The Master's Game (Doctor Who)

Insanity

With an annoyed grunt the Master stretched out all limbs and gave the console room ceiling his meanest stare.

"Don't just sit around," he whined from the ground. "Do something."

Roka sat in one of the seats, a book in hands and took a long sip from her coffee. "That calculation must be hellishly important that you endure boredom for it," she answered sarcastically and didn't even look up. "Not my fault."

"What do you think I'm dragging you along for? For fun?" He snorted. "Wait... no, that actually was the reason." A deep sigh came from below. "Ahhhh... screw that!"

He jumped to his feet and slammed a button on the console to wake up the machines. The TARDIS, obviously not amused about this treatment gave him a little shock. "Stupid, damn piece of junk!" the Master cursed. "The Doctor spoiled you! And you stop giggling at me!" he snapped towards Roka.

She pressed her lips together, but couldn't stop smirking.

"Mhm... any ideas? I'm so bored I don't even know where to go."

"Somewhere dangerous for once?" Roka hopefully raised her brows.

"No. And if... you wouldn't come along." He pointed a finger at her and finally got the TARDIS moving. "How about a complete change of scenery... That would be nice."

Few moments later Roka's feet touched cottony ground, overgrown by grass in different orange shades. Around them grew a forest of weirdly bend and twisted trees with autumn colored tree tops. No leaves were falling, so it had to be their usual color. It was a scenery as if from a painting. Just the air smelled off. Like a forest, but also... Roka sniffed a few times.

"Are we near a sea? It smells like salt."

"Inside one, actually." The Master looked a lot more jovial now and stormed ahead. "Come, come. I'll introduce you."

"To whom?" That made her curious. Who could live at such a place? It also would be the first acquaintance of the Master she would ever meet. Until now she hadn't expected him to have any.

At least about that last part she seemed to be right. The trees cleared to present them with a look over a shining, turquoise ocean. No building or anything the like was there, just a big, smooth and round stone right at the water. The weirdest thing, though, was that it looked as if they were moving through the water.

The Master crouched down onto the big stone and started to pat it like it were some giant...

Roka gasped as the thing started to shift and raise with a deep groan out of the water, while the Master balanced on top with the widest grin. He waved her over and she rounded the stone, no, the head, to gape into a gigantic purple shimmering eye that was roughly twice as big as herself.

"Hello there," she greeted happily, before patting the rock, or rather the thick, rough skin.

"No idea what it is," came the answer to her yet unspoken question from above. Roka looked up and saw him lying on his stomach, looking down to her. "First time I was here I tried to swim through below. But it's huuuuge!" He spread his arms and grinned. "Looks like a mix of turtle and octopus. And, obviously, it never dives."

"What an amazing find!" She smiled at the eye and wondered if that being might be intelligent. At least it didn't seem to be bothered by them and slowly lowered its head back into the water.

"It's shell is littered with holes, so..." he hopped down to the ground. "...I hid some stuff in one of them. Back before my good old pirate ship got smashed."