Professor Keller: Chapter 10
Mar. 25th, 2016 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scripsiThis chapter really made me wish I had a beta-reader for this fic. Long stretches of introspection and with very little dialogue is not my strong point.
Title: Professor Keller
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen
Genre: Horror
Word Count: 1773
Chapter: 10/12
Characters: Delgado!Master, Original female character, Original male character, the Third Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, the Brigadier
Pairings: The Master/OFC, the Master/OMC, OFC/OMC
Warnings: For this chapter; none
Summary: Alison and Peter Grey are living a charmed life, young, wealthy and in love. Until they meet a Professor Keller and find themselves trapped in a spiralling nightmare. Set between Terror of the Autons and The Mind of Evil.
AN: This story is about the Master, so anyone who reads it in the hope of the Doctor, well, I think it's fair to warn you he is only going to have a very minor role in this fic, along with Sarah Jane and the Brig.
(Chapter 1: Party Girl)
(Chapter 2: Watch Your Step)
(Chapter 3: Little Triggers)
(Chapter 4: You Belong To Me)
(Chapter 5: After the Fall)
(Chapter 6: You Tripped At Every Step)
(Chapter 7: Possession)
(Chapter 8: I Want You)
(Chapter 9: Broken)
I know this world is killing you.
Professor Keller left for China and Alison went to stay with Janice and her family. She would have done so even if he hadn’t told her to- it was a comfort to be with those who loved her. Alison played with the children and helped Janice around the house. And, at last, she could grieve over Peter, something she was grateful for, even if it was hard. There was a constant, gnawing misery inside her even when she managed to not think of him, interspersed with bouts of crying that made her feel like her heart was trying to burst. The only thing that seemed to ease the pain a little was walking. Long, long walks without aim because it was the constant motion, not the surrounding nature, which brought a little comfort. She thought about Peter and how much she missed him, but also on how he had died, which irrevocably made her think about Professor Keller too. Again and again she wondered over his actions and motivations. Alison found herself reaching for words like crazy and insane, but they didn’t feel like truly encompassed him. He was so strange, so alien to her that he was beyond her scope of imagination.
Sometimes she wondered if it wasn’t she who was crazy and the Professor nothing more the kind and caring man he seemed to be. She thought it would be so much more plausible if it was her own mind which had slowly broken apart. Perhaps she was really projecting her misery on an innocent man so she didn’t have take responsibility for her own actions. But then she remembered the burn mark the Master’s cigar had left on her body and she knew she wasn’t delusional. It had healed into a pink and glossy scar, looking for all the world exactly what it was. And it would stay on her skin as an all too real reminder of what the Master could do if she stepped out of line again.
And what would he do to her when he came back again? She knew he hadn’t forgotten about her because he wrote to her occasionally. They were short unremarkable letters, written in a neat and precise hand, always ending with a polite hope she was doing better. Alison read them and felt sick because she knew they were nothing but a part of the masque that was Professor Keller. Another little segment of the Master pretending to be normal and she burned the letters as if they had been filled with venom instead of bland politeness.
There was nothing left of the life she had once taken for granted, the life she was going to live with Peter. All she had ever wanted was to be with him and one day they would have a family, but he had wanted more from life. Peter had been a good man who had wanted to make a difference, and it was so very wrong that this wish to help had led him to Professor Keller and ultimately killed him. And he had left her alone to deal with a person she knew she couldn’t handle. The Master had placed her in limbo, there was no way back and no way forward except for what he decided to do to her. And not only to her. He had threatened her family, and she had no reason to think he wouldn’t hurt them too, eventually. The more she thought about it, the more certain Alison became that Janice wouldn’t be safe from the Master regardless of what she did. And then there was her brother -in-law and her niece and nephew. She tried to tell herself the Master wouldn’t stoop to hurt children, but she found she didn’t trust that to be true.
Tense and frightened she started to think he would come for her without warning. His black car would stop outside Janice’s house and he would destroy everything she cared for before it finally was her turn. Slowly Alison realised she didn’t think there was any other way out for her than death. The thought ought to frighten her, but she felt curiously indifferent. She only wanted two things; to keep her family safe and to find out what had really happened to Peter the day he died.
She knew she was right in thinking the Master was behind it, but she felt she needed to hear him admit to it. Perhaps she would find some peace of mind in knowing for certain she had been right.
There was nowhere to escape to, but when the Professor wrote to say he was back, Alison realised there was one thing she could do. Once she had read that horses, given a chance, run back into burning stables because out in the wild the best way to survive a fire was to run straight through it to grounds that the fire had already left. She could do the same, she could choose to face the fire instead of waiting for it to reach here. The Master would not like it if she went to him before he told her to come, but he hadn’t explicitly told her not to either. Perhaps it would be enough to direct his attention away from her family. It wasn’t a good plan, but it was the only one she could think of and however illusory, it would at least allow her to pretend she was free to decide her own fate.
Alison left her sister’s home an early morning before anyone was awake. She knew she would hurt Janice by not saying farewell and if she never returned, which seemed most likely, then her sister would never know what happened to her. But she couldn’t tell the truth, the last thing Alison wanted was to give Janice anything that would make her think of the Professor. But it wasn’t fair to leave like this and Alison's heart ached all the way to London.
She knew where the Professor lived as once or twice she and Peter had been invited there for a drink. He lived in a modern apartment, beautifully furnitured but totally lacking in personality; Alison had found it strange then, one would have thought that a charismatic person like the Professor would have a home that reflected his character. Now she thought it was another part of him keeping up appearance. It was not a home, but a stage set, the proper background for a respectable professor and scientist.
Not until she stood outside his door did Alison realise he may not be there. Perhaps he didn’t even live there for real. She had been too preoccupied with holding on to her courage on her way there to think more than one step ahead. Now she felt an almost overwhelming need to turn back, and she took several minutes to collect herself enough to dare to knock. At first nothing happened, but then the door opened and the Professor was standing before her. Though he must be surprised to see her, he didn’t show it, but merely opened the door wider to let her inside.
“Why Alison, what a pleasant surprise. Please, come in.”
The Professor showed her to the living room which looked as sterile as the last time she had been there. He looked the same as well and Alison's terror mingled with an unwanted sense of relief. Somehow she couldn’t help thinking that if she just allowed him to counsel her, then everything would be just fine.
“Please sit down.”
But Alison remained standing. It might amuse him to play the courteous host, but she knew he must mislike her showing up like this and she would rather have it out before she lost her nerve completely.
“I need to know what really happened to Peter. I know you killed him, even if I can’t prove it and I need to hear you admit to it. I want to know what you did to him that made him jump in front of that bus.”
The Professor raised an eyebrow, but didn’t look angry. If anything he seemed faintly amused by her outburst. “You have already had my answer, my dear. I was with you the whole time as you well know and I couldn’t possible have anything to do with Peter’s death.”
“I don’t believe you. I know what you are capable off and I know that you can do things no one else can do. And I’m so tired, I can’t stand this anymore!”
The last sentence came out in a wail. The Professor watched her thoughtfully for a moment.
“Yes, I can see that,” he said eventually. He sat down in an armchair and motioned to her to sit down as well and this time Alison obeyed him.
“You want to know, but you don’t really understand what you ask of me. You are still mostly ignorant of who I am and what I can do. Now you want to open a door which can never be closed again. I could tell you, truthfully, what happened to Peter, but then there would be no turning back. But it doesn’t have to be like that. You have been very diverting and I am not without mercy. If you leave now, I will let you. You only have to stand up and take a few steps and you will be free. Humans have such an extraordinary capacity of forgetting, make use of that and forget me and I will leave you alone. Go away, meet another man who can provide you with your peculiar notion of a proper lifestyle. I can even give your memory a nudge in the right direction as a farewell gift.”
For a moment or two Alison couldn’t speak. She had never expected the Master to give her an offer like this. He sounded sincere, he might even be truthful; she was free to go. But even if Alison could believe him, she knew it was still too late.
“I can’t leave now. Please, tell me.”
“You understand what it means? I won’t let you go if I tell you.”
Alison shuddered, but miraculously she could still hold her voice steady. “Yes, I understand. I don’t care anymore.”
He watched her with his peculiar eyes and Alison felt he could see inside her mind, sorting through her feelings as easily as if he had flipped through the pages of a book..
“Very well. You shall have your answers though you will undoubtedly wish you had chosen otherwise in the end.”
“I just want to know for certain. Did you kill Peter?”
“Yes, Alison, I did.”
Title: Professor Keller
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen
Genre: Horror
Word Count: 1773
Chapter: 10/12
Characters: Delgado!Master, Original female character, Original male character, the Third Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, the Brigadier
Pairings: The Master/OFC, the Master/OMC, OFC/OMC
Warnings: For this chapter; none
Summary: Alison and Peter Grey are living a charmed life, young, wealthy and in love. Until they meet a Professor Keller and find themselves trapped in a spiralling nightmare. Set between Terror of the Autons and The Mind of Evil.
AN: This story is about the Master, so anyone who reads it in the hope of the Doctor, well, I think it's fair to warn you he is only going to have a very minor role in this fic, along with Sarah Jane and the Brig.
(Chapter 1: Party Girl)
(Chapter 2: Watch Your Step)
(Chapter 3: Little Triggers)
(Chapter 4: You Belong To Me)
(Chapter 5: After the Fall)
(Chapter 6: You Tripped At Every Step)
(Chapter 7: Possession)
(Chapter 8: I Want You)
(Chapter 9: Broken)
I know this world is killing you.
Professor Keller left for China and Alison went to stay with Janice and her family. She would have done so even if he hadn’t told her to- it was a comfort to be with those who loved her. Alison played with the children and helped Janice around the house. And, at last, she could grieve over Peter, something she was grateful for, even if it was hard. There was a constant, gnawing misery inside her even when she managed to not think of him, interspersed with bouts of crying that made her feel like her heart was trying to burst. The only thing that seemed to ease the pain a little was walking. Long, long walks without aim because it was the constant motion, not the surrounding nature, which brought a little comfort. She thought about Peter and how much she missed him, but also on how he had died, which irrevocably made her think about Professor Keller too. Again and again she wondered over his actions and motivations. Alison found herself reaching for words like crazy and insane, but they didn’t feel like truly encompassed him. He was so strange, so alien to her that he was beyond her scope of imagination.
Sometimes she wondered if it wasn’t she who was crazy and the Professor nothing more the kind and caring man he seemed to be. She thought it would be so much more plausible if it was her own mind which had slowly broken apart. Perhaps she was really projecting her misery on an innocent man so she didn’t have take responsibility for her own actions. But then she remembered the burn mark the Master’s cigar had left on her body and she knew she wasn’t delusional. It had healed into a pink and glossy scar, looking for all the world exactly what it was. And it would stay on her skin as an all too real reminder of what the Master could do if she stepped out of line again.
And what would he do to her when he came back again? She knew he hadn’t forgotten about her because he wrote to her occasionally. They were short unremarkable letters, written in a neat and precise hand, always ending with a polite hope she was doing better. Alison read them and felt sick because she knew they were nothing but a part of the masque that was Professor Keller. Another little segment of the Master pretending to be normal and she burned the letters as if they had been filled with venom instead of bland politeness.
There was nothing left of the life she had once taken for granted, the life she was going to live with Peter. All she had ever wanted was to be with him and one day they would have a family, but he had wanted more from life. Peter had been a good man who had wanted to make a difference, and it was so very wrong that this wish to help had led him to Professor Keller and ultimately killed him. And he had left her alone to deal with a person she knew she couldn’t handle. The Master had placed her in limbo, there was no way back and no way forward except for what he decided to do to her. And not only to her. He had threatened her family, and she had no reason to think he wouldn’t hurt them too, eventually. The more she thought about it, the more certain Alison became that Janice wouldn’t be safe from the Master regardless of what she did. And then there was her brother -in-law and her niece and nephew. She tried to tell herself the Master wouldn’t stoop to hurt children, but she found she didn’t trust that to be true.
Tense and frightened she started to think he would come for her without warning. His black car would stop outside Janice’s house and he would destroy everything she cared for before it finally was her turn. Slowly Alison realised she didn’t think there was any other way out for her than death. The thought ought to frighten her, but she felt curiously indifferent. She only wanted two things; to keep her family safe and to find out what had really happened to Peter the day he died.
She knew she was right in thinking the Master was behind it, but she felt she needed to hear him admit to it. Perhaps she would find some peace of mind in knowing for certain she had been right.
There was nowhere to escape to, but when the Professor wrote to say he was back, Alison realised there was one thing she could do. Once she had read that horses, given a chance, run back into burning stables because out in the wild the best way to survive a fire was to run straight through it to grounds that the fire had already left. She could do the same, she could choose to face the fire instead of waiting for it to reach here. The Master would not like it if she went to him before he told her to come, but he hadn’t explicitly told her not to either. Perhaps it would be enough to direct his attention away from her family. It wasn’t a good plan, but it was the only one she could think of and however illusory, it would at least allow her to pretend she was free to decide her own fate.
Alison left her sister’s home an early morning before anyone was awake. She knew she would hurt Janice by not saying farewell and if she never returned, which seemed most likely, then her sister would never know what happened to her. But she couldn’t tell the truth, the last thing Alison wanted was to give Janice anything that would make her think of the Professor. But it wasn’t fair to leave like this and Alison's heart ached all the way to London.
She knew where the Professor lived as once or twice she and Peter had been invited there for a drink. He lived in a modern apartment, beautifully furnitured but totally lacking in personality; Alison had found it strange then, one would have thought that a charismatic person like the Professor would have a home that reflected his character. Now she thought it was another part of him keeping up appearance. It was not a home, but a stage set, the proper background for a respectable professor and scientist.
Not until she stood outside his door did Alison realise he may not be there. Perhaps he didn’t even live there for real. She had been too preoccupied with holding on to her courage on her way there to think more than one step ahead. Now she felt an almost overwhelming need to turn back, and she took several minutes to collect herself enough to dare to knock. At first nothing happened, but then the door opened and the Professor was standing before her. Though he must be surprised to see her, he didn’t show it, but merely opened the door wider to let her inside.
“Why Alison, what a pleasant surprise. Please, come in.”
The Professor showed her to the living room which looked as sterile as the last time she had been there. He looked the same as well and Alison's terror mingled with an unwanted sense of relief. Somehow she couldn’t help thinking that if she just allowed him to counsel her, then everything would be just fine.
“Please sit down.”
But Alison remained standing. It might amuse him to play the courteous host, but she knew he must mislike her showing up like this and she would rather have it out before she lost her nerve completely.
“I need to know what really happened to Peter. I know you killed him, even if I can’t prove it and I need to hear you admit to it. I want to know what you did to him that made him jump in front of that bus.”
The Professor raised an eyebrow, but didn’t look angry. If anything he seemed faintly amused by her outburst. “You have already had my answer, my dear. I was with you the whole time as you well know and I couldn’t possible have anything to do with Peter’s death.”
“I don’t believe you. I know what you are capable off and I know that you can do things no one else can do. And I’m so tired, I can’t stand this anymore!”
The last sentence came out in a wail. The Professor watched her thoughtfully for a moment.
“Yes, I can see that,” he said eventually. He sat down in an armchair and motioned to her to sit down as well and this time Alison obeyed him.
“You want to know, but you don’t really understand what you ask of me. You are still mostly ignorant of who I am and what I can do. Now you want to open a door which can never be closed again. I could tell you, truthfully, what happened to Peter, but then there would be no turning back. But it doesn’t have to be like that. You have been very diverting and I am not without mercy. If you leave now, I will let you. You only have to stand up and take a few steps and you will be free. Humans have such an extraordinary capacity of forgetting, make use of that and forget me and I will leave you alone. Go away, meet another man who can provide you with your peculiar notion of a proper lifestyle. I can even give your memory a nudge in the right direction as a farewell gift.”
For a moment or two Alison couldn’t speak. She had never expected the Master to give her an offer like this. He sounded sincere, he might even be truthful; she was free to go. But even if Alison could believe him, she knew it was still too late.
“I can’t leave now. Please, tell me.”
“You understand what it means? I won’t let you go if I tell you.”
Alison shuddered, but miraculously she could still hold her voice steady. “Yes, I understand. I don’t care anymore.”
He watched her with his peculiar eyes and Alison felt he could see inside her mind, sorting through her feelings as easily as if he had flipped through the pages of a book..
“Very well. You shall have your answers though you will undoubtedly wish you had chosen otherwise in the end.”
“I just want to know for certain. Did you kill Peter?”
“Yes, Alison, I did.”
