Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
AU 'The Sound of Drums'. What if the Master hadn't made the Doctor older, but younger instead?
You're Never Too Old To Be Young
Martha and Jack could only stare in horror as the Doctor flailed and screamed. Saxon had his 'laser' screwdriver pointed at him, but they didn't know what he was doing. He'd said something about Lazarus's experiments, about enhancing them. But it was only when he'd revealed that he had the Doctor's hand, that a look of dismay had crossed the Doctor's face as he realised what the Master was about to do.
But now, there was nothing that either Martha or Jack could do to help the Doctor. All they could do was watch.
Finally, Saxon put down his screwdriver, laughing sadistically, and the shape of the Doctor fell to the floor.
"Doctor!" Martha called, hurrying to his side. Jack did the same.
They both stopped in their tracks in shock at what they saw. Instead of the Doctor, with his big hair, manic grin and eyes that showed the sights of the universe, was a much smaller figure, a small boy.
The small boy was exactly where the Doctor had been. And he was struggling to sit up, the Doctor's clothes swamping his small form.
"Doctor?" Martha said again, more of a question this time.
The child looked at her. He looked about 6 or 7 years old, and while he still had big brown eyes as the Doctor had, his hair was a mass of angelic blonde curls. Martha looked at the boy's innocent face, but could see nothing of the Doctor there.
In the Doctor's eyes, you could see all the things he'd seen, the knowledge he had, the years he'd lived. But this child had none of that. He wasn't the Doctor. He may be who was the Doctor was, but he wasn't the Doctor.
Jack had seen it too, but he had to ask, one more time, "Doctor?"
The boy turned away from Martha and looked at Jack, and asked, "What do you keep calling me that?"
Martha and Jack glanced at each other, "Because that's your name," Martha explained.
The boy giggled at her, "You're funny. That's not a name."
Martha caught sight of Jack's smirk, but resisted the urge to blurt out that that's what everyone's always trying to tell him. Instead, she asked, "So what is your name?"
"You can call me Theta."
Theta. So now they knew the Doctor's real name. Martha didn't understand why he didn't use it, there was nothing wrong with it. It was a little strange, but it wasn't that bad.
Still, as much as Martha and Jack would usually give an arm and a leg to learn more about the Doctor's mysterious past, it was unsurprising quite low on their priority list right now. Their main problem was that with the Doctor shrunk down to a kindergartener, they had no plan and no way to stop the Master from destroying the Earth.
At that moment, as if he'd known what the two humans were thinking, the Master strolled up to the three of them sitting on the floor and said, "Oh isn't he cute. I'd forgotten what he was like, but then, 900 years'll do that to your memory. Maybe I'll keep him instead of killing him."
To this, Martha instinctively pulled the D—Theta close to her and said fiercely, "You won't touch him."
But surprisingly, Theta didn't seem at all afraid of the Master, he merely stared up at him in wonder and said, "Why're you so old, Koshei?"
Jack, Martha and the Master all looked at the child Doctor in shock, amazed that he'd recognised the Master.
But Saxon soon recovered from his surprise and said offhandedly, "You can talk, you're older than me."
"No I'm not!"
The Master considered this, "Good point," he said, before continuing, "But you were."
Theta was confused by this, "What're you talking about, Koshei?"
But this seemed to make the Master very angry. "Stop. Calling. Me. That."
"But it's your name!" Theta protested.
"Not anymore," Saxon said, "I am the Master," he added with a bow and a flourish.
"That's a silly name," Theta said, not taking Saxon seriously, "You're not a Master of anything."
"Wanna bet?" the Master said, walking back up the stairs, "Come up here and see my domain."
Without hesitation, Theta pulled away from Martha and struggled to his feet. Hampered by the clothes that were now far too big for him, he abandoned the trench coat, and his trousers. His shirt, which had fit him before, now looked like a nightshirt, reaching down past his knees.
Martha tried to protest against the Doctor going, knowing he was only going to see destruction. But as he always did, even when he was an adult, Theta ignored her, and walked up the stairs, pulling at the sleeves of the too big, pinstriped jacket as he went.
Looking out of the window of the Valiant, Theta stopped in his tracks, his innocent eyes widening at the sight.
"But that's Earth!" he exclaimed, "What're you doing to it?"
"I am decimating it…" the Master said with relish, "Ooh I do like that word."
"The others will stop you, you know."
Feigning ignorance, the Master said, "Hmm? I'm sorry, who?"
"The others. The Time Lords," Theta answered with conviction. And as he said it, Jack and Martha's hearts sank, knowing that the Master would have no qualms about telling the Doctor the truth.
Sure enough, the Master said, "See Theta, that's where you're wrong. A long time had passed since your time, over 900 years in fact," he informed the child. "It just so happens that there are no others. You and me, we're the last."
"You're lying," Theta said, a quiver in his voice.
"Am I?" the Master said, then he cupped a hand to his ear and said, "Listen. What do you hear?"
Theta bit his lip for a second and frowned in confusion, "Nothing. But how--?"
"They're all dead, Theta."
"They can't be," Theta protested, backing away from the Master, his tears betraying his true thoughts.
"Blimey you were thick as a child," the Master said, before continuing slowly and loudly, "Get this through your skull. They. Are. All. Dead."
Tears were now running freely down Theta's face as he took several steps down the stairs, "My mother and father?" he asked, with a lot more composure than Martha thought she'd be capable of.
"Dead."
"My brothers and sisters?" Several more steps.
"Dead. And so are your, aunts, uncles, cousins, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and everyone else who came either before or after you," the Master listed, uncaring of the pain he was causing.
Martha however, was shaking with rage and shock. She knew that the Master hated the Doctor, but to say that to a child… it was just cruel and… monstrous. But she was also shaking at the revelation of just what the Doctor had lost. She'd always known he must've had a family and friends on his planet, how could he not have? But for some reason, the extent of the number he'd lost had never quite hit her. And she'd never known he'd had children, or grandchildren, it'd just never occurred to her.
She glanced at Jack, and saw that his fists were clenched and his jaw set. He was clearly ready to do some serious damage to the Master for this.
"So now you know," the Master said proudly as Theta reached Martha and Jack. "No one can stop me."
"I will."
The words were so quite, that even Martha, who was standing right next to Theta, almost missed them. But the Master heard.
"I'm sorry?" he laughed, "You'll stop me?"
When Theta didn't say anything, he carried on, "Where 're you at? I've already won! You're six years old, you have no plan, no TARDIS and no help, apart from those two pathetic humans. How would you stop me?"
"There's one thing you've forgotten," Theta said bravely. And as he did, Martha felt a small hand press something into hers, "Even if you are telling the truth about everything, I'm still smarter than you. I always was and always will be. Even over 900 years, that could not change."
As he spoke, and as the Master laughed hysterically in response, Martha looked down at the object in her hand. It was Jack's teleport thingy. Glancing up at Theta, she shot him a questioning look. But he only nodded and whispered, "Go."
Martha looked at Theta for a minute, and completely believed that he was the Doctor. She could easily see how he could become the man she'd grown to love. He already had the bravery and the ego anyway. But she knew that he was still just a child, no matter how confident or clever he was.
But she also knew that she had to trust him. Child or not, he was all they had right now.
She activated the teleport, and as she appeared back on Earth, she prayed that she hadn't just abandoned the Doctor and Jack to a horrible fate.
"I'll be back," she whispered, making her promise right there, and started off across the field.
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A/N: What did you think? This was something that occurred to me as I was watching 'Sound of Drums', and it wouldn't go away until I wrote it! I know there're a lot of problems with this, like the Master's name (though I'm sure I read that somewhere…), what the Doctor was like as a child and what he'd act like. So I've improvised. I just figured that even as a kid, the Doctor must've been a smart cookie! (hope it's ok…)
I might write another part to this. It all depends on whether you guys want more, and also on what happens in next weeks episode! Also, even if I do write more, it won't be for a while… I'm going on holiday on Fri (and will miss Dr Who on Sat! must record) so I won't be back for a week and a bit, and then I'll have to write it…
Still, please review and tell me what you thought, and whether you'll want more!