Child of the void (Doctor Who)

Part V (VI)

"But first," I held up a hand and did what I usually avoided, looking him straight in the eyes. People need that, don't they? "What's happening here? You go on about how annoying and human I am and then all the threats about killing me and stuff. And now you're..." I made a vague gesture in his direction. "You're what? Concerned? Curious? You're like a different person right now. That's a bit unnerving, you know?"

There was a slightly growing grin, one that could be cruel, but really wasn't. Who was the real Master? Would he actually answer that question? It was unlikely, but I still had to ask. And my answer came when he snickered, shaking his head. "Not telling."

Of course. I groaned, rolling my eyes.

"But," he poked my shoulder, "you are still a bother. And human on top, nothing not annoying about that. And still," his grin dropped and he pulled his feet up to sit cross legged on my blanket, "it would be to my benefit would you remember. So, if you want to do this, I'll need skin. Your hands should be fine for a start."

"Skin?" I raised a brow, still mulling over his non-answer.

"It's touch-telepathy for a reason. I told you all of this before, so if it works, I won't have to repeat everything. If not, I'll explain later."

Right. I pursed my lips, but still nodded. "Soooo... we just hold hands?"

The Master seemed to misinterpret my pouting, because he snickered again. "If you prefer more skin, we can do that too. But yes," he caught my hand that wanted to playfully smack his knee, "it's enough."

His skin felt a little rough, maybe from all the tinkering he always did. His fingers slid over mine, gently, slow, exploring every inch of skin and when he grabbed me, firm and secure, the sensation from before was back. A foreign energy bristled in my head, tingling, spreading. I gasped at the unexpected intensity and had to close my eyes for more focus. There was so... much. A warm and subtle energy flew through my veins like it belonged there, yet felt too strange, too foreign, too decidedly not me.

Follow me.

His words rang through my head, again feeling like my own thoughts, but not in my own voice. How peculiar. I wasn't sure what to do, so I allowed his mind to catch mine, to carry me along a path I couldn't even begin to describe. Deeper and deeper into the depths of what was... us? He was there too, and so was I, somewhere within his thoughts, his essence, his very being, although he managed to hide everything of interest from me. It all was a blur, nothing coherent, no images or real thoughts, only vague impressions that told me nothing.

I heard his sigh and felt a shift in his energy, his fingers drawing gentle circles on my skin. Why did he sit so far away? I needed more, more contact, more skin, more... more of you.

His thought, my thought. There was no way to tell. And then I was led away from that and we wandered somewhere else, deeper and not, farther and closer, into a space of light and darkness alike. Glowing golden particles swirled within thick tendrils of black smoke, intertwined, dancing, never touching.

A piece of the void. That was here before... But it's a lot bigger now.

In this space I had no eyes to see and yet could make it out as if I could.

Is that where my mark comes from?

I felt a hum. A confirmation. But I don't know what it means. I can't touch it. He shifted my awareness to the glow. This is your life force, by the way.

The dancing light particles vanished almost completely between the black. A small reservoir of golden energy. I could feel it singing, eliciting a sensation of happiness, contentment, hope. But it was only a drop where an ocean should lie. Emptiness stretched through the darkness instead and that was a familiar thing to me. My light almost completely drowned in it.