Part 1: The Esper's Tale | Part 2: The Master's Tale | Part 3: Ace's Tale | Part 4: The Doctor's Tale

Part 1: The Esper's Tale

Of all the things I imagined my stay in a dungeon would consist of, I hadn't considered boredom would be my main problem. They hadn't bothered to interrogate me, the guards hadn't leered or made comments, I had even been given food and water at regular intervals. Not that I wanted to be tortured, don't get me wrong. I try and avoid pain as often as possible. Well, except when I think it's worth it to annoy my master. The Master. The person I am currently acting as bait for. They think he'll come to rescue me. I'm not even sure I want to be rescued. Not when it means going back to him. Of course, spending the rest of my life rotting here isn't a much better option. He's somewhere close, that much I can tell. I can feel him whenever I touch my bracelet. Flickers of thought, alien and cold and quite distinctive to me. Hmm? Oh, I didn't mention that I was an esper? All my people are. Human at base, though. As the Master constantly reminds me. A mutation, or genetic experiment, or something a thousand years back and my ancestors ended up having to flee to another planet. As the Master says, Humans! (pronounce vermin). They may be hypocrites, but they don't deserve to be killed indiscriminately. Just one of the many differences of opinion we have.

How'd I end up serving him? you ask. Or would ask if you existed and I wasn't simply talking to myself. He won me in a poker game with a full house. Not very funny? How about with two pair? No, the truth is he murdered my parents. They were in charge of a jethrik mine, and he needed the mineral. The council that governed us was corrupt. Travelling with the Master has led me to the conclusion that nearly all forms of Authority are corrupt. Or maybe it's just the planets we visit. In any case, they wanted to exploit the miners, and my parents disagreed. The dispute had lasted for as long as I can remember. The Master took advantage of it, making a deal with the council for the mineral in return for getting rid of my parents. According to our laws, being underage and with my parents dead I became the property of the council. They didn't want me around as a focus of sentiment or resentment or to remind people, so they gave me to the Master. I'm not entirely ungrateful for it. Living under the council's rule, watching them destroy my home - it would have been hell. Not to mention that they could have smashed through my shields and controlled me. The Master's a good esper, but he's never had any formal training, and he's only one person. Most of his success with it is force of personality. I can hold my own against him fairly easily, but against eight fully trained espers? Never. And I must admit I love travelling in the TARDIS. It's an amazing machine, the technology far above anything we had. Uncounted planets, and aliens, and time zones. I've always loved exploring.

My parents? No, their deaths didn't really bother me. I never spent much time with them. They were always pouring all their energy into the mine, and against the council. The cook spent more time with me than they did, and I only saw him when getting my food. So, no, I don't hate him for that. Mind you, it doesn't exactly endear him to me either, but it's the council I hold accountable. No doubt if a nice villain hadn't shown up to do their dirty work, they'd simply have gone searching for one. My parent's days were numbered and they knew it wasn't a very high number. Maybe that's why they kept themselves so closed from me. Or maybe I'm just trying to make excuses for them, the way I find myself doing for the Master.

I was there when the council handed me over to him. He hadn't expected it, didn't want to be responsible for me. The council told him that if I died he'd lose all rights to the mineral. He smiled, but his thoughts told me that he'd intended to kill me. They told me that if he died, I'd return to the council, and burned it in with a compulsion. Then they gave him my Helix crystal. A Helix crystal? It's like an hourglass, measures out how long you have left to live, based on your life energy. It's usually worn next to your heart. The Master carries mine in his pocket, next to that weapon of his. I get to wear this lovely tracking device, cunningly disguised as metal band. At least he hasn’t made me wear a matching collar. Yet.

We'd spent the first few weeks trying to make life miserable for each other. It didn't take me long to find a weakness. I showed up in his bed one night, wearing this clingy lace and feather thing I'd found in the wardrobe room. He nearly killed me. A more subtle and public seduction attempt over the next few weeks netted me a compromise. He'd give me general instructions, and I would carry them out however I wanted to. As long as I accomplished what he wanted, he wouldn't criticize my methods. It kept down the casual murders. And gave us more time apart. With time things calmed down between us, and we settled into a routine. I began eating my way through the library.

I remember the first time I thought this arrangement might actually work. I'd been curled on a cushion reading a book on Temporal Mechanics when he'd stalked in. He had held his hand out in a demand for the book, and I'd handed it over. He snorted, "Drivel," and tossed it back at me. I gazed up at him cautiously, and risked a question. Things had been quiet for the past few days, with no temper tantrums. "Could you recommend something better?"

"Of course." He strode over to the bookcase, running a gloved hand over the book spines, and then selected one. "Speckner is an idiot. He couldn't grasp even the basic concept of temporal flux."

"Neither can I," I muttered.

"This one is much better. I'll expect you to be able to discuss it over dinner."

I took the book from his hands, surprised. "Yes, Master." It was the start of a new pattern, one that we both enjoyed. He had a habit of deriding the authors rather than keeping to discussing the book, but I didn’t truly mind. From his comments I gathered that he'd actually met many of them. And I’ll admit to feeling jealous. So many centuries of memories, so many experiences.

Footsteps outside. My guards were returning with another meal. It occurred to me that the Master might be perfectly happy to leave me here. Certainly I didn't expect him to meet their demands. Not for my sake. On the other hand, he does get possessive. The guards slid open the door slot and I tried, yet again, to engage them in conversation. I failed, yet again.

Please god. I'm sorry for all the names I called you before, just get me out of this.

Part 2: The Master’s Tale

I leaned back against the sun-warmed wall, holding the pose while the wheeze of the TARDIS faded. Indulging in a brief moment of irritation at the Doctor's insistence on keeping his TARDIS in the form of a police box, I crossed my arms and waited. He stepped out cautiously, umbrella hooked over one arm and his fedora pushed up. Behind him, Ace crowded the doorway. Showtime.

"Ah, Doctor," I exclaimed, moving forward and offering my hand. "How good of you to come." Before he could react, I'd captured his hand in mine, shaking it vigorously.

He jerked back, twisting his hand out of my grip. "What are you up to now?" he demanded.

I ignored the faint Scots burr in his voice. He really has been spending far too much time on that cursed planet if it's affecting his regenerations. "I find myself in the unique position of wanting your advice. But come, I'll explain the whole thing to you later. Right now, I've arranged for a feast to be held in honor of your arrival."

"That's hardly necessary." He hesitated, and I waited patiently, knowing that in this incarnation he'll play along until attacked. That doesn't mean he won't take precautions, or set up defenses, but he'll accept my hospitality for the moment. And that was all I needed. "What plan of yours has gone wrong this time? And why do you need me to fix it?"

"Later, my dear Doctor, later. I think you'll find I've changed since we last crossed paths. Come now. We mustn't keep our hosts waiting." I gestured towards a dirt trail leading to the main keep. "After you."

"Of course," he said distrustingly. I could see him make up his mind a second before he shifted his umbrella. Using it like a walking stick, he set off briskly. "Come along, Ace," he called back.

"I don't like this," she muttered, catching up with him. She glared at me. "I don't like this one bit, Professor. You can't be thinking about trusting him."

I smiled tolerantly. "If you think I've had the food poisoned, I'd be happy to taste any dish that you want." A few long strides and I was even with the Doctor. I must admit to being tempted to kill him. After he helped me to rescue my companion, of course.

We fenced around past issues over the meal and I found myself enjoying the opportunity to chat with a fellow Time Lord, even one as misguided as the Doctor. Afterwards we retired to a private room upstairs. The Doctor chose an armchair to sink into, I stood looking out the window, and Ace hovered by his arm. He leaned forward, suddenly shifting to business. "Now what's all this about?"

I fingered the crystal in my pocket absently, going over all my rehearsed openings. The Doctor had an annoying habit for disrupting my plans, despite his predictability, so I had several contingency plans. "Do you recognize this?" Pivoting sharply on my heel, I withdrew the crystal and tossed it to him.

He examined it briefly, turning it to catch the last of the light. "A Helix crystal. It's rare to see one of these not with an esper. Where'd you get it?"

"Off an esper." I offered him nothing more. He was always more amenable when he thought he'd figured everything out on his own. Even if I told him the truth, he'd waste time coming to the same conclusions.

He glanced sharply at me. "Was she dead?" Not quite accusing me of killing her, though the thought was present.

"Captive. That's where you come in."

"You want to free her?" Ace snorted. "Out of what, the goodness of your non-existent heart? What's in it for you?"

I held my hand out for the crystal, and after a moment the Doctor returned it. I calmed my heartbeats and concentrated for a moment. The crystal began to glow. "I get my esper back."

"*Your* esper?" Ace repeated.

The Doctor hushed her, reaching for the crystal. The light went out as it left my hand. He stared at it, trying to activate the crystalline matrix as I had. He couldn't, of course. The espers were bonded to the crystals at birth. The council had taken a drop of my blood and performed some sort of ceremony over it to make it respond to me. No one else could use it.

I tried not to look smug, then decided it wasn’t worth the effort. "My esper." After all the trouble and effort I'd put into training that human, Rassilon be damned if I was going to let some evolved insects take her. Not to mention losing my access to the jethrik if the council ever found out. I had plans to overthrow them, but they weren't quite ready yet.

"You'll give her back her crystal," the Doctor said quietly, the words a simple statement of fact.

"Very well." I could always get it back from her later.

"Doctor!" gasped Ace.

"And no killing."

"Not even to save your life," I promised. His eyes flashed at me. "Where's your sense of humor, Doctor? No killing. Cross my hearts."

"You don't have one, much less two," Ace muttered. "Doctor, you can't mean to do this! What's the point of rescuing her, if you’re only going to give her over to him? How do we know that she's not better off there, or maybe she managed to escape."

The Doctor shook his head. "She'd never have left her crystal, Ace. Without it she'll die. Which makes returning it to her is our first priority. The rest can be dealt with after." He turned his attention back to me. "I assume you have the details of where she's being held?"

"Of course." I smiled. My plan was working perfectly.

Part 3: Ace's Tale

I didn't want to touch anything, as if afraid the evil would rub off on my fingers. We were crowded around the console of the Master's TARDIS. He had argued that the plan needed precision and the Doctor's TARDIS was notably unreliable. I rallied to the Doctor's defense at once, despite the many times I'd said and thought the same thing, but the Doctor had simply agreed. So here we were, standing around the black console in a room with black floors, black walls, black ceilings, and black doors.

My hands kept straying to my backpack, fingers playing with the zipper. The Doctor shot me a look and I sighed. He knew I had my Nitro-9 mix in there. If he'd only distract the Master, I could put some of it under the console. But his eyes kept telling me no, so I stood there fidgeting and tried not to touch anything.

I don't think I ever hated the Master as much as I did now, watching him play some 3 dimensional variant of chess with the Doctor. It wasn't that he was being arrogant, because he wasn't really. No more than the Doctor at least. It wasn't that he was coercing us, because he hadn't even threatened us. In fact, he'd meekly handed his TCE over to the Doctor when asked. And it wasn't because he was attempting to be charming instead of insulting; I didn't buy that for a second. I think it's because I can't complain that the Doctor is taking too big a risk with this plan of his. Not when the most self-serving snake I know agreed to it. So I glared at him as the TARDIS took off in the smoothest dematerialization I'd ever seen, as he and the Doctor compared models and discussed multisyllable technical nonsense, as the TARDIS arrived at precisely the right location and the right time and as it concealed itself as a matching marble pillar.

Patting down his pockets, the Doctor handed me the crystal, then drew out a paisley scarf. "Right," he announced. "Off into the wild blue yonder we go."

The Master chuckled, flicked open the door, and out we stepped. The planet was humid. And swampy. And the local breed of mosquitoes were the size of a pound piece. It qualified for first place in my ‘best planet to strand my most hated enemy on’ contest. Now if only I could talk the Doctor into it. I sighed, noticing I was already lagging several paces behind the two Time Lords who appeared completely unaffected by it all.

The problem with the Doctor's plans is that it's difficult to tell whether they're going right or wrong. I mean, for most people being captured by the enemy and dragged before the evil leader would be something to avoid. The Doctor's made an art form of it however, and so I found myself stumbling into the presence of the Grand Someone-or-Other, surrounded by green scaly creatures. The guard gave me a helpful push forward with a clawed hand.

Regaining my balance, I glanced around. The Doctor was attempting to get his umbrella back from a guard, ignoring the awfully sharp sword being brandished at him. When it got too close, he batted it aside with his hat. The Master appeared calm, but it was the sort of calm you get from picturing your enemies dying in various horrible ways.

"So, you have returned," hissed the creature sitting on the throne. It looked a science experiment gone wrong. Picture a cross between a preying mantis, a caterpillar, and an ant. Now imagine it after several generations of inbreeding. "Have you met our price?"

"Not quite," the Master said, before the Doctor had a chance to speak. "I thought you would prefer to win back your planet yourself."

This was not according to our plan. I looked to the Doctor, but he was watching the Master.

The creature made a hissing, choking noise. "You mock us! You know we cannot defeat the Daleks."

"This man is known as the Doctor. Offer him to the Daleks in exchange. I assure you they'll agree."

"And have no intention of keeping their promise," the Doctor interrupted. He gestured with his recovered umbrella. "They don't consider contracts with inferior races binding, and they consider all races inferior." I noticed he didn't sound very surprised.

They ignored him, the Grand Whatever demanding details and assurances, the Master lying through his teeth.

Taking advantage of their distraction, I inched closer to the Doctor. "I'll distract the guards and you can make a run for it."

"There's no need for that, Ace," he whispered back.

"You planned for this?"

"The Master is predictable as ever. I knew he'd turn me in, and he knew that I knew, and I know that he knew that, and he knows-"

"Professor!" I growled, cutting him off. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"First things first, Ace." He smiled, and then the guards took his arm and dragged him out of the room.

I stood staring after him, vaguely aware of the discussion behind me.

"What about the girl?"

A slight pause. "She's with me. Now, about my esper..." He let the sentence trail off invitingly.

"She will be returned to you when we have regained control of our planet. That was our deal. I will speak to you again tomorrow, after contacting the Daleks."

"Of course." He was at my side, a black gloved hand on my arm. "Come along now, Ace." The fingers dug into my flesh with enough strength to bruise. I let him pull me from the room, still thinking about the Doctor's last statement. Was this part of his plan or not? Was I supposed to rescue him? Why didn't the Master kill me? What did first things first mean? Why did the Doctor have to be so bloody cryptic? Where on Earth were we going?

I tore free of the Master's grip. "Where are you taking me?"

He gazed at me, a smirk hovering over his lips. "I'm not about to lead them back to the TARDIS. Surely even you can realize that would be a mistake? There's some caves this way where we can spend the night. Unless you'd rather accept Szzt's hospitality?"

I snorted, taking a step back and coming up against a tree. Something sharp dug into my ribs. Reaching into my jacket pocket, I felt the smooth, glassy sides of the crystal. First things first meant getting the crystal to the girl.

Part 4: The Doctor's Tale

Coming soon.