forgotten.

Dropping back down on the sofa, he put his head in his hands and groaned. "I'm here because you trapped me here and then, little by little, we built a life... and now its all gone. I always knew you'd do this. You're such a selfish bastard," the Master growled, tugging at his own hair because what the hell did he do now? Take Koschei and leave?

"I don't know where here is." the Doctor ground out pointedly. What was he supposed to do or say? He didn't know where he was. He didn't remember making Koschei. He couldn't even think of why he would want to make some kid that would tie him down or why he would trap the Master on a planet when he was fine with his Tardis.

He didn't even know where his ship was. "We...I don't know why I'm here. Why am I here? I had you contained on my Tardis. I would have been fine. This doesn't make sense...So what did you do?'' the Doctor demanded. Obviously the Master had done something.

The Master didn't respond for a while. Because he was pretty sure this was the end of this game... so why not make the most of it. "You're right, I trapped you here, I made Koschei, I made all of this to confuse you. I have your TARDIS in the basement and I linked it to a mathematics code that created a separate universe."

The Master got to his feet and waved his hand. The whole décor of the room changed, just for the Master to make his point. But there was no real enthusiasm in his words. Because he wanted the Doctor to remember all they'd done... he never wanted him to forget. How could he be so selfish and just forget his own son! Rubbing at his eyes, the Master exhaled loudly and pulled out the spare key to the TARDIS. "Take your TARDIS and piss off."

The Doctor wasn't sure why this all hurt. It made no sense for it to hurt. But it did, and it showed, even as he snatched the key away. Right. Made sense the Master had done it all. More sense than anything else did at the moment. He just needed to find his Tardis and they'd be off.

Speaking of which..."I can't leave you here! You're my responsibility. I can't just leave you here to do as you please to these people." the Doctor said levelly, bristling a bit. The Master would have to go with him. Back into the Tardis and he would make sure that something like this didn't happen again.

"And I can't leave, I have a dependant seven year old I have to take to see a train," the Master informed the Doctor in the bluntest manner. He wasn't leaving that kid. Getting to his feet once more, he shoved passed the Doctor and headed outside. He had to avoid being dragged into this mess and being taken away.

He'd just have to try and find a way to fix this. He just didn't know how undo what the Doctor had done. He didn't even know what the Doctor had done or if it was serious or intentional or what? Heading down the street, he really wished he had an umbrella or something. "I'm going nowhere with you, Doctor! Just leave."

The Doctor was quick to follow along after. Because he couldn't let the man run loose. "I highly doubt you are capable of raising a child!" he snipped. Seriously? What was going on here? Because it wasn't fitting with, well, anything. The Master wasn't a parent. Nor was the Doctor.

"What's going on?" he asked softly, coming to a slow stop in the street. He didn't even care if he and the blanket were getting stroked through. He was lost...And confused. Horribly so. ''I'm missing a year. What's going on here?" he asked, shaking his head slowly.

"Whats going on? I don't know. We were here for a year, we have a kid called Koschei and we have raised him for a year. Every day you get up at 7am to get the kid to school, I get up at 9am and we have breakfast. Then we walk my dog, Sigma, and you occasionally take Koschei's cat pest along. Then we have dinner, wait for Kosch to come back and then do as we please," the Master informed the Doctor just simply what they'd been doing this past two months. Well, what else was he to do? He couldn't explain a years worth of life in seconds.

"I'm sorry but you forgot and I can't tell you everything," the Master dismissed as he slipped into the car to protect himself from the rain. He felt a horrible sinking feeling... now what? He'd lost the Doctor-- the Doctor he fell in love with

"I don't want a kid...I don't want a family...I don't...I don't like being tied down." the Doctor murmured softly. He wasn't too sure where to go from there. What was he supposed to do? The Master had just...Told him that he had been doing what he wasn't made for and got into a car.

Which he wasn't too sure he was welcome in. He slumped a little, shaking his head slowly. "Then why don't I remember any of that?" he asked slowly. The Doctor didn't get that. Why did he feel like he did and why was he missing a year? What was that meant to achieve?

"You made the kid," the Master muttered under his breath because this was like beyond unfair. Driving along, he wasn't sure if bringing the Doctor home was a wise idea. After all, introducing the Doctor to a boy who already had abandonment issues. The Master sighed and shook his head. "It did happen... now it didn't apparently."

Well, whatever happened now happened and it was entirely his fault. He knew that. He started this, it was all on him. And the ironic thing was, the Master would never be happy and the Doctor didn't get that because the Doctor could give the Master everything... and he'd still find fault with it. It was who he was.

This wasn't good. Because the Master was leaving and they were apparently stuck here. He didn't know why or how, but he had a sinking feeling that he couldn't leave. And he was being left along in the rain and he felt exhausted...He could probably cry a bit. Even though the Doctor knew he wouldn't.

Instead he started back to the apartment, not sure what to do or where to go from there. He felt a bit like he had when he'd been exiled to Earth. He didn't see himself being able to go. He didn't see himself being able to do anything other than wait for something to happen. Or maybe he'd try leaving town. Branching out, so to speak.

The Master drove in circles, trying to think of a plan. Did he make the most of the situation? Play some headgames? Or try to jog the Doctors memory. This was so far from what he wanted. He wanted the Doctor he'd been with for a year to challenge his behaviour every now and again... course he brought this on himself. He could never be happy, could he?

Eventually he pulled back up outside the Doctors apartment and knocked once more. the rain had calmed and so had the Master. He was willing to tackle this much more rationally now.

The Doctor had finally managed to calm down a bit, sleeping for a little while when a knock upon the door roused him. Oh...Again wit the bothering him? Standing to opened the door, the Doctor was given a pause, staring at the Master. Again? Hadn't they gone through this already?

"Thought you had a seven year old to deal with." the Doctor said slowly. What else was he meant to say? What was he meant to do if not turn around and comment? They were...Well, they were sort of stuck.

"I have a babysitter. Her son is the Rani and he's friends with Koschei... I know how it sounds. You think thats bad, Theta's here is a girl," the Master mocked. Said a lot about the Doctor, really... he made himself a girl. How is that not weird. Giving the Doctor a tired look, he was passed the point of attempting to reason now.

"Come on, grab some clothes or something. We're going home to fix this," the Master informed the Doctor. And to his credit, he was behaving very well as an incentive... he was even waiting outside. Even if it was spitting lightly on him and slowly wetting his already damp clothes.

"I used to be given hell for my name." the Doctor mumbled. He didn't like this. He didn't have anything with him. He'd just needed to get out and run. He didn't want to be here...But he didn't want to be there either.

He slowly stepped out, hesitating a bit. He didn't really want to go with the Master. Who in their right mind would? "What is there to fix? I don't know where I am and I'm missing a year of my life. "I don't even know what there is to fix...How to fix it." he murmured.