The Master's Game (Doctor Who)

Paradox

From that day on Roka had no trouble sleeping anymore and she was extremely thankful for this. On the other hand there was the question if she ever had come back hadn't she been in such a trance like state that day. Or would she instead be wandering earth with a backpack again... desperately trying to forget about her life with the Doctor?

And probably going insane because her brain was refusing to process the foreign memories. That made it the second time the Master had literally saved her life, which in itself was odd enough.

Too many thoughts like that were racing through her mind. And those god damn simulations he had programmed took awfully long to be processed. Damning her to kill a lot of time somehow, which was even worse because she was very conscious about the fact that in all this time she wasn't even slightly able to help the Doctor. And with a sting in her stomach she admitted that it hadn't even been her priority during the past few days.

Those thoughts made her crazy. And there was no escape from them.

Roka sighed and stood up, deciding to look out for the Master to annoy him a bit. It was strange though how he had almost completely stopped to threaten or trying to scare her. Maybe he had just given up on it, making her wonder if he would actually be quite the fun guy to be around if it weren't for his murderous and chaotic behavior.

She stopped this train of thoughts immediately. Never ever feel too much sympathy for your enemy, she reminded herself and tried very hard to be convinced that she really didn't. Because otherwise... what meaning would that have?

------------------------

Roka found him in the console room, sitting cross-legged on the floor, crouched and both hands clutching his head. He didn't move.

It was strange to see him like that and Roka felt again the urge to do... something. It didn't take her long to make a decision. It didn't matter that he hated her for being nice, it didn't matter that he would never thank her. And it didn't matter who he was. No one deserved being tormented like that. So she silently went over and sat down back to back behind him in the hope to spend at least some kind of comfort, while his mind drowned in the hammering of his drums.

"Get lost," he mumbled almost immediately, but Roka simply ignored him. "Can't you just do what you're told for once," he groaned, straightening a bit and leaning against her.

"That would be too boring," she stated matter-of-factly.

He let out a frustrated sigh, ruffling with both hands through his hair.

"Letting you back inside was the biggest mistake ever."

Roka giggled.

"That's not funny," he moaned and let out another frustrated sigh. "Not at all!"

"It's not as if you were forced to keep me." A big grin sat on her face. "But I guess having a willing test subject is just too tempting."

"Tzz... You got me there," he huffed.

"So... how many of those tests were actually necessary? And how many were just for fun? Or to test dangerous stuff on a human?" She knew from at least a dozen that they had have nothing to do with her glitch. But as long as she got some results in the end it didn't really bother her.

"Mhm... maybe a hand-full." The Master sounded amused. "There isn't that much what could cause something like that. Although..." Now he leaned fully back at her. "... your theories were quite fun to read. They were so idiotic."

"Of course they were," Roka laughed. "It took me years of research and when I started I knew almost nothing outside of what humans teach in universities."