Imaginary Worlds

The Doctor was following along before his brain even caught up. He hadn't expected that. At all. "Is that supposed to be significant to me in any way? Because the whole locked in thing seemed a bit unnecessary." he pointed out softly. He meant nothing by it. He just saw no reason to have said it.

He sat on the edge of the couch rather gingerly upon reaching the library, curling up in the corner of the couch with a soft sigh. "There. I'm sitting." the Doctor deadpanned with a roll of his eyes. Seriously. The Master wasn't the one who had to deal with the aftermath.

{I'll be vanishing soon for a bit.}

(Its all right, I'm going to bed soon.)

"Look, you don't have to worry," the aster informed the Doctor as he searched the library all over to try and track down the book he was looking for. "Just leave it. I want to discuss something far more interesting. The drums, Doctor. See, I've had them for 900 years, I can tell when they're wrong. Here? They seem out of place and wrong. Its unsettling me."

Pulling the book free once he found it, he headed back over to the Doctor and dropped down beside him with a small sigh, flipping idly through the Russian fairytale that gave him his first nickname. "Everything is off here, I pride myself on noticing these things... I am a full blooded Time Lord. But really? I couldn't care less. I just wish you were honest."

{I wish you a good night then.}

The Doctor sighed softly at that one, moving to kiss the Master hesitantly. "Please don't obsess over it. I was serious. I've done nothing against your will here. But it's fine, right? This is nice, isn't it?" he asked with a small frown. At least he wasn't twitching.

"I...I've given up on fighting you. Not challenging you, but I'm no longer fighting you outright. You are going on your power and whatnot. The fact that I'm willing to question and challenge while letting you do as you please should be enough. Right?" the Doctor asked hesitantly, settling on his stomach with his chin upon the Master's thigh.

"No," the Master said simply as he idly read the book he hadn't picked up in a long time. He had zero problems being painfully honest with the Doctor... how could he? The Doctor obviously hadn't heard a thing he'd said before.

"No, it isn't enough, I miss your fight and you challenging me. I love you, I want you with me. But you're like a domesticated dog... less fun this way," the Master didn't like being lied too either. The Doctor could of informed him easily that, you know, the universe was one giant lie? "Its nice-- but it isn't. I just-- I don't know. My head hurts when I think about it," so much tampering, so many changes... the Masters mind couldn't take these mixed signals. He was just lost.

((Night!))

The Doctor sighed softly and shook his head. "Here. Just...Let me. I'm not changing anything. But I'll tell you." he murmured, leaning in to form a mental connection. It was a second long thing. Simply removing a small block he'd placed to keep the Master from remembering his tampering and what they'd had before.

And he hated that. He really did. But the Master didn't seem too happy here. It wouldn't alter the changes he'd already made thus far. "I'm sorry. I'm not changing anything back. I can make this work." the Doctor asserted, settling back down once more with a soft sigh. He really hated this.

He hated having to deal with the constant shifts and changes. He didn't even stop to think what this mixed with what else he'd done might mean. He didn't care to pay attention. "Forget our kid. Forget having another kid. Forget our home. I don't care. You have the Valiant and power...Just be happy already. Please." the Doctor murmured, albeit just a bit desperately.

He had a son... Koschei? And this whole other life where he was... he was a good man? Sure, not perfect but he was a good man there and he was going to have another boy and be king of that world. The Master exhaled slowly and rested his head on his knee with a small frown on his face. So the Doctor did all of this without telling him?

He could of mentioned it or prodded him or at least explained it all. The Master closed his eyes, willing those fake drums from his head. He had the most power here and he liked it like that. The Doctor gave it all to him when they snogged in the cabin-- which was also a very fucked up thing on a whole because they were already dating?

"The boy? Koschei. Yes, course, he said to me in the cabin-- this is what spurred all of this?" the Master had to laugh because as hard as the Doctor was trying, he had done it all wrong. "You do realise that the problem wasn't that world, it wasn't that bratty bastard - I mean, he must of done my head in but I don't think it was him entirely. The problem was that I could of ripped off your leg and beaten you senseless with it and you probably would of said thank you. Doctor, the universe wasn't a problem, I was. And so was you."

"Which is why I did this. I made this place. We're expected to...I'm meant to fight you and whatnot. But I'm also expected to let you do as you please. Period. If I fight too much, then it breaks the illusion. See? So much better for you. And me." the Doctor said softly, backing off with a slight wince. Right.

He could see and understand why this would be an issue. He could! That didn't stop him from feeling bad about it. By he'd done it for a right reason. He'd done it so that they could try and be happy again. Well, so that he Master could. "It's alright. This is alright. I can handle this."

The Master stared in confusion before shaking his head and groaning. "Right, that's it. Intervention. No. More. Handling. Period." Because this was just getting insane. The harder the Doctor tried, the worst it ended up! The Master didn't even understand his logic this time around either because it was insane.

"I don't expect you to do as I tell you! I never expected that. Others? Yes, sure, why not? You? --- well, if you do everything I want then I get bored. Its a slave. I want the Doctor! The oncoming storming... I want the man I had when we first got here who basically told me to stop whining, man up or you'll kick my arse," the Master protested, no he didn't need an enemy... he just needed someone strong enough to tell him no and keep him from over thinking. The Doctor used to speak his mind, now he just blindly did what the Master asked. "Please, I'm begging you, just stop. I won't leave you but you have to understand... I need you to tell me to grow up, get over myself and accept things as they are. So go ahead - do it?"

The Doctor sighed softly and shook his head softly. "Fine. Deal with it. Because this lovely little world? It's locked. I went back to the last time you'd been happy and locked it. Yes, you could fix it, but it will take more time than it's worth and I don't want you to." he murmured softly, shaking his head a bit.

"Look. I can't be happy. If we went back to the real world, I'd be unhappy. With what it takes to make you happy, I'm unhappy. When you're unhappy, then I'm unhappy. I'd rather be unhappy and not alone, than to be happy and alone again. Now. If you'll excuse me, I have a list of things to do before your wife has a mental breakdown. You want me to tell you to shut up and deal with it? Fine. Shut up and deal with you." the Doctor growled, standing and heading for the door.

"So you're just giving up on our son? That's it? Bye Koschei, bye Sigma, bye everyone else. You just want to mope here whre I'm pissed off and you're unhappy?? Well, well, hasn't someone thought this through!" the Master yelled after him, slumping on the sofa and refusing to move. The Doctor wanted to make this hard on himself? Fine.;

But he could make it hard on himself all by himself, the Master wasn't going to make him a vicim. He wanted to get hurt? Fine! That was all down to him. He wanted to sulk and mope? Also down to him.

((Off to some halloween village! See you soon <3))

{Have fun!}

The Doctor sighed softly and shook his head a bit. He honestly just needed to think a bit. Particularly about everything going on. He returned soon enough, just eying the Master a bit before he sighed. "I wasn't the one who gave up. You know? I changed a bit. I still have a fight in me. I just lack the desire to actually fight." he murmured softly.

"You've never been happy with me. You...You stayed. You gave up on Koschei. I wasn't going to try and remind you of your promise to me for a new kid. You wanted to go. I did this. Can't we just...I still want to be with you. But I want you to be happy." the Doctor murmured as he moved to sit next to the other.

"I was being a child and I having a bad day... I lost faith in Koschei because he's hard to cope with. How many parents walk out on their kids then change their mind? ... I'm sorry, Doctor," the Master offered, he didn't say that word much often but he felt he owed a sorry for his behaviour. He won't deny that he had founded claimed... but he was also being a brat.

Well, at least he knew where Koschei got it. "But its not even about fighting Doctor, its about having basic ... rights! You want something from me, you have to say. I promised you another child, bloody well tell me that! I can live without fighting... I can't live with you if you can't stand up for yourself."

{By the way, I'm changing my tank and decorations, so I'll be slow for a bit. Did you have fun?}

The Doctor sighed softly and shook his head a bit. "Oh, what was the point? You wanted to leave. You were done with playing dad. You hit me. You haven't done that without cause or reason since getting around here. You shocked me. What else am I supposed to do? You're able to leave. I can't stop you. Everything I've done has managed to screw things up. I'm done. I just...The last time you were happy was the Valiant." he murmured softly.

It was actually somewhat sad. He was just...Giving up. At least forcing this and and making the other focused upon him kept the Master from leaving. "Can we just pretend that nothing happened? I kind of like this fantasy. We never really changed. Never left the Valiant. Never got attached. It's a lot easier to live like this than our actual lived." the Doctor said softly. And how wrong was that.

((Freezing cold and raining a lot but yeah, it was fun :3 hows your day been?))

"You need to stop changing things when I show the slightest signs of unhappiness," the Master muttered as he settled back and closed his eyes, taking a long deep inhale of breath. The Doctor wanted to stay and once upon a time, the Master would of loved to stay ... but now? Without the drums to guide him, it all felt oddly hollow. An illusion of winning wasn't winning. He knew the Doctor had given up but he couldn't do anything to change that. He'd admit he kept screwing up but it wasn't that the Master was unhappy, he just got bored too quickly and that definitely had to change.

"You want to be a father, you want a happy little domestic life. You don't want to be here, Doctor. And you can tell me that... please, just tell me exactly where you want to be. Not out of the choices you have of what we've made. Out of anything. Tell me 100% honestly what you want?" the Master asked, he'd know if he was being lied too but it was worth a shot, right?

{Long. I'm tending to my fish and cleaning house.}

The Doctor sighed softly at that one and ducked his head. Damn. "I...I don't know. With you, honestly. I can deal with it all. I can deal with this. I just...I don't know. I miss Gallifrey. I was working on creating something close before this. I miss having you and a family. I miss how things were before it went wrong." he admitted softly.

And that's all he'd been trying for before. To gain back what his stupidity had lost. I miss a lot from then. But I don't want the exact culture as before. It's hard to explain. But more than anything, I just want you. I'm fine with just having you in some manner. I'm tired of trying and then failing." the Doctor admitted softly.

(sorry its been so long!)

"Look, Doctor, you trust me? Or so I hope you trust me. Either way-- please, just close your eyes and go to sleep. And for the first time here, please just let me handle things. Let me make you happy," The Doctor never trusted him to try and fix this, he always had to do it himself. For once, the Master wanted the chance to make the Doctor happy.

What did it matter any more how he felt? He could be anywhere in the universe and still be unhappy. Mostly because he was a rather pathetically miserable human being who honestly needed to get away from his own depression spiral. "I won't ask anything of you again but don't take control, don't monitor me... just go to sleep and when you wake up, I'll make you smile."

That was horribly close to what he normally asked if the Master. Sighing softly, the Doctor ducked his head and nodded. He could agree with this. "I can force myself into a healing coma. Give you twenty four hours. It'll help with bruises and other things." he granted softly.

He didn't like this in the least. Nevertheless, the Doctor settled onto the couch to force himself into a deep sleep. When the Doctor woke up, he felt better physically, but was left groggy and emotionally exhausted. He wasn't sure quite what to expect.

The Master changed everything, the Valiant was gone. Not just gone from the universe but from his mind entirely. Everything on the Valiant never happened. Not to him anyway. He didn't remember the drums, the fighting, the doctor being his enemy. He did remember their time together. Everything had been edited like a R-rated film played on TV. All the bad stuff was cut just to make it all so much easier. The view outside was just as before, only the landscape mimicked that of Gallifrey. So did the temperature and the architecture.

The Master slept happily beside the Doctor, his eyes closed as he sprawled half against the Doctor. There was a dog that looked rather like Sigma sleeping on the floor not far from the Master and a cat like Pest was sleeping on the edge of their bed. Their house was as big as it was before but it was oddly quiet. No servants, no staff, no nothing. Just them and the people outside.

The Doctor was...Disturbed. And confused. It was warmer than he was accustomed to and everything seemed...Out of place. It wasn't a bad feeling. He was just...He didn't quite know what to expect and this hadn't been what he'd thought at all. Because he didn't think the Master would do something like this.

The Doctor shifted and sat up, absently scratching behind the cat's ears as he looked through their bedroom window. He was...He was a lot of things at the moment. What really bothered him was that he didn't know what might have changed where the Master was involved.

The Master mumbled in annoyance and looked up from the pillow, squinting in the Doctors direction. Great, early morning again? Was it so hard for him to stay in bed? "Why are you up? I wanted to lie in today, Doctor."

Glaring, he pulled himself upright and gestured for the dog to come up on the bed. Letting the puppy settle against him, the Master obviously didn't seem pleased to be away. Well, one thing was very sure at this point, the Master hadn't changed on his feelings towards the morning. Blinking at the Doctor, he raised an eyebrow. "Breakfast?"

This wasn't right. Because he didn't know anything. And where was Koschei? At the institute still? Did they still have Koschei? Or was he gone now? And what of themselves? Were they together? Just sleeping together? Married and cheating on their partners together? And why did everything seem so...Off to him? Something was bothering him here.

Glancing to the Master, he blinked owlishly before giving a soft shake of his head. "No...No. Sorry. Not sure what woke me up?" the Doctor offered softly. What else was he meant to say? He hesitantly settled back and looked to the ceiling with a soft frown.

"We have two hours till you have work, you want to take Marnal with you? I was thinking of taking Koschei out somewhere today. I mean, he's been good lately and he hasn't tried to hurt nyone or turn us against one another," the master remarked because yes, Koschei was still here and while he was making this world, he decided why not add another adoring little brat who could keep the Doctor happy. The Doctor liked a domestic life and the Master? Well, he didn't make himself love it because he wouldn't be him.

Instead, he made himself somewhat in different and he kept that obsession bit because his love for the Doctor could help push him from indifference to like. "Then we can ... I don't know, maybe order something in. I'm too lazy to go out."

Lying back down with the dog settle against him, he gave the Doctor an amused look before peering up at the veiling. He remember bits and pieces of what was going on, nothing much. But he knew not to over-stress it. there was a note on the desk just by him that simply said Do not over think anything. Love the Doctor. Pick up milk.. The Master didn't entirely get it but it was half a shopping list and half a pep talk.

Work. Oh bloody hell, he worked. Where did he work? What was his schedule? What did he do? Oh, that was just a little bit of an oddity. Oh! And they had Koschei still. Lovely. Twisted child that hated him. And...Another kid? This was...This was a lot to take in in a very short period of time.

Worrying his lower lip, the Doctor glanced to the Master with a soft sigh. "I suppose I can? If he wants to, I mean. No school today?" the Doctor asked in an almost hesitant manner. Right. If there wasn't school, then that could be an odd question. "Sorry? Little out of sorts right now. Strange dream?" he offered.

"Its the weekend but science stops for no man, does it?" the Masker snarked as he rolled onto his stomach and buried his head into the pillow. The Doctor was talking oddly but like he never actually cared first thing. This was his best time really because his kids were asleep and he could be a lazy git. That was all he cared about. "I can give you a lift to your lab but thats about as far as I'm willing to go today."

He hadn't made himself a perfect man or partner because even the Doctor would see that was false, the Master just made himself more open to the little things. Like a family, a nice car, playing taxi and kids-- speaking on which, there was one running in and leaping on their bed. The Master groaned and buried his head under the covers. "Marnal, don't do that."

The boy didn't really stop bouncing, he just moved off the sofa and onto the Doctor so he could clamber all over his dad. "Get up! Breakfast time!"

"Right. Sorry. A ride would be appreciated. I'll take Marnal with me." he murmured with a small cringe. He didn't mean anything by it all. He was just feeling out of place. Never before had he not known the full story. It left him unsure of how to go about everything. Is this what the Master had to go through every time?

And then he had a kid climbing all over him and demanding food. "Alright. Right. I'll get right on that. I'm thinking...Eggs and bacon. Then showers so we can get going." he offered. Right. He could do this. He stood and ruffled the kid's hair, glancing toward the door. "Fetch Koschei will you and meet me in the kitchen. Let's let the Master had his lie in." he murmured, heading to go get food started.