How you remind me

[The Master]

It had been a long time coming, they had freed him from the cage that they held him in - a glass case where they watched him, fed him, looked at him like an animal, treated him like an animal; when he was so much more, a Timelord, far above the masses, far above any human who stepped upon this planet. They were ants who stumbled, made their mistakes and continued to make them. It had been a couple months ago when the soldiers stood outside, their dark uniforms starkly contrasting with the white of lab coats with their stupid red berets perched upon their heads, fingers on the trigger.

The Master did not move, sitting crossed legged on the floor - hands and arms still bound by the straitjacket that he wore. But, he could feel the thoughts of the scientist - the fact that the man was clearly out of his element; walking into a lion's den. With the chances of the lion eating them greatly increased.

Now?

He was a scientific adviser for UNIT - the thought alone was enough to pass a smirk on his face. Of course, he was baby-sat whenever possible but they had been kind enough to give him his own lab for the time being - so he would play the game. The had busied himself with a fair few pieces of alien technology that had been in their storage room, perhaps not trusted at this point to play nicely without making anything that could put the planet at risk again; but they didn't know him. The platinum blond simply paced around his lab, partially distracted with his new project and partially distracted by the drums that played their tune in the background.

The Master chuckled lowly to himself as he checked the sample of black 'goop' under the microscope - humans and their simplistic language. The 'goop' they referred to was indeed alive, though more so at a microscopic level, constantly adjusting and changing its structure but nothing that the humans could use. Nothing of significant importance, they said. Of course, should they ever find out - the chances of them weaponizing it would increase exponentially.

The lab itself was pristine, one corner dedicated to the 'hard tech', a corner dedicated to the biology and the rest had been adjusted to be a greenhouse for several different plants. The Master had spent most of his days in the lab, walked back and forth - occasionally interrupted for food - to sate his hunger at scheduled intervals.

Tenth Doctor

[Tenth Doctor]

These days there wasn't always reasons to do certain things, mostly because the reasons that once were were typically lost and gone by the current point, but then there were sometimes newer reasons to do certain things that didn't seem reasonable to be doing. For the Doctor, visiting UNIT was one of them. Most of the comrades in his more "youth" regeneration's were gone. However, there was at least one in modern day, well modern for anyone 21st century worthy would put it, was worth seeing in an old haunt almost purposefully forgotten considering viable reasons. The Doctor hated guns, and UNIT was notorious for carrying. Yet not all the people of UNIT were bad, no not all. One in particular wasn't especially. Someone who had been a companion of his in travels, Martha Jones.

She was the strongest, and most recently only reason he'd be visiting any UNIT outpost. After all the Doctor had all of space and time to his fingertips. So he could visit her any time he liked. This just happened to be one of those times. Unfortunately, at the moment he had arrived at, he had found that, at least for a short while, Martha was going to be pre disposed from meeting up with him. This left the Doctor with the option to just come back later, but something inside him gnawed at him telling him to stay. So while waiting, the Doctor mused himself with the going on's of UNIT. Seeing just what sort of mischief or nonsense they were getting themselves into. After all, they too could be just about as troublesome as Torchwood, even Jack was working for them.

There was just that strange itch that was trying to tell his time lord senses that there was definitely something amiss at this particular UNIT facility, but at the moment he couldn't put a finger on exactly what it was. His mind was more preoccupied with adventures far away and of his companions like Martha and Donna. Yet if his mind had been clear he probably would have had the answer right away. It clouded his judgement. In the meantime though, one of the other UNIT employees showed him what they'd been up to as of recent, showing him about the facility in a tour sort of fashion. Most of it was plainly dull, but humans, like little children they always had to show off their little projects to their elders. Strangely though, they simply tried to purposefully avoid where the Master was working and held.

Intrigued by this notion, the Doctor eventually took it upon himself to investigate, shirking the very guide he'd been assigned too. Whatever it was they were not letting him see, was important, and most likely something he'd not approve of. So by the time he reached the labs that the Master was in, he'd thoroughly had worked up many theories, none of which included his long time nemesis. The moment he laid eyes on The Master he didn't know what emotion to start off with feeling. Rage? Dread? Shock? Pity? Though why pity after all the rotten things he'd done to him and to Earth. Yet there was some sliver of himself that did feel sorry for the poor s.o.b.

"You?!" sadly was the only thing that he could seem to get out. It sounded both genuinely surprised and under current driven loathing all at the same time. Outside of that, there just were no words for what he came across.

[The Master]

He had been distracted, more so than usual. Be it that this was the branch of freedom that the humans had granted him under the conditions that he had agreed to, he hadn't had the chance to stretch his muscles; of course, there was still the downside of the hunger that wracked his sides and the drums that had come back with it. On the most part, he had attempted to shove the hunger to the side - more content with the drums in his head validating his existence. It was this that had dulled his senses, to the tingling of a familiar presence - but he was divulging himself in his work - the truest he had been since he had arrived back on this stinking planet. Because he was smart, and on many occasions would claim himself smarter than the Doctor himself, despite their history.

The Master hopped back over to the microscope, to jot down his observations. That was what the humans wanted, of course, he had already been on page 125 with varying results over the course of the several months he had been observing the goop. For the lack of a better name. The pen twirled in his fingers, a smug smile crossing his features as he found himself finally lounging in the leather spinning chair (much like the one from the Valiant) that he had made the humans get for him as part of the deal.

Of course, what he wasn't expecting was to be interrupted. The door had opened and a familiar voice had shattered his thoughts. His eyes had shot open, spinning the chair around - face to face with the Doctor. The tone he had heard was one of surprise, one of shock and yet, he detected loathing somewhere in his old nemesis's voice. "I haven't even taken over the world yet!"

Alright, so he had been caught on the back foot, the ever so slight shift in his tone that indicated a hint of him whining at the Doctor coming to ruin his fun. The Master remained in his seat, his brown eyes staring at the other Timelord before him. It had been a face he had not seen for a while, not ever since his encounter with his future self; Grandpa Heavy-brows. The coldness in his gaze had returned, certainly not wanting to be caught off on the wrong foot, and a hint of suspicion as he glanced behind the Doctor - seeing whether any of the UNIT soldiers had decided to guide him to him, but there were none.

Tenth Doctor

[Tenth Doctor]

The Doctor stared for a few long moments still. Time was notoriously strange and wibley wobbley, but some times like this, it just got to the point of ridiculous. No matter what case it was though, seeing The Master there, in UNIT, was something he had not quite expected at all. What in the name of Gallifrey were these humans thinking!? Had they fallen off the damned apple cart!? Probably. The year that never was never happened, so with that fact in mind that sort of stuff, at least most of it, especially the part with the Valiant, was non void in knowledge. So technically they'd never know completely unless they were able to remember the deal with the Valiant, that The Master as the Prime Minister had done anything damning to the human race.

"Either you've completely brainwashed UNIT to work for you. Or your here as their puppet. Either idea sounds disturbing, but the first one much more than the latter." The Doctor commented finally. At first he almost didn't know what to say. He'd almost had, had a loss for words. He could have only guessed why UNIT didn't tell him. Because he wouldn't have approved. Of course, like children, humans did things behind his back especially when they knew he'd be a bit simmering with them over it. "I'd rather prefer the latter."

The Doctor skirted about the room, getting a bit closer to see what they possibly had The Master up to. Raising a brow,"So, what have they got you up to doing here?"

Surprisingly, The Doctor was stemming his temper. Probably because there was a part of him that remember the sadness he felt when he believed that The Master had died in his arms on the Valiant. All because the stubborn ass thought his revenge would be better by just dying. Oh and it was a good revenge. it broke his hearts. As much as they were enemies, they had once been best of friends, way back. The Doctor would never forget that.

[The Master]

Of course he was not expecting his old friend-turned-nemesis to appear, at least not in this form. Still in this form. However, as Timelords were well-versed; it was never a straight continuum of A to B. Neither one seemed certain on why the other was there; though the Master could certainly understand the latter's concern for him 'working' for UNIT - being that the last time he had done something akin to this was the Year that Never Was. Stupid apes for ruining his fun.

"I'm not here as their puppet, Doctor." The Master replied, certainly would have loathed the fact that he was anyone's puppet. As if the humans could have predicted any of his moves; they were playing chess with their pieces five moves behind. "They actually asked for my help. So, how could I refuse?" The same mischievous tone, the smirk, there was certainly something there that would leave the other wondering his intentions. However, The Master was glad to have the opportunity to speak to someone of a relative equal; being that none of the UNIT advisors or scientists really knew what they were handling and anything he had said seemed to go over their tiny little brains.

"So, what have they got you up to doing here?"

The Master made a vague attempt at indicating at the black goop that was just sitting there. Of course he wasn't going to go into much detail about what he planned on doing with it; but The Doctor always ended up getting a one up on him, somehow. It was infuriating but certainly part of the whole fun. "Oh, this? It's a new project. They've only recently brought this sample in from wherever they've found it, not that their completely idiotic to tell me what it is. Or where it has come from." The Master rolled his eyes, blowing out a raspberry. "Party poopers."

Tenth Doctor

[Tenth Doctor]

The Doctor knew better. Knew that The Master was always at the top of his game usually. There were only a handful of times he wasn't, and most of them were against him. He never was a good chess player against him, not even back in the good old days. The Doctor was clever. Sure The Master was too, but still, he just never could always seem to get the upper hand on him. At least not until the year that never was, then things started to get interesting again. He nearly had him. Even thought The Master might have gotten him into a check mate, but by the Eternal's that be, he managed a way out of that tight situation. Mostly by chance of course. Who said there couldn't be an undo button on a chess board eh? A very twisted version of chess, but chess none the less. Now here they were again, ready to play their next moves. The question was, which moves would they be this time? Decisions were ever fleeting and in the case of Time Lords certain things could be unforeseen. Especially by those who meddled and moved through time. "Grey" areas as they were.

All The Doctor did was raise a brow about the idea of UNIT requesting his assistance. Since when? Couldn't they have just looked to him for whatever it was? Then again he was gone a lot so he supposed it would have been a bit difficult. Yet still, it just rubbed him the wrong sort of way a bit. Moving closer to the microscope and of course The Master, he cautiously took a look himself at the goop the other Time Lord had been doing scientific research with. He didn't trust The Master to be fair to not possibly at least think of the idea to do something to him just to seize an opportunity, so he was definitely on his guard.

"It's living." he mused, genuinely curious and backed away from the scope, looking at The Master. "Let me guess though, you already know what it is, but you haven't told them because reasons."

He gave The Master a "you really don't change much do you?" stare, his head tilted just a bit to the side as he did.

"You can't fool me, not again. I know you got something else cooking up in that mind of yours." he stated plainly. "Other than a bit of morphic biology."

What the Doctor could make of the little goop, was that the thing could at a very low molecular level change dimensions. However, introduce he was sure to the right environment, could do much more than that. He was also certain the living material had a form of sentience. One that could learn and adapt. Useful in the hands that knew what it was. Otherwise it was no more useful than seeing oil or liquid mercury.

[The Master]

Though initially having bristled with annoyance that the Timelord had come to ruin his fun, knowing full well that in some capacity; the Doctor would always find a way to reverse whatever he had been doing. His run as Harold Saxon; the Year that never was, the year in which he could have made a new Gallifrey and then his second attempt after his Resurrection. Not that he could entirely blame the Doctor in regards to Rassilon, even then, he had redeemed himself for that. Or at least he thought he had.

The goop seemed to react to the Doctor's proximity, somewhat shifting in the dish that it was placed in. The Master moved around the lab table, planting his hands either side of the dish as he took another long look at the substance. Of course the Doctor would have figured out that it was living, they both had figured it out long before any human could - hence the reason for their superiority. Only if the Doctor could see that. However, the Master simply inclined his head, refusing to answer because the other Timelord had hit the nail on the head and thus was an obvious question.

"Other than a bit of morphic biology."

The Master shrugged; he had multiple things going along in his head. From trying to convince Kate and Ace that a trip to the Large Hadron Collider would have astounding effects to the goop. Though, he couldn't ignore that one of them (if not both) were well aware of taking him to anything that was remotely capable of being a potential tool in his plans. Other days had been spent trying to figure out to get out of the infernal place. But, they were good enough to provide him with food and a distraction of the latest technology and alien specimens whenever they came back from a site. "I think I can, Doctor." He smirked, only to briefly be broken up by the sound of the drums that were a constant in his life. A constant annoyance.

The Master brought a finger closer to the goop, watching it raise up and extend a part of itself to follow off of the molecules working around the weak electromagnetic field that they generated.

"Oh, do you like the new look?" He switched the subject, gesturing at the mop of blond hair.

Tenth Doctor

[Tenth Doctor]

Cheeky as always that one. It was almost as if the "I think I can" was a challenge to him in a way. Oh, The Master only wished he could. The Doctor was well on his guard and well prepared to deal with his old frienemy. This slow burn chess game of theirs was worth playing. Most times he'd just kick the board over and just win, but not always with The Master was this the case. And even if one game was over, they'd always start a new one.

Him and The Masters antics dating to way beck before he was a mad man in a box was something of a legacy really. If there was anything to be said about their rivalry, it came from the roots of their time at the university back on Gallifrey. His time nicknamed Theta Sigma marked the relationship between them as both friend and enemy over time. It was a bit sad that his friend Koschie had to let things stew over stuff that had been so many years prior. School stuff no less. Yet it wasn't surprising in the slightest, it was how things always seemed to be, even now as The Master. There was always a certain level of wanting to impress, but somehow it always turned out so wrong. The Doctor didn't really blame The Master for some of his faults. It was partially on their childhood, that untempered schism, the things that each of them had seen. The things that would be and some that shouldn't. It was a traumatic experience for any eight year old. Yet that was the way their culture had been for centuries. Why would something like that change. After all it weeded the time lords from the rest of Gallifrey as far as Rassilon was concerned.

"It suits you." he stated unsure how he really felt about The Masters look. "Though with your reputation, I never thought blond would cater to your nature. I was almost beginning to think dark, broody, and smoldering would become your permanent trademark."

Surprisingly that was very kind natured in the teasing department, especially for The Doctor who was tart on occasion to say the least. Almost old school one might be able to admit in fact. Perhaps it was a small sign of weakness to The Master, but not the kind that would take The Doctor off guard, just the kind that exposed his hearts to The Master just a little bit. The Doctor hadn't forgotten the Valiant, and The Master trying to take his own life as a stupid form of revenge.

"Have they treated you well?" The Doctor actually asked with honest concern.

[The Master]

Everything was seen as some sort of challenge, especially when the other Timelord had instigated in the first place. It wasn't a singular incident that came about in recent years - it dated further back than that, when they were simply 'Time-tots'; from when they were in school, he would look up to the Doctor - to Theta - always in his shadow and attempted to wrangle some sort of recognition from him. Grudges were held and certainly he hadn't forgotten all the good work that he had done on board the Valiant. Some would call it a chess game, and to some degree they were right. Of course, the Master much rather kick over the board in a fit of it being 'unfair' but he would always indulge in another straight after.

His eyes narrowed at the Doctor's response, it came out somewhat hesitantly. Though, the Master had far outgrown the look itself - it was more of a convenience to keep around. More so than the mousey brown that he would usually sport in this particular regeneration; far too much hassle dealing with the whole 'Harold Saxon went mad' spiel that most apes went about saying whenever they saw him. If they saw him.

"Though with your reputation, I never thought blond would cater to your nature. I was almost beginning to think dark, broody, and smoldering would become your permanent trademark."

The Master's lips curved into a smirk, folding his arms. Whether or not the Doctor meant it as a compliment, the Timelord would take it as one anyway. Of course, the Doctor was someone who wore his emotions on his sleeves; a department that he had exploited on more than one occasion - though risking his life on the Valiant was certainly one of the more ingenious ways he had 'won' that particular chess game. The Toclafane had broken both of his hearts, but there had been nothing of the crying; of the yelling for him to regenerate, that had come with the gunshot wound he had received from his wife. Another person who should have died but hadn't.

But this statement was more telling than the Doctor thought it would be, having been that clearly the Doctor hadn't been exposed to the whole Rassilon and Gallifrey moving back into try and knock this particularly bland piece of rock out of orbit. This was not in his timeline, and though the Master had a knack for going about time, there were unwritten rules. And even he wouldn't spoil his future.

"Have they treated you well?"

"Five meals a day, finally got my own lab," The Master gestured around him. "And they've made me their advisor on certain alien matters." Of course he took the moment to wait for the Doctor's reaction. "The only downside is that I have Kate popping into annoy me with her presence and constant reminder that Ace is the one with the holstered weapon."

Tenth Doctor ; hope this works!

[Tenth Doctor]

"Good, good..." he began then let the thought sink in.

"Wait, Kate, as in the Kate Stewart and Ace as in Ace McShane. Your here because of them! Somehow...that actually surprises me." he stated trying to take a double take thought on that. Either they forgot a lot of how much a danger The Master could be or they were fairly desperate to use a time lords abilities and knowledge for things. Why The Master though? Then again, why not at the same time he supposed. If he's there and is under a very watchful eye, at least he's not off doing something more stupid, crazy, and dangerous that he'd have to worry about the other time lord doing. It was a bit shameful of him to think someone like Kate couldn't hold her own for a human, she was a Stewart after all. Then there was Ace, whom he really hadn't seen in...well honestly he couldn't last remember when clearly. She was more than enough competent to handle her own.

"Then again, now that I think about it, somehow it really doesn't at the same time or at least shouldn't." he stated nonchalantly. "Ace though, I haven't seen her in ages."

He eyed the strange goop again. It was a bit amusing to look at, but at the moment it had no consequence really at the same time. However, a part of him got a wild thought of what if that stuff could generate the ability to move more, maybe snog someones face or something like become a giant bloopy gob monster, that would be dangerous yet strangely enthralling all at the same time. At least it would be something to do. Yet he highly doubted that would become the case.

"Though I guess if their keeping you busy here, their at least keeping you from causing mischief elsewhere." he mused. "I suppose that's a bonus."

[The Master]

The Master smirked as the realisation sunk in; almost like watching cogs turn on a wheel. A rusted wheel that never quite pushed the pieces together until it was too late. Certainly he did not plan on being around the apes for too much longer, he was growing bored and boredom lead to ideas astray. "Oh, doctor. How I've missed your company." He cooed, his round face seemingly cherubic only for a brief moment.

His experiment remained as it always had; moving and not yet sentient. It would not be a hard task if he so chose to weaponise it. Plenty of ways, for if the Doctor was enthralled (as he was with most things), then certainly it would not take much to push a scientist to doing most of the work for him. "Oh, just."

But his features did darken as the doors slid open, revealing what looked to be a whole chicken served up on a platter. Placing him between a rock and hard place when it came to timelines. For there was a certainty that the Doctor was not stupid to believe that he was just 'that hungry', a Doctor who had not witnessed the End of Time. The person looked between the two men with a sheepish nod of his head, placing the food down and ducking away.

"Play with the goop." The Master replied, curtly as he took his tray and moved into a small backroom to the lab itself which would provide some shielding from the manner in which he ate the chicken; the lack of manners, and the tearing into it as if he were reduced to some animal.

Rassilon would pay for it all.

Tenth Doctor