The Master and his Wolf

Chapter one: Never Go Solo

**I don't own anything but the clothes on my back. Never Go Solo is by the band Islands. Pandora chose it and I just went with it, since I didn't listen to a specific song for this first chapter. Doctor Who belongs to BBC. Enjoy!**

She was burning but at least her Doctor was safe. Her Doctor was sad though, he should not have to see her suffer. Rose Tyler had to leave the Doctor behind. So, she fled to the end of the universe itself. There she met Professor Yana, who taught her to control Bad Wolf and keep the pain at bay, and in return, she later helped him remember he was a Time Lord.

"Stop, please don't kill them!" Rose fell to her knees as she witnessed the deaths of the last survivors. Tears sprung to her eyes, she had thought watching her world die was bad, but this was much worse.

It, of course, was her fault. She had been the one to draw his attention to the watch. The last beings now suffered for her mistake. Everything gone. It all seemed too empty, surreal even, yet she knew this was all very much real.

Glancing up, she noticed this "Master" watching her intently. Another explosion, closer than the one to kill the others, went off. Panic flashed in his eyes. He lunged forward, protecting Rose's body with his own as glass shattered and metal exploded around them.

The world was once was again silent and plunged into an unnatural darkness. The Master made a soft whimper of pain. Rose could barely see, even with the enhanced senses that came with being Bad Wolf. She, however, could see just enough to see the pained expression on the Master's face.

Looking past his head, she could see a large piece of metal rammed into his back. A steady flow of blood pooled out. She could now feel it as it ran along her side as it dripped from the wounded body above her.

She looked back to his face. His eyes were full of fear and loneliness. It broke Rose's heart to see such a despairing look from a dying man. With a bit of careful wiggling, her left arm was free and moving again. She wrapped it around his shoulders in a comforting gesture. He smiled faintly before death consumed him. His eyes going blank, unseeing.

Rose dragged herself out from under the corpse. Reaching forward, she curled her hands around the still scalding metal, ignoring the pain, and pulled it free from the Master's body. He deserved better than having metal protrude from his body, even if he did kill others. It just wasn't right to leave it in.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed from the Time Lord. The brightness caught Rose completely off guard. She jumped back, away from the light, and tripped over the metal that had killed the Master. Her head crashed against the ground as she fell, succeeding in knocking her unconscious.

He awoke with a jolt. A headache creeping upon him. Slowly, he lifted himself up with a slight groan, his legs shaking as he stood. He looked around cautiously. His eyes searched for Rose. He scanned the area from which he just stood from. There was no sign of her at his feet. He raised his head and began looking around for her.

Fear ripped at his stomach as he saw her still form on the ground not too far away from him. He raced to her and knelt down by her side. A quick check of her pulse vanquished his fears.

He didn't understand why he cared so much whether she lived or not, he just knew he did. At the moment he honestly didn't care too much. He carefully began checking her for injuries.

All he found was a slight bump on her head and a few cuts where a few shards of glass had penetrated her skin upon her fall. When he was satisfied he began trying to wake her gently. However, this was proving to be difficult and again he wondered if she maybe hit her head a little too hard. His persistence had won out in the end, though.

Her eyes fluttered open, beautiful, even in this place of destruction and hideous darkness. His arms enclosed around her smaller frame. She gave a soft squeak of surprise, but soon relaxed into his protective arms.

"It's alright, Rose Tyler. I've got you," he said soothingly. She glanced up and confusion crossed her gorgeous features. "Calm down, it's only me, the Master. Surely you knew I'd regenerate?" It had been meant as a statement but came out as question. Her puzzled look made it clear she had know clue as to what he was talking about.

"Right then, so the Doctor," he couldn't help the venomous way the name left his lips, "never explained regeneration to you?" Rose shook her head hesitantly. "Guess it's my job, then."

TBC