Professor Keller, chapter 9
Jul. 10th, 2015 10:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scripsiTitle: Professor Keller
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: R
Genre: Angst/Horror
Length: Multi-chapter; 10/10
Characters: The Master(Delgado), original characters
Warnings: For this chapter; mindgames.
Summary: Alison and Peter Grey are living a charmed life, young, wealthy and in love. Until they meet a professor Keller and they find themselves trapped in a nightmare. Set between Terror of the Autons and The Mind of Evil.
AN: There will be some brief violence in this story, but mostly this is about psychological terror. Though there are both het and slash within the story, neither will be explicit. It will, however, nudging at dubious consent, but not explicit and not violent. As it seems right now, it will also take place off-stage. As the events of this story may be triggering, each chapter will have warnings accordingly.
I'm done! And I must confess to be very pleased with the whole story, this was a lot of fun to write! Especially the Master, but I like Alison and Peter too and I think I made them likeable and not Mary-sue-ish in any way. I hope the ending isn't too wibbly-wobbly. And I want to thank the lovely![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
flowsoffire for reading and cheering me on for every step. And essentially post-beta it! Thank you! <3
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Despite having been sure, having known, what the Professor’s answer would be, it still hit Alison like a blow. Leaning forward, she hid her face in her hands. She hadn’t realised how much she had hoped he would deny it once again. Perhaps she could have believed him this time, perhaps she could have allowed herself to think the Professor would take care of her and make everything better.
“Why?” she asked without looking up, her voice muffled.
“Because it amused me.”
His answer made her raise her head and stare at him in incomprehension. The Professor looked back at her with no pretence of guilt. If anything he looked interested as if he was curious of her reactions.
“You did all this to us because it was fun?”
“I’m stuck on this blighted planet, and even if I have certain long-ranging plans, I needed something to entertain myself with in the meantime. You and your husband proved to be quite useful in several aspects.”
“But why Peter? He loved you and I think he would have done anything for you. Why did you punish him like that?”
“My dear, it wasn’t him I was disciplining, it was you. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
Alison shuddered, it was not a new thought for her, but it was so much worse to hear it said aloud. The Professor smiled pleasantly at her.
“Peter was weak, he became mine as easy as this,” he said and snapped his fingers to emphasise his words. “From the very first time I saw him, long before you even knew who I was. Too easy, it eventually became quite boring, and I didn’t need him anymore. Convincing him to kill himself wasn’t hard at all. Especially after I described, at some length, what I would do to you if he didn’t. He desperately wanted to believe I wouldn’t hurt you if he obeyed me.”
Her heart had started to beat very hard and Alison’s mouth felt dry, making it difficult to speak. “Is that what you will do now? Make me kill myself?”
The Professor laughed. “Oh no. You have always had a remarkable and rather unexpected ability to shake off my influence. I would be a fool to let you leave and trust you would follow your orders. Even if I am sure no one would believe you, I don’t want to attract that kind of attention at the moment. No, you will stay here. There will, however, be enough credible witnesses who will have seen you jump from a bridge somewhere. Water is quite useful, isn’t it- bodies aren’t always found. So very, very sad; a young and beautiful widow deciding to follow her husband to the grave. I will be properly devastated, of course, but it won’t have anything to do with me.”
“Do you really have that many people to do what you want?”
“I am Legion,” he agreed and Alison, who recognised the quote, shuddered again.
There was a brief pause while the Professor lit one of his cigars before he continued. “It was Peter I wanted, but you proved to be far more interesting. You are like a butterfly in a jar, thinking you can reach freedom by crashing into the glass over and over. But the only thing that happens is that by every hit, some of the beautiful colours are removed from its wings. It doesn’t give up, but do you know what happens to a butterfly if you touch it wings too many times and too much of the iridescence disappears?”
“It can’t fly anymore.”
“Exactly.”
The Professor fell silent, still watching Alison with an air of curiosity as her mind seemed to want several things at once. She was still terrified, but there was an odd surge of warmth behind her eyes and Alison, who had never hated anyone in her whole life, realised it was hatred. She suddenly wanted to hurt the man who sat there so calmly as if all the awful things he had done were without any importance. She wanted to fly at him and scream and scratch and bite, however futile that would be. And she wanted to flee, run as fast and far as she could, but at the same time she wanted to curl into a small ball and forget everything.
She stood up abruptly, taking a few steps toward the Professor before her legs gave way and she tumbled to the floor. Bile rose in her mouth and for a moment she thought she would be sick as the room seemed to swirl. But she swallowed it down as the world righted itself and she found herself on her hands and knees at the Professor's feet. She stayed like that, too weary to move. It was hopeless anyway, she had got what she had said she wanted and now he would kill her. But the Professor didn’t touch her and after a while he spoke again.
“I came to Earth because an old friend got exiled here. I hadn’t planned to become prisoner here as well. He would undoubtedly call it cosmic justice, if it wasn’t because he was behind it. I plan to get back at him quite spectacularly.”
It was such a weird little speech and Alison couldn’t help but to sit back and look up at him.
“Why do you say things like that all the time?”
“Things like what?”
“Like you don’t belong here.”
He smiled, a smile made terrible for looking so nice. “The most logical conclusion would be that I don’t, wouldn’t it? Earth is not my home.”
Somehow this failed to surprise her. Of course he didn’t belong, how could he? He was so unlike anyone else she had ever met, so strange in ways she had never understood. To imagine he was something else than human was not difficult at all.
“What are you?”
“I am a Time Lord and far superior to any human being.”
His voice was full of pride and to Alison's eyes he seemed to grow and stretch out in front of her despite remaining perfectly still. His presence seemed to unfold, growing stronger as if his words made him relax and let go of a facade.
“Professor Keller never existed, he is a mere ruse to achieve my goal. But you already know my name, I am the Master. And I will rule this planet of children or, if that fails, I will destroy you.”
Alison felt a chill running down her spine at his words and she thought of Peter, who had been so coolly discarded. “Are we so easy to kill?”
“What, do you feel I should care for your species?” He leaned forward, cupping her chin so she had to look at him. “Yes, I can see you do. I feel… a measure of appreciation for a select few. I have grown quite fond of you, for example. My friend the Doctor would like you very much, I think. Yes, I would say you are exactly what he would collect himself. Perhaps I will tell him about you and your husband one day. It will make him terribly upset he couldn’t save you, he has such a hero complex.”
The idea seemed to please the Master, and he released her and leaned back in his chair. Alison thought it was a strange friendship he described. And she thought he must have said what he had intended to tell her and now he would finally kill her.
“My relationship with the Doctor is much more complex than you can ever fathom,” the Master said, as if she had spoken aloud. “And I have no intention to kill you yet. Why should I, now when I am finally free to indulge myself as I please?”
He rose and held out a hand for her. “Come.”
Alison tried to obey, but her legs still refused to cooperate fully, her head spun again and in fear of falling she took his hand. She loathed to accept it, but she wouldn’t have been able to stand without his support. He wrapped an arm around her in what she felt was a parody of an embrace and pulled her close. Alison capitulated and leaned her forehead against his shoulder until her balance had reinstated itself. The Master spoke softly into her hair
“Little girl, you are completely mine now and you will get to know me very well before it ends for you.”
He led her from the living room, through the apartment to a closed door he carefully unlocked. Inside was a small room, the only furniture an old-fashioned wardrobe at the opposite wall. It reminded her eerily of a book she had read as a child about a girl who had found a wardrobe in an empty room. When she had stepped inside she had found herself transported to another world, full of wonders and great adventures. The Master put his hand against the wood of the wardrobe and to Alison's surprise his expression was almost affectionate. Without knowing why she mimicked the gesture, finding to her shock it felt warm and faintly humming under her palm.
“It’s alive!” she exclaimed, and the Master looked at her with a glimmer of respect.
“Very perceptive. In a sense, yes, she is alive.”
“What is it?”
“My home if you want. My ship, certainly. At the moment, thanks to my meddling Doctor, I can’t go anywhere, but one day I will be able to again. Then I can travel in space and time after my own wishes. I can change events and let history take a new course.“ He glanced at her. “I could go back to the past and let Peter live. Perhaps I shall hold it out to you as a reward to exceptional good behaviour.”
For all the lies he had told her, Alison believed him, however impossible it sounded. And hope bloomed inside her, just as he must know it would, and it hurt.
“Don’t say such things, please, it’s too cruel.”
“You doubt I would do it? But I believe you can’t deny that I was always very agreeable to you as long as you obeyed me. wasn’t I? Peter’s death is not a fixed point, it would be very easy for me to undo it. If I want to.”
He opened the wardrobe which wasn’t really a wardrobe and when Alison looked inside she found the interior opening up into something much larger than it ought to be. Truly a wardrobe of wonder, then, but not, she thought, for her. Regardless of the Master’s hint of the possibility of a happy ending, she didn’t think he meant it. She would hope anyway, because she wouldn’t be able to help herself and it would make her perfectly compliant to whatever the Master would want from her.
Alison looked at the Master, who smiled at her again and motioned to her to step inside, and Alison took a deep breath and obeyed.
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: R
Genre: Angst/Horror
Length: Multi-chapter; 10/10
Characters: The Master(Delgado), original characters
Warnings: For this chapter; mindgames.
Summary: Alison and Peter Grey are living a charmed life, young, wealthy and in love. Until they meet a professor Keller and they find themselves trapped in a nightmare. Set between Terror of the Autons and The Mind of Evil.
AN: There will be some brief violence in this story, but mostly this is about psychological terror. Though there are both het and slash within the story, neither will be explicit. It will, however, nudging at dubious consent, but not explicit and not violent. As it seems right now, it will also take place off-stage. As the events of this story may be triggering, each chapter will have warnings accordingly.
I'm done! And I must confess to be very pleased with the whole story, this was a lot of fun to write! Especially the Master, but I like Alison and Peter too and I think I made them likeable and not Mary-sue-ish in any way. I hope the ending isn't too wibbly-wobbly. And I want to thank the lovely
flowsoffire for reading and cheering me on for every step. And essentially post-beta it! Thank you! <3Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Despite having been sure, having known, what the Professor’s answer would be, it still hit Alison like a blow. Leaning forward, she hid her face in her hands. She hadn’t realised how much she had hoped he would deny it once again. Perhaps she could have believed him this time, perhaps she could have allowed herself to think the Professor would take care of her and make everything better.
“Why?” she asked without looking up, her voice muffled.
“Because it amused me.”
His answer made her raise her head and stare at him in incomprehension. The Professor looked back at her with no pretence of guilt. If anything he looked interested as if he was curious of her reactions.
“You did all this to us because it was fun?”
“I’m stuck on this blighted planet, and even if I have certain long-ranging plans, I needed something to entertain myself with in the meantime. You and your husband proved to be quite useful in several aspects.”
“But why Peter? He loved you and I think he would have done anything for you. Why did you punish him like that?”
“My dear, it wasn’t him I was disciplining, it was you. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
Alison shuddered, it was not a new thought for her, but it was so much worse to hear it said aloud. The Professor smiled pleasantly at her.
“Peter was weak, he became mine as easy as this,” he said and snapped his fingers to emphasise his words. “From the very first time I saw him, long before you even knew who I was. Too easy, it eventually became quite boring, and I didn’t need him anymore. Convincing him to kill himself wasn’t hard at all. Especially after I described, at some length, what I would do to you if he didn’t. He desperately wanted to believe I wouldn’t hurt you if he obeyed me.”
Her heart had started to beat very hard and Alison’s mouth felt dry, making it difficult to speak. “Is that what you will do now? Make me kill myself?”
The Professor laughed. “Oh no. You have always had a remarkable and rather unexpected ability to shake off my influence. I would be a fool to let you leave and trust you would follow your orders. Even if I am sure no one would believe you, I don’t want to attract that kind of attention at the moment. No, you will stay here. There will, however, be enough credible witnesses who will have seen you jump from a bridge somewhere. Water is quite useful, isn’t it- bodies aren’t always found. So very, very sad; a young and beautiful widow deciding to follow her husband to the grave. I will be properly devastated, of course, but it won’t have anything to do with me.”
“Do you really have that many people to do what you want?”
“I am Legion,” he agreed and Alison, who recognised the quote, shuddered again.
There was a brief pause while the Professor lit one of his cigars before he continued. “It was Peter I wanted, but you proved to be far more interesting. You are like a butterfly in a jar, thinking you can reach freedom by crashing into the glass over and over. But the only thing that happens is that by every hit, some of the beautiful colours are removed from its wings. It doesn’t give up, but do you know what happens to a butterfly if you touch it wings too many times and too much of the iridescence disappears?”
“It can’t fly anymore.”
“Exactly.”
The Professor fell silent, still watching Alison with an air of curiosity as her mind seemed to want several things at once. She was still terrified, but there was an odd surge of warmth behind her eyes and Alison, who had never hated anyone in her whole life, realised it was hatred. She suddenly wanted to hurt the man who sat there so calmly as if all the awful things he had done were without any importance. She wanted to fly at him and scream and scratch and bite, however futile that would be. And she wanted to flee, run as fast and far as she could, but at the same time she wanted to curl into a small ball and forget everything.
She stood up abruptly, taking a few steps toward the Professor before her legs gave way and she tumbled to the floor. Bile rose in her mouth and for a moment she thought she would be sick as the room seemed to swirl. But she swallowed it down as the world righted itself and she found herself on her hands and knees at the Professor's feet. She stayed like that, too weary to move. It was hopeless anyway, she had got what she had said she wanted and now he would kill her. But the Professor didn’t touch her and after a while he spoke again.
“I came to Earth because an old friend got exiled here. I hadn’t planned to become prisoner here as well. He would undoubtedly call it cosmic justice, if it wasn’t because he was behind it. I plan to get back at him quite spectacularly.”
It was such a weird little speech and Alison couldn’t help but to sit back and look up at him.
“Why do you say things like that all the time?”
“Things like what?”
“Like you don’t belong here.”
He smiled, a smile made terrible for looking so nice. “The most logical conclusion would be that I don’t, wouldn’t it? Earth is not my home.”
Somehow this failed to surprise her. Of course he didn’t belong, how could he? He was so unlike anyone else she had ever met, so strange in ways she had never understood. To imagine he was something else than human was not difficult at all.
“What are you?”
“I am a Time Lord and far superior to any human being.”
His voice was full of pride and to Alison's eyes he seemed to grow and stretch out in front of her despite remaining perfectly still. His presence seemed to unfold, growing stronger as if his words made him relax and let go of a facade.
“Professor Keller never existed, he is a mere ruse to achieve my goal. But you already know my name, I am the Master. And I will rule this planet of children or, if that fails, I will destroy you.”
Alison felt a chill running down her spine at his words and she thought of Peter, who had been so coolly discarded. “Are we so easy to kill?”
“What, do you feel I should care for your species?” He leaned forward, cupping her chin so she had to look at him. “Yes, I can see you do. I feel… a measure of appreciation for a select few. I have grown quite fond of you, for example. My friend the Doctor would like you very much, I think. Yes, I would say you are exactly what he would collect himself. Perhaps I will tell him about you and your husband one day. It will make him terribly upset he couldn’t save you, he has such a hero complex.”
The idea seemed to please the Master, and he released her and leaned back in his chair. Alison thought it was a strange friendship he described. And she thought he must have said what he had intended to tell her and now he would finally kill her.
“My relationship with the Doctor is much more complex than you can ever fathom,” the Master said, as if she had spoken aloud. “And I have no intention to kill you yet. Why should I, now when I am finally free to indulge myself as I please?”
He rose and held out a hand for her. “Come.”
Alison tried to obey, but her legs still refused to cooperate fully, her head spun again and in fear of falling she took his hand. She loathed to accept it, but she wouldn’t have been able to stand without his support. He wrapped an arm around her in what she felt was a parody of an embrace and pulled her close. Alison capitulated and leaned her forehead against his shoulder until her balance had reinstated itself. The Master spoke softly into her hair
“Little girl, you are completely mine now and you will get to know me very well before it ends for you.”
He led her from the living room, through the apartment to a closed door he carefully unlocked. Inside was a small room, the only furniture an old-fashioned wardrobe at the opposite wall. It reminded her eerily of a book she had read as a child about a girl who had found a wardrobe in an empty room. When she had stepped inside she had found herself transported to another world, full of wonders and great adventures. The Master put his hand against the wood of the wardrobe and to Alison's surprise his expression was almost affectionate. Without knowing why she mimicked the gesture, finding to her shock it felt warm and faintly humming under her palm.
“It’s alive!” she exclaimed, and the Master looked at her with a glimmer of respect.
“Very perceptive. In a sense, yes, she is alive.”
“What is it?”
“My home if you want. My ship, certainly. At the moment, thanks to my meddling Doctor, I can’t go anywhere, but one day I will be able to again. Then I can travel in space and time after my own wishes. I can change events and let history take a new course.“ He glanced at her. “I could go back to the past and let Peter live. Perhaps I shall hold it out to you as a reward to exceptional good behaviour.”
For all the lies he had told her, Alison believed him, however impossible it sounded. And hope bloomed inside her, just as he must know it would, and it hurt.
“Don’t say such things, please, it’s too cruel.”
“You doubt I would do it? But I believe you can’t deny that I was always very agreeable to you as long as you obeyed me. wasn’t I? Peter’s death is not a fixed point, it would be very easy for me to undo it. If I want to.”
He opened the wardrobe which wasn’t really a wardrobe and when Alison looked inside she found the interior opening up into something much larger than it ought to be. Truly a wardrobe of wonder, then, but not, she thought, for her. Regardless of the Master’s hint of the possibility of a happy ending, she didn’t think he meant it. She would hope anyway, because she wouldn’t be able to help herself and it would make her perfectly compliant to whatever the Master would want from her.
Alison looked at the Master, who smiled at her again and motioned to her to step inside, and Alison took a deep breath and obeyed.
