Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mickey’s words were ringing in the Doctor’s ears, even after some hours of walking through a wrong London aimlessly.

“It’s parallel right? An alternative to our world, where everything’s the same, but a little bit different.”

Mickey’s words were still ringing in his ears when they found him. A ship bigger on the inside, but not a TARDIS, not alive, because no living, sweet-tempered ship would ever support their cruel aims.

Mickey’s words were still ringing in his ears after they had killed the boy in front of his eyes, for no reason other than demonstrating their ultimate power.

The Doctor however, saw it for what it really was. “Do as you’re told,” it said. “We don’t hesitate to be the brutal monsters we are supposed to detain.”

He was scared.

It was a feeling he had lost over the last centuries, had lost in the aftermath of his guilt, his pain, all the suffering that had made him wish for death more times than he could count. But now, here, in this universe, face to face with a race he had destroyed in another, all he could do was silently hold back sobs of fear and sorrow.

It wasn’t that he wouldn’t accept his death, oh, and how he would. He often felt like he had lived too long, had made decisions that had been so wrong, so deadly for too many. But right now, he couldn’t afford to die, couldn’t afford to give up. A whole universe was hanging by a thread, these people – his people, except they weren’t - threatening to destroy it, Rose still in their clutches, shaking and crying uncontrolled. He had to do something, had to think of something, had to help her and all those people who belonged into this dimension.

He was the only one who could stop them, wasn’t he? He had been at this point once before. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it again.

“Now Timelord,” their leader began. Rassilon, the Doctor thought. This was this universe’s Rassilon in a regeneration he hadn’t seen before. “Speak up. What is your name and why aren’t you part of our holy mission?”

The Doctor swallowed.

He knew the second he looked into Rassilon’s stormy grey eyes he would have to say the truth. This man would sense it if he lied just as his universe’s Rassilon would have back in the days.

He took a deep breath, then started, desperate to tell as little as possible without lying to them.

“My name’s the Doctor,” he explained hoarsely. “And I didn’t know of your mission, Lord President.”

With a nod, Rassilon dismissed some by standing Time Lords, no doubt to check their records for his name. Well, the Doctor wondered what they would come up with. Was there a Doctor in this dimension? And if yes, what was his place in all of this?

He looked up to watch Rassilon, but soon noticed intense and dark eyes on him from his right. Supressing a shiver, the Doctor stared back.

He had never seen this man in his life before, but there was some kind of connection between them, a spark of recognition dancing around them and the Doctor knew in an instant, he felt it, too. His eyes were completely focussed on him, he didn’t even look away once. He was desperately trying to figure it out, figuring out who this person was in his universe, why he was getting these intense feelings from him, crawling underneath his skin like worms.

It was then, the Time Lords returned.

“No Doctor in any of the records, Lord President,” they told him with a long, deep bow. “He doesn’t exist.”

Rassilon’s smile was cold when he turned back to the Doctor.

“So you lied to us.”

“No,” the Doctor shook his head seriously. “No, I really didn’t. I’m the Doctor, I’m a Time Lord, but not from this universe.”

“Liar!” Rassilon called out and his rage seemed to make the walls shake. “The doors are closed, they closed a long time ago! There is no way left to cross the limits of our dimensions, believe me, I’ve tried.”

“Oh, I believe you,” the Doctor gave back earnestly.

And he did. That was just like Rassilon, just like all the things the power hungry president was planning during the Time War. Conquering the universes, not only their own, but also every other existing, he wouldn’t have stopped, hadn’t the Doctor himself put a stop to it.

And now, here he was again, facing the same old terror. More and more, it felt like his terrible actions to end the Time War, all the guilt and pain he had put upon himself, had been for nothing. The Daleks had come back, and now, so had the Time Lords, deadlier and more dangerous than ever but this time he had no allies amongst them, no one to help him out.

At least that was what he thought, before he saw the strange man with the brown, neat hair and the goatee wink with the corner of his eye.

Okay, well, maybe one ally then. He could work with one ally, that was usually all he ever worked with. And Rose was still down there in her cell, too, so that made two allies, one of them Time Lord. He could do this, right?

With new hope, he raised his head.

“It was an accident,” he explained calmly. “I can’t tell you how it happened, because I don’t know, but I can imagine my TARDIS trying to dock with a ship of Time Lords the second she sensed it. All I know is, we got sucked through and my ship lost its power. It’s not able to take anyone back to my dimension,” he added, before Rassilon could even ask.

He knew he’d ask.

He tried not to look to the man to his right.

“What do you think, Master?”

Okay, he was going to look up to the man to his right.

With a sharp jolt, the Doctor’s head flew up, watching the man Rassilon had turned to with widened eyes.

The Master.

Of course. This was another universe, another Time Lord race and the Master was still alive in this one. Standing in front of him, a thoughtful smirk on his face, which the Doctor nearly didn’t notice, because, oh, he was still staring at him, eyes not wavering one second, he didn’t even blink. He seemed to talk to him without any words at all, told him silently, that he was on his side.

There was no Doctor, he thought. In this universe, he didn’t exist, he never had. There was no Doctor who belonged to this Master, and yet, here he stood, in front of him, recognition in his sharp, intense eyes.

The Doctor had stopped being afraid the second he had heard his name.

And the Master smiled.

“I think, whether he lies or not, he can be useful. We keep him and the girl, she’ll be an excellent leverage.”

Rassilon grinned at him in a way that was almost affectionate, wouldn’t it be for the cold in his grey eyes.

“I like the way you’re thinking.”

“So you’ve said,” the Master smirked and turned his eyes away from the Doctor for the first time, aiming it at Rassilon. The Doctor didn’t even need to watch, he could hear the same cold in the other Time Lord’s voice, icy and spiking.

Rassilon didn’t seem to notice.

"My personal advisor," he explained to the Doctor with a cruel smile, then nodded towards some guards behind him. "Take him back to his cell."

He was grabbed by his arms and then roughly shoved out of the room. He knew they were leading him back into his cell, back to Rose but the Doctor couldn’t resist turning around, throwing one last, intent glance back at the Master.

He couldn’t help it. There was a Master without a Doctor in this universe and after all his time on his own, all this time he’s been the last of the Time Lords, all he could think about was, how wonderfully a Master without a Doctor fitted to a Doctor without a Master.

Chapter Text

Rose was crying when he returned, so he drew her into a tight embrace, trying to calm her down. He felt his own body tremble but carefully locked away all his feelings, until it faded. All the guilt, the pain of seeing his people again, and seeing them like this, all his supressed hope the Master had created, all his fear and his rage.

It was hilariously easy. In his time as the last of the Time Lords, the Doctor had perfected his shields, had perfected the art of repression.

He smiley at her encouragingly. Rose couldn’t see the gesture, having her face buried at his chest, but it helped him, reminded him he had to be strong for her, gave him the impression that he was doing okay, as long as he could just manage to smile.

He heard her sniffle while trying to calm down enough to speak.

“What is happening, Doctor?” she asked, her voice broken.

God, he had failed, her hadn’t he? Even for him, the memory of Mickey, dead on the ground, eyes empty, held some horror. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how Rose had to feel. “Are they really Time Lords?”

He nodded, lost in a lot of dark thoughts, then sighed with a shudder.

“Yes,” he finally said, realising Rose couldn’t see him nod. “Yes, they are. A darker, twisted version of them, though.”

He thought back, to the war, to the plans Rassilon was making to defeat the Daleks. He sighed once more, feeling drained and tired.

“Maybe not so much darker…”

Rose slowly let go of him, trying to look him in the eyes and wiping away her tears.

“We need to stop them, Doctor. Whatever they’re doing, it can’t be good. They… they… Mickey…”

“I know,” he replied calmly. “I know, Rose.”

But he didn’t know how.

Silently, they sat beside each other. Rose had leant into him, quietly crying while all he could do was hold her and trying to drown out the cold feeling of guilt threatening to suffocate him.

“Have you got a plan?” she asked after a while. Something had shifted, something had changed, he heard it in her voice. Cold and determined.

A true fighter, he thought. What should’ve been a life full with wonder, adventure and beauty, it had turned her into a fighter with pure horror, pain and death. The universe had done to her what it had done to him.

Oh God, he hated it.

“Not exactly,” he replied. “But I’ll figure something out. I always do.”

“Okay.”

He wondered if she could here the resign in his voice. He wondered if she knew how lost he was. He still wondered when he heard a door creak.

Both of them looked up the second they heard it. Rose seemed to be frightened and determined not to show it at the same time.

The Doctor stepped towards their cell door expectantly.

Even before he had entered, he had known it had been the Master. He swallowed down nervously. There he stood, the intense glim still in his eyes, and a little smirk playing around his lips. Involuntary, the Doctor had to smile of the familiarity of this smirk. The Master could regenerate, be another version of himself and decompose alive, the smirk always stayed the same.

“Hello Doctor.”

Before he could react, Rose had grabbed his hand encouragingly.

“You need to let us out,” she tried. “Now.”

The Master rolled his eyes. “Can’t do,” he replied shortly.

“What are they planning to do to us?” the Doctor wanted to know.

With a sigh, the Master closed the door behind him. They were alone in the small, dark room now, just the three of them. The Master’s smirk was gone and he looked into the Doctor’s eyes more seriously now.

“Nothing right now. I talked them into keeping you around because you might be useful. But let’s say… You’re going to get into some trouble if you don’t cooperate.”

“Heard that once or twice in my life,” the Doctor muttered under his breath.

His only answer was a raised eyebrow.

“If I really don’t exist in this universe,” he finally asked. “If you don’t know me… then why are you helping us? What do you get out of it?”

The Master grinned. “What, I can’t do the right thing without getting something out of it?”

With crossed arms, the Doctor simply gave back, “No. Not you.”

That made the other Time Lord laugh, a cold, haunting sound and the Doctor just knew it would still be stuck inside his mind, even after this man was long gone.

“Let’s say, I don’t like where they’re going.”

“You, not a fan of universal domination?” the Doctor smirked. “This really must be an alternate reality then.”

The Master’s next laugh was something else. Quiet and roughly, a chuckle that for some reason seemed to be more honest. Instead of sending him shivers down the spine, it made the Doctor smile.

“I do prefer universal domination if it’s my own.”

“Oh I don’t know,” the Doctor retorted. “You seem to have worked yourself up to quite a good position, personal advisor.”

The Master didn’t miss the Doctor’s sharp tone, but he let it go unmentioned.

“I’ve got many enemies, Doctor. It seems some Time Lords can’t wait to get rid of me.”

“Yes,” the Time Lord sighed. “I know that feeling.”

The looked at each other quietly for some time. Rose had settled back into their corner, watching them with a curious expression on her face, but remaining silent for now. This seemed to be something she didn’t want to get between to, something bigger than her. The Doctor knew this threatening, strangely charming man and he talked to him like to an old acquaintance, while she was feeling waves of fear flooding her body whenever she looked into his cold face.

But there was something else. She saw it while the Time Lord slid down the wall, sitting in front of the Doctor and waving impatiently for him to do the same. Something flashed up on his face, some kind of warmth, only for a second. She doubted the Doctor had even noticed, because he was busy sitting down again.

“How did you get here?” the Master finally asked, a genuine tone in his voice. “Where do you come from?”

For a second, the Doctor hesitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to trust the Master, he always did. But in the past, this had never been something he could exactly call a good idea.

This wasn’t even his Master. Through all their fights, their battles, the wars and the threats, he had always known, when things got really nasty and serious, the Master would stand by his side. Like he had done in the Death Zone of Gallifrey, like he had on his trial against the Valeyard. But this was another Master, a Master who had never met him, never known him. He couldn’t expect him to stand with him for any other reason than his own gains.

But then he closed his eyes and sighed. In this world, where everyone seemed against him, where he was confronted with constant reminders of what he had done to his people, where the only things familiar to him were Rose and this Master, he had no choice but to trust him, had he?

“I honestly don’t know,” he explained with a calm voice. “I think… I think my TARDIS might’ve sensed another Time Lord presence and went for it. She was drained of all her powers before we even landed, but she got us here.”

“That’s implying there’s no Time Lord in your universe she could dock onto.”

It wasn’t even a question, just a cold observation. The Doctor was once more impressed by his old friend’s perception.

“You’re right,” he replied, desperately hoping he wouldn’t probe any further, while knowing it was hopeless at the same time. “There isn’t.”

This time, even the Doctor saw the flash of sympathy appearing on the Master’s face. He smiled bitterly.

“There was a war,” he finally explained. “The Time War, they called it. Everyone died, Master. Everyone but me.”

The Time Lord was openly shocked.

“How?” he wanted to know. “What could wipe out all Time Lords in existence? The most powerful race in the universe?”

Rose shivered when the Doctor spoke again, his voice hoarse and so terribly, terribly cold.

“Me.”

Chapter Text

“Tell me about it.”

The Doctor shook his head tiredly. “I'd really rather wouldn't.”

The Master snorted mockingly. “You have no choice. They send me in here to find out the truth about you. It's either that or me breaking into your mind. Violently.”

With a sigh, the Doctor nodded. He didn't even have to think about it, he knew what the Master was capable of. If this version of his old friend and enemy was even a little bit like the one he had battled back home, his mind couldn't withstand any kind of attack from the Master. In fact, the Doctor wasn't even sure he himself could withstand it.

The Master was a greedy person, always taking, taking and taking, until, one stormy night, he held your hearts and soul in his hands, never afraid to use them against you to take the rest you have to give.

At one point, the Doctor thought, there shouldn't be any tears left. Right now, they felt somehow dry, even while they rolled down his face, almost painfully so. He clung to the pain, knowing some greater torment was only waiting to take its place.

“Like I said. There was a war,” he started, distantly aware that Rose was listening, hearing for the first time from the full story of events.

He hadn't brought it over himself to talk about it before. Funny that. The Master had always been able to take him to extremes and beyond his own limits. In either direction.

“Time Lords against Daleks. But there was more at stake than Gallifrey or Skaro. The whole universe had lost its balance, whole planets were terrified, fled, fought, fell.”

“How did it start?” the Master asked.

He noticed Rose cast him a look.

“What?” he shrugged. “They're gonna want to know. To prevent it from happening. This might be an alternate universe, but usually the events are still pretty parallel. Since most of the time, it's only small decisions of someone changing the chain of events.”

With a smirk, the Doctor wiped away a tear. Typical, he thought and regretted the thought the second it came to him. He really shouldn't think this way. Hadn’t he been the person to keep on telling Rose that this wasn't their world? If he was in danger to forget it, if he grew affectionate towards a Master who wasn't his...

He wiped the thought away. If he was being honest, it had never been a good idea to think of the Master as his. It had never stopped him, either.

“Nobody knows for sure,” he explained. “But I'm fairly sure it had something to do with someone blowing up Skaro.”

“Could it really happen here too?” Rose whispered, terrified. “Everything seems to be so different. I mean... They're evil, right? They weren't before?”

“Not like this, no,” the Doctor agreed hesitantly. “But they weren't exactly good either, to be perfectly honest. A little bit corrupt. The lot of them. Power hungry, antiquated idiots.”

The Master laughed. “Not so different then.”

It scared him that he wasn't surprised.

It scared him how naturally he got along with this different, wrong Master.

It scared him how right it felt.

“So,” the Master took control of the conversation again. “Someone blew Skaro up. That's the start of it?”

The Doctor stifled a laugh. Of course he wouldn't be able to fool him. He never was.

“For a while, nothing happened. Then hell broke loose. I expected them to come for me – They always did, it was our thing, in a way. But they came after Gallifrey instead. And soon after, no planet in the whole universe seemed to be safe. They either allied or died. Everything that could get put to use against the Time Lords got explored and exploited, no matter what the cost. They were thorough.”

“They usually are.”

“It's what they were built for. Davros finally had his destruction and chaos on a scale you couldn't even imagine.”

“And you ended it,” the Master stated, voice almost throbbing with awe. “A universe at war, the ultimate chaos and you ended it.”

The Doctor swallowed. “Nothing to admire here,” he replied coldly, as cold as he managed with guilt rising up inside of him, causing him nausea. “I killed them. All of them. Every single Time Lord. And every single Dalek. With one strike.”

“Sounds like a lot to admire,” the Master mentioned and even though it sounded like an almost casual remark, he knew it was his twisted idea of a compliment. Probably even the only one he'd ever get – And he really didn't want it.

“I'm glad you're able to rejoice in my double genocide,” he snarked back. “Can't say I can. Truth is, there's not a day it doesn't kill me.”

He quickly bit his lip. The ever-raging battle, the fight between sharing the weight and keeping on guard, he lost it again.

The times he had felt safe with this man were long gone and yet... He couldn't help it. He couldn't even blame himself for forgetting not to show any kind of weakness in front of the Master. How long had it been? How long had he been alone, traveling the universe in a desperate attempt to forget, to fill the hole his own genocide had caused? How long had he been running around, acting like he still believed in miracles while making them happen for everyone else? It must've been hundreds of years, hundreds of years until he had stopped counting, had started to make up numbers, when he had stopped looking for survivors and instead tried to survive.

And now here he stood, a fresh, living version of the Master, one who he had yet to betray, one who he hadn't let down, again and again, until their innocent rivalry had grown into bitter resentment.
Really, who could blame him for letting down his guard?

The Master merely rose one of his fine brown eyebrows, making the Doctor drown in an uncomfortable feeling of familiarity.

There hadn't been a day on which he hadn't missed the Time Lords and yet, this was different, this hurt in a way that he wouldn't be able to shake off with a fake smile and a new human friend.

“How did you do it?” he finally asked.

The Doctor sighed.

“There was a device called The Moment. Found it in Gallifrey's archives. No one was mad enough to even think of this solution. Well, no one but me. Only made me even madder, if I'm honest.”

The Master eyed him curiously. It was insane, how this gaze made the Doctor feel understood. He was reading him like a book and in a way, it should be scary that he would still be able to do this, considering that they had never actually met.

But it felt comforting.

“They're never going to let you go,” he explained quietly.

The Doctor shrugged. He hadn't really thought they would. “What do they expect me to do? Blow them up again? I'm no danger for them.”

The Master shook his head in amusement. “That's beside the point. They're not scared of you. They want to use you.”

“Use me?” the Doctor asked even though it already dawned to him what was going on.

The Time Lord smirked. “A man powerful enough to destroy whole civilizations in the blink of an eye? Exactly what they've been looking for.”

“Well, they're wrong,” the Doctor replied coolly. “They're wrong thinking this is what they want and they're wrong thinking I would even take one life for them, not in hell I will.”

The Master simply continued smirking, forehead leaning on the bars, gaze fixed on him in scary intensity.

“They're not gonna ask you.”

“I don't care,” the Doctor replied. “There's nothing they can do to me that'll change my mind. Nothing.”

The Master's eyes brushed Rose, only short, only for a second, but it was enough for the Doctor to notice.

“Don't you dare,” he thundered. “Don't. I'm warning you, Master, don't even think of it.”

The Time Lord snorted. “There's something you need to understand,” he stated quietly. “I am not your enemy here.”

Well.

That was new.

“Then help me,” the Doctor replied just as quietly, stepping closer to the man at the other side of the bars, pressing his forehead to the other's, without actually building telepathic contact. Still, he could feel his mind buzzing right next to him, the feeling sending him shivers down the spine.

Does this work? Could he connect with another Time Lord in this universe? With the Master? He tried to think of the past, if something like this had ever come up, but he couldn't remember anything. He had to guess no one had ever been insane enough to try. Which automatically led to the thought, that at some point, he would. At some point, he would always cross the line and prove to be more insane than everyone else. At some point, he would just jump and fall, fall, fall, with nothing left to catch him.

“Please,” he added. Too late, too distracted, from this mind so close to his, these eyes, brown, intelligent, wonderful eyes with a gaze so familiar it ached.

He wanted nothing but to jump, suddenly more aware of the Master's hypnotic skills than he ever had been before.

“Is that a plea?” the Master smirked.

With a dry throat, the Doctor nodded.

The Time Lord sighed. “Ahh... Well lucky for you, I could never resist a pretty boy begging me.”

Relief, the Doctor noticed. In all this soreness, the hurt, the fear and the guilt, he was still able to feel relief washing through him. Did that mean he was still able to forgive himself?

“Not to worry,” the Master winked. “I have a plan.”

The Doctor nodded. He wasn't worried. Not about his safety, not even for Rose's. The Master was chaos, the Master malicious, the Master was able to get himself into the worst situations, but that was just the thing – He always made it out alive, he always found a way to beat them all, was cleverer than everyone he's ever met. With him on their side... Well, he was almost optimistic.

At least, all this applied to his Master.

With worry, he thought about all the occasions he had seen him escape from the most ridiculous setbacks of his own plans. All of them involving him...

He threw the other Time Lord a look.

“Do I really don't exist?” he needed to know. “Is there really a whole universe without me?”

Are you alone? he didn't dare to ask.

Who's your audience in this world, he held back to himself.

Who do you love? he didn't even dare to think.

Chapter Text

The Master sighed.

„Well, they would think that, wouldn’t they? Idiots that they are.”

The Doctor and Rose exchanged a quick look.

“So… the Doctor exists after all?” Rose dared to ask with quiet voice. “Then why isn’t he here? Fighting it? You can’t tell me there’s even a single universe he’d be okay with this, he wouldn’t!”

The Master rolled his eyes at her enthusiastic defence but couldn’t quite hide a tiny little smirk. The Doctor waited with raised eyebrow.

“Probably not,” the Master finally conceded with another sigh. “Not sure this universe’s Doctor even knows. Or ever got around to call himself ‘Doctor’.”

“What are you talking about? Who… who else would I… Would he…?”

The Master shrugged. “Theta Sigma ran away from Gallifrey and Time Lord society around 700 years ago, never to be seen again. The Time Lords tried tracking him down, but rumour has it that he ditched his TARDIS somewhere and hid on Earth, living a full – and dull – human life.”

“Theta Sigma?” Rose asked, unable to hold back.

“What, on his own?” the Doctor spluttered at the exact same moment and hoped shortly after that Rose’s words had drowned his out. One look into the Master’s face was enough to tell him they hadn’t.

“On his own,” he confirmed quietly. “Sneaked out at the dead of night and never returned.”

“Is that your real name?”

To the Doctor’s utter shock, Rose was giggling.

Oh no, he was going to prevent this from happening quick.

“Nickname,” he explained through gritted teeth. “Much, much hated nickname.” He caught her gaze. “Don’t. I mean it. Don’t.”

Rose was still giggling but granted him the small mercy of not using that name… yet. It relieved him to hear her laugh, though. They had had awfully little to laugh in the last few days.

“So, you… I mean… err…” He wasn’t sure how exactly to aim this question at the Master without the undeniable danger of stepping onto a mine field. “You knew him?”

He snorted.

“Distantly.”

But the Doctor saws the corners of his mouth twitch and with a huff, the Master walked away from the bars, ready to leave them alone with a lot to discuss. “I’ll talk to them. Tell them you’ll cooperate as long as the girl’s unharmed, and then we’ll see how we get you out of here after.” He cast him a dark look. “I’m sure you’ll be just as good at stealing a TARDIS and running away as your other version.”

The Doctor wasn’t sure what to say. He could see the jab for what it was – Concealed pain at being left behind.

But he had to admit, that the Master was right. It seemed, this particular talent seemed to grace Doctors in every reality.

“Who. Is. He.”

He had expected that question to come. With a sigh, the Doctor turned back to Rose, having looked at the door the Master had disappeared through thoughtfully for a few seconds.

“He’s a… very old friend. We used to go to school together.” He caught her disbelieving gaze and laughed. “Yeah, well, okay. We were more than friends.”

“Don’t you think, he’s a bit… well…” Rose bit her lower lip for a few seconds, unsure what to say, apparently, then decided to just go with it. “Threatening?”

The Doctor laughed.

“Yeah, he rather is, isn’t he? We grew apart over the years, took two different directions. Became arch enemies… He tried to kill me more times than I can count.”

Rose’s eyes widened.

“Well, that’s… how most relationships end, really.”

They laughed.

“So… do you think we can trust him?” she asked after a little while and he could hear the worry in her voice.

She had to feel so lost, in midst of these new enemies she knew nothing about, while the Doctor got sucked in deeper and deeper in a parallel version of a home that wasn’t his.

Bless her, he thought, for still trying to work through this mess and keep up with him.

“He’s probably the best shot we have. No one else will be ready to help us – They’re either corrupted or terrified. That’s just who Time Lords are.” He sighed. “The Master’s never been like them. In fact, he tried to give it his best to be everything they’re not.”

Rose watched him silently for a few moments, seeming to wait for something. The Doctor looked back spitefully for a few moments, then rolled his eyes.

“Yes, yes, I know, I didn’t answer your question. Well, generally, no. No, we can’t trust him. Ever. He’s dangerous and selfish. But we’re gonna have to anyway.”

Trusting the Master turned out to be one of these decisions that left them with both, a bad feeling, but also undeniable progress.

They came to take the Doctor out of the cell when they had both reluctantly fallen asleep.

Rose had bedded her head on his coat, snoring almost contently, and the Doctor had fallen asleep watching her, the worried frown still deeply burrowed on his forehead when they woke him up.

They grabbed his arms, dragged him to his feet and ignored his weak protests with slightly annoyed looks on their faces.

Rose awoke quickly, the confused look on her face almost immediately replaced by alert.

“What’s going on? Where are you taking him?”

One of the guards rolled his eyes.

“He’s getting a room.”

“A room?” The Doctor had started struggling, refusing to leave with them until he knew what was going to happen to Rose. “What do you mean, a room?”

“It means that you’re going to be put to use for our conquest. You’re going to sleep in our ward now.”

“What about Rose?”

He watched her scramble to her feet, looking positively terrified at the prospect of being left alone and he could more than understand her, after what she had seen happening to Mickey.

“As long as you cooperate, nothing will happen to her. She’ll be used as pawn though, so she stays down here.”

They looked at her with a mocking grin and the Doctor could feel his blood boil.

“I’m not going to do anything until she’s sleeping in a warm bed. I’m not leaving her alone.”

They reacted in lightening speed. One second both were holding him under the arms, the next one of the guards had drawn his weapon and held it right to Rose’s forehead. She didn’t even flinch, just looked up at him with her lips pressed tightly together and a fighting gleam in her eyes.

The Doctor wished he had to never see her look like this again.

“Okay. Okay, I got it. Put down that gun, I’ll come with you. Rose, Rose, listen to me. It’s gonna be okay. I’ll make sure you’re safe, I will.”

She just nodded.

Suddenly, he felt tired. Unsure, how long he could protect her without causing damage to the universe. Unsure, how long they would actually be safe here. The Master’s plan, his little light shimmer in the dark, it was nothing, but a tightrope act, and they could fall off it every minute.

They took him to a little room with a double poster bed and, he noticed, no windows. Rassilon was waiting already, sitting on his bed casually, the grey, cold eyes glued on the Doctor as soon as he entered.

He looked around, just to not face the monster sitting in front of him and his eyes met the Master’s, who was leaning against a wall in the shadows, watching the whole scene quietly, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“You will take part in our conquest,” Rassilon proclaimed after a little while of silence, apparently unwilling to wait for the Doctor to give him his attention, and instead simply grabbing it. “You will tell us all of your secrets and help us take over the universe.”

Oh, he was tired. Tired of fighting for a war that never seemed to end. A whole universe was still shaking from the consequences of the Time War, still hadn’t recovered, and here he was, in a parallel universe, and it was still raging, still hadn’t had enough.

It was as if the universe craved the bloodshed, craved the death and tears and destruction, while every part of his body screamed out the ever-same question.

“Why? Why do you want the universe so badly? Wasn’t it enough to watch over it anymore? To be the never-intervening guardians? Wasn’t that enough power?”

He turned around to Rassilon now, wanting to see the answers in those unfamiliar eyes currently boring through him.

“Our planet is gone, Doctor. Gallifrey. Gone. They have destroyed it.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “What? Who?”

“Those we were supposed to guard. They put out their guns and firearms and rockets and lasers and they put it all together, destroying our planet. All we have left is this ship. All we can do is fly around the universe, no home left, the last of the Time Lords, trapped on a space ship. It’s a disgrace.”

“Well, to be fair, we have perfected the whole Bigger on the Inside-thing, living on a space ship doesn’t have to b-”

“WE WILL GET OUR REVENGE. THESE PEOPLE SHALL PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID.”

“Ah. You see, I find it hard to believe that what they did was an unprovoked-”

“THEY HAVE DAERD TO CROSS THE TIME LORD’S PATHS. WE ARE THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS OF THIS UNIVERSE. And it will burn, Doctor.”

Rassilon was panting in rage now, his face grown red, and he seemed to wait for him to reply.

The Doctor looked at him silently for a few moments, then said, “Oh sorry, are you done? Can I speak now? Are you sure? Nothing left to get out? This is your chance.”

“Your sarcasm isn’t appreciated, Doctor.”

“No, it usually isn’t. Now, you’re ready to listen to me, are you? Then listen. Listen closely. I am the last of the Time Lords where I come from, the only one left of your mighty race of rightful owners of the universe. I know it’s hard. I do. But revenge is not the way to do this. We’re supposed to protect it. We’re supposed to be their fair guardians. Revenge, death, fire, destruction, it’s nothing that can extinguish your pain, it’s not. And it’s nothing that will ever free this universe. It will go on and on and on, until there’s nothing left. That’s why I put it to a stop. That’s why I did what I did. Not for your petty revenge plans, not to kill for killing’s sake – But to stop it.”

“Very admirable, Doctor,” Rassilon replied, looking utterly unimpressed. Actually, the Doctor thought he was doing his very best to stifle a yawn.

Well, he thought. At least Rassilon hadn’t changed as much as his looks might have suggested.

“Utterly unimportant, but nonetheless admirable. You’re not being asked, in case you haven’t noticed. You are going to oblige, or the girl dies. I’ve been informed that you seem to value human life more than is good for you. Now, we’re talking details tomorrow, as you seem tired. I’ll leave you with some time to think through your choices.”

He got up, a mocking grin on his face. With his hand on the door knob, he turned around once more.

“Your room is next to the Master’s, he’ll keep an eye on you. The girl is guarded, so don’t try anything smart. Good night.”

He left with his guards, the door falling shut behind him.

The Doctor sighed and let himself fall down on the bed, resting his head on his hands for a few seconds.

“He’s insane. Utterly insane.”

“Tell me something new,” came the Master’s dry remark, and the Doctor looked up at him, considering him more attentively now.

“Will she be safe down there, on her own?”

The Master shrugged. “As long as you cooperate. They wouldn’t risk losing their only pressure over you.”

“Cooperate…” the Doctor muttered. “Master, I… I can’t.”

“We’ll figure something out.”

“How? Tell me how. Because I’m not leaving without Rose. She already lost her friend. It’s my fault, she’s trapped here. And this universe? I can’t just leave them like this… I can’t let it burn to the ground!”

The Master laughed, and it was a cold, hollow sound. “So, what are you going to do? Save the whole universe from the Time Lords? How? Destroying them all again?”

“If I have to!” the Doctor shouted, jumping back to his feet, his hands balled to fists. Only when he had realized what he had just said, the rage in his eyes was replaced by heart-wrenching fear.

“No. No, of course not. No, I can’t… I couldn’t…”

“But you could, couldn’t you?” the Master whispered, fascination clearly audible in his tone. “Look at you. You’re a ticking time bomb, one wrong move away from going off.”

“I’m what the war made me,” the Doctor gave back, tonelessly.

The Master looked at him for a few seconds.

“Bullshit,” he finally said. “The Theta I knew always had it in him. It’s why he ran away after all. Isn’t it?”

“I’m not the Theta you knew, then. I could never…”

But the Master just huffed, rolled his eyes and walked out. The Doctor knew there was no point in continuing to lie to himself, and so he just stayed silent, while the Master left the room. He could hear the door next to his open and fall shut again, could hear the bed creak as the Master let himself fall onto it.

And all he could think of was, how much he hated every bloody wrong stone in this world that wasn’t his, but felt so uncomfortably like it was, that it broke his hearts all over again.