Author's notes: Blame the plot bunnies that are devouring my soul for this story, not me.
I don't know what made me think that a crossover between 1984 (a George Orwell novel) and Doctor Who was a good idea but I wrote it anyway. No knowledge of the book 1984 is necessary for this story. I hope you enjoy reading this. I enjoyed writing it. It was proofread by my sister so all hail her for being able to make sense of my disjointed typing. Enjoy.
Broken
"But the Daleks….can't win can they…..Doctor?" gasped Sarah between ragged breaths as they ran together. "I've…not even been…born yet!"
"Time is in flux Sarah," answered the Doctor, who did not even appear to be breaking a sweat, as his brown coat flew out behind him as they ran. "For all we know today, right here, June 14th 1984, is the day the Daleks destroy the Earth and humanity dies unless we stop them." He grabbed her and somehow this gave her the energy to run a little faster from the sounds of pursuit behind them.
Suddenly out of a side street a figure appeared out of nowhere and wrestled the Doctor to the ground. Sarah skidded to a holt and turned to help. The man on top of the Doctor seemed to be wearing a black suit and tie with a white shirt. "RUN!" yelled the Doctor, sounding genuinely scared for really for the first time.
"But…"
"No buts! Just RUN. I'll be fine I promise. Get inside the TARDIS; I'll meet you there." Really, Sarah had no choice; it was stay-and-be-captured –with-the-Doctor or escape-and-try-to-help-later. She chose to run.
As she turned in the direction of the TARDIS, the man who had the Doctor pinned to the floor shot at her with something that looked a bit like the Sonic Screwdriver. The shot grazed Sarah's shoulder but she ignored the sudden stab of pain and disappeared down a twisting alleyway.
Once she had disappeared from view, the Doctor squirmed beneath his captor as the sounds of pursuit came closer.
"Master…" he began in a pleading tone but that was as far as he got before the Laser Screwdriver was used to knock him unconscious.
The Doctor came to about three days later by his internal clock. He groaned. His head felt like it was about to explode. Slowly he opened his eyes to see where he was.
He was alone. The room he was in was plain and empty with white walls and a metal floor that crisscrossed in diamond shapes beneath him. The metal of the floor looked futuristic, probably about 51st century-style. The room looked like an interrogation room that could be almost anywhere. It was small - only about a quarter of the size of the console room of the TARDIS. It had no windows and only one door that looked to be impossible to break open.
The next thing the Doctor noticed was how thirsty he was. He guessed that he had not been fed or given anything to drink while unconscious. If he did not drink something soon, he would die, whether he regenerated or not.
He looked down at himself intending to find something useful in his pockets, like his Sonic Screwdriver to help him escape, but found all his pockets empty. He had been searched very thoroughly.
The Doctor tried to find the strength to stand but he had no strength left. He could do nothing but lie crumpled on the floor and wait for death or for someone to help him.
Help came an hour and three minuets later in the form of the Master. He opened the door and walked him with a tray of food and a large bottle of water.
"Apologies, Doctor" he said in a smooth voice. "We have taken very poor care of our guest." The last word was said with a smirk. The Doctor could only groan in reply.
The Master knelt beside him in his immaculate suit and helped the Doctor drink. Only after he had drunk most of the water did he start to feel hungry. The Doctor ate the stale bread and piece of cheese offered to him in under a minute before finishing the water off.
Only after all this did the Doctor feel able to speak. Now that he was not going to die of thirst, his first thoughts were of Sarah.
"Sarah…?" his voice came out cracked; a one-worded question was all he could manage. A look of annoyance passed over the Master's face.
"Your little human friend was caught by the Daleks not long after I caught you." Grief stabbed at the Doctor and guilt at her death.
"Oh, she's not dead Doctor. She is in the same situation as you," said the Master in a level voice as he watched the grief on the Doctors face. He felt immensely relived there was still a chance to save her. The next question was, in some ways, even more important.
"Why?" Why; that one word asked so much. Why work with the Daleks after everything they had done? Why did the Master have to always hurt the Doctor after they had once been such good friends? Why hurt Sarah as well? Why was the Doctor still alive? These and a thousand other questions were all summed up in that one word.
"Because I believe I am doing the right thing. One day you will too, because the Daleks no longer want to destroy everything. They only want to rule, because they want you and Sarah on their side and one day we will set you free." The Master's face was clear and honest as he spoke. It was clear he believed what he said.
"The Daleks don't share power. You're a fool if you believe them. I'll never be on their side."
"Everyone says that to begin with," said the Master in a neutral voice. "Even I fought against it. In the end, everyone breaks. I don't want power anymore, Doctor. All I want is to serve the Daleks." The Doctor could find no lie in the Master's face or voice and this terrified him. The Master really did want simply to serve the Daleks. The Master had always wanted power and control; what had happened to him that could have changed all that?
"You will be tortured for your crimes against the Daleks, and one day you will tell us everything you know that can help them." The Master stood up and walked towards the door. As he opened it, he said "You will beg for death before the end but you will not die."
As the Master closed the door behind him, the Doctor caught a glimpse of a corridor on the side and a Dalek travelling down it. The Doctor shivered, when the door closed with an ominous clang, and he was alone again.
The Doctor tried every single way to escape but there was none. Every time they dragged him to a new room, he would try to escape during the journey and look for any weak spots in the new room. There was never any way out.
The torture was erratic. Sometimes, they would wake him as he tried to get any sleep he could with loud noises. Other times, they would give him nothing to drink. During these times, they would play the sound of a dripping tap in his cell and heat the room up to unbearable temperature. Sometimes they would force him to hear the tortured screams of others that were held captive. Mostly it was physical abuse.
It was never the Daleks who tortured him. In fact, apart from once through the door when he first woke, the Doctor never saw the Daleks.
The humans and other aliens, who tied him down, beat him, stabbed him and bit him never spoke to him. Nether did those who tended to his wounds afterwards.
At first the Doctor tried to reason with them but they only looked at him with blank dead eyes and continued. The Master was the only one who ever spoke to the Doctor now. It was always the Master who interrogated him. He was the only one with anything remotely like intelligence left in his eyes. He also tortured the Doctor worse than anyone else by reminding him of what he had done in the past. The Master was also the only one to abuse the Doctor mentally.
About year after he had been captured, the Doctor could no longer tell whether it was day or night, or even how long he had been there. This scared him; a Time Lord who did not know the time. Even a Time Lord will lose trace of time if he doesn't see daylight for long enough.
It was about this time that the Doctor stopped trying to escape. Why should he try? He knew there was no way out.
The Master had smiled the first time the Doctor had fought back. He had always tried to defend himself but this time was different. He really tried to hurt those who were torturing him. The Doctor did not know if he would have stopped if given the chance to kill them.
The Master said this was a breakthrough.
Every day that the Master came, the Doctor would ask him the same question. "Why?" The Master's answer was always the same.
"This is for your own good, Doctor, and the good of the mighty Dalek Empire. Believe me, Doctor; this gives me no pleasure but it must be done." He always said it with such conviction that it was impossible to doubt his belief in what he said.
After a long time, the Doctor eventually stopped arguing with him about his answer. You can't change the mind of someone who believes whole heartedly what they say and has been trained not to consider or even understand any argument to the contrary.
"How is Sarah?" he asked once.
"She started serving the Daleks long ago" came the reply.
The Doctor tried to commit suicide once. He could not regenerate to death as his ability to regenerate had been suspended. So he had to find another way.
His clothes had long since turned to bloody rags and been repeatedly replaced. He took off the rags that covered his frail body and tied them around his neck. There was nothing to hang himself on so he simply tightened the knot.
It would probably have worked if the Master had not found him. He ran to the Doctor and saved the man who wanted to die.
"You're not leaving me, Doctor!" he had almost cried. "I know this is hard but it's for your own good. One day you will thank me for this. I told you would want death but it is not the answer."
After that, the Doctor knew that he was always being watched even when he was alone. He would not be given a second chance.
The worst torture was when they did nothing to him. The times when his food was materialised in the room instead of being given to him were unbearable. The physical abuse was so much easier to deal with.
During those times he would scream at the wall calling for someone anyone to come. The sound of another voice or the touch of another body was all he could long for during those months alone.
One of these times, he realised he needed the Master. The Master was the only one to show him any compassion. The Doctor was not sure if he loved or hated the Master. Maybe he felt both. The only thing he knew was that he needed the Master.
The Doctor knew he was going insane that he was losing his grip on reality but there was nothing he could do about it. Five years of torture was enough to break anyone.
Long ago, he had told the Master everything he wanted to know but still they would not allow him to die. If he tried to starve himself they would always force feed him.
He no longer fought back or tried to defend himself from the attacks in case they went too far. They never hurt him enough so that he could die from his injuries. It did no good to fight back anyway.
"Why won't you let me die?" he asked the Master one day.
"Our aim was never to kill you Doctor" said the Master almost gently as he beat the Doctor. "We are trying to save you from yourself."
That day, the Doctor was taken to the re-education centre.
The re-education centre was different from all the other places he had been since being caught all those years ago. The room was light but not so bright that it hurt your eyes. The floor was covered in a soft carpet and the room had furniture in it. There was a black board and chalk, a seat, a table, some lego and some playdough. There was also a smaller room to the side with bed in it. Neither room had any windows.
The first night in the re-education centre, the Doctor screamed and screamed and screamed when the lights were turned off. It had been so long since he had been anywhere dark that it terrified him.
The next morning when the lights were switched back on, the Doctor had sobbed for hours. The Master came and held him through the sobbing and promised to get to get him a lamp.
For a few weeks, the Doctor could not sleep unless he was in the circle of light cast by the lamp the Master had given him.
Being in the re-education centre was like being a child again. He could play as they tortured him. Now other people talked to him besides the Master as they tried to re-educate him. The aim was to make you accept anything a Dalek said as true without question. They could not change his views.
The Master took him from the re-education centre to a room of torture. The Doctor walked calmly by his side. He had no thoughts of trying to escape.
"I'm sorry, Doctor," said the Master as he strapped the Doctor to a table and attached him to electrodes. "You need to be re-educated but this seems to be the only way."
"I am holding up three fingers Doctor," he said holding up two. "How many fingers do you see?"
"Two." The Master sent an electric shock to the Doctor
"Wrong answer. I'm holding up three. How many do you see?"
"Two!" The voltage was increased.
"Three fingers, Doctor, three! How many?"
"Two!" The Doctor screamed as the electricity was increased.
"How many do you see?"
"Three!" The Doctor gave in.
"Wrong answer again," said the Master, but this time not adjusting the electricity setting.
"But you wanted me to say three!" He was confused. Felt like a child.
"No Doctor. I want you to believe you see three fingers. I will always know when you are lying. If you lie you must be punished. How many do you see now?"
The fingers danced before his eyes. It was now impossible to say with certainty how many fingers.
"Honestly? I don't know"
"Right answer," said the Master, turning off the electricity. "You just need to convince yourself that something is true and it is true. If everyone in the world believed that two plus two made five, then it would be true."
"But two plus two is always four, unless you change the name of four to five and five to four."
"No, Doctor, two plus two can be five. Truth is just what people believe."
"But what about science and empirical evidence?"
"Where is the empirical evidence for love? Where is the empirical evidence for beautiful?" The Doctor thought about this for a wile.
"I think I understand," the Doctor said eventually.
"You don't yet… but you will."
The process was repeated several times before the Doctor fully understood and was taken back to the re-education centre.
The Doctor became an attentive student. He wanted to learn. The Daleks had several things that, on the education, had to be learnt to prove you would always believe them.
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Power
And two plus two equals five.
He found it very hard but he knew he had to learn the truth.
One night after he had finally learnt to understand the truth, the Doctor had a nightmare.
He was standing alone in a field of red grass. Suddenly he heard a voice behind him. "Doctor. Help me." He turned and saw Sarah.
He woke screaming her name. It was the first time he had thought of her in a long time. Somewhere in the world was Sarah and she needed help.
He got out of bed and walked into the re-education room where he sat in the chair. The Doctor cursed himself for his thoughts. How many years had he added to his imprisonment by calling out her name? If he could only reform he knew he would be free to go.
The Doctor realised that, to be set free, he would have to not only think like Daleks thought, but feel as they wanted him to. He decided to teach himself to repress his feelings. It would be hard, even harder than the re-educating had been, but he believed he could do it. Then one day, when he was free, he would allow his true emotions to resurface and he would be truly free.
As he was thinking this, the door to the re-education centre opened and the Master and three Daleks entered the room. These were the first Daleks the Doctor had seen since he had arrived and the Doctor was filled with hatred.
"Doctor, you were thinking about deceiving us. That was foolish. I'm going to ask you some questions and you will answer them truthfully. I always know when you are lying.
"What are War, Freedom and Ignorance?"
"Peace, slavery and Power."
"What is two plus two?"
"Five."
"What do you feel about the Daleks?"
"I hate them!" said the Doctor without hesitation. There was no point in lying. "I would kill them if I had the chance." The Daleks looked at him but did not exterminate him. The Doctor had half hoped they would.
"THE DOCTOR WILL BE TAKEN FOR THE FINAL PHASE OF RE-EDUCATION!" said one of the Daleks in its metal voice. The Master nodded and held out his hand to the Doctor and helped him from the chair.
"Where are we going?" the Doctor asked as they left the room and walked down a corridor.
"To Room 101."
"What's in there?"
"The worst thing in the universe." The Doctor whimpered but did not try to escape. He simply walked beside the Master with one Dalek ahead and two behind them.
The room was the same size as his old cell used to be. There was a chair and something large covered by a sheet in the corner. The Doctor did not fight as he was led into the small room. He did not fight as he was strapped to a chair. He did not even flinch away as one of the Daleks brushed past him.
The worst things in the universe had already happened to him time and time again. The worst thing that could happen here was his death… or was that the best thing? After the Doctor was secured so he could not move, the Master turned and looked him in the eye.
"You've faced so many things Doctor. Many people would say you have already faced the universe but they don't understand. You and I both know the worst thing in the universe is different for everyone." This made the Doctor nervous. The Master had always known him better than anyone. What could he do that was worse than anything else that had happened? Unless… Horror crossed the Doctors face and his two hearts sped up in fear and anticipation.
The Master looked sadly at the Doctor as he watched the fear in his eyes. Everyone had to come here before they could be fully healed and set free. It was for their own good. He remembered being brought here himself, as a prisoner, and shivered at the memory.
"You have ran all your life Doctor. Ran from what you have done and what you have failed to do. The worst thing in the universe for you is having to face what you have done."
"No! Not that!" moaned the Doctor looking at the 'thing' under the sheet, "Anything but that. I'll do what ever you want. I'll serve the Daleks."
"But you would not do it willingly and that is important." The Doctor had not begged in years. He begged now, even though there was no point in asking for mercy here.
"Please Master. Please. I'm begging you." The Master shook his head and moved towards the thing in the corner. He pulled off the cover to reveal the Doctor's worst nightmare; an Intoscission Link Machine.
"The Intoscission Link Machine, when plugged directly into your brain, will cause a neural relay distortion feedback link in the memory part of your brain. This will bring back every person who has died, suffered or been hurt because of you.
"The spirit of every person you could have, should have or could not save will be present in your mind. Their memories and personalities will be called back and implanted in your head. You will feel their pain and sorrow."
The Doctor began to cry and scream as the electrodes were attached to his head. He strained against the bonds that held him in place. "For you, Doctor, the Intoscission Link Machine will drive you mad at the very least. The amount you have seen and done all running though your head at once will destroy you. Your brain may acutely melt with the presser."
The Doctor could only sob the word "Please" over and over again.
"This has to be done to someone, Doctor," replied the Master as he attached the last electrode. He moved over to the Machine and started to adjust the controls.
The Doctor thought quickly. This had to be done to someone but not to him. All he had to do was find someone else for this to happen to but whom? He knew that he could not just pick anyone. It had to be someone the Daleks would accept as a replacement. Suddenly, in a horrifying moment of truth, he knew who they would accept.
"Goodbye Doc.."
"Do it to Sarah!!!" he screamed at the top of his voice. The Master smiled.
The Doctor was always busy helping the Daleks in the war effort. He worked with the humans building weapons to destroy the enemy. The Master and the Doctor worked together and creating more effective weapons to help the Daleks.
He reserved more than the daily amount of food given to most humans because he was so useful. It was a shame that, because of the war, many people starved to death but the situation was improving. When the Daleks ultimately ruled the universe, everyone would be provided for.
The Doctor hoped the Daleks would win the war soon. It had been years since he had been released and all that time they had been at war. The Daleks were always assuring everyone, on their daily broadcasts, that they were getting nearer to winning the war and ruling the universe for the good of everyone. The Doctor was sure that the Daleks would win soon.
One day he saw Sarah. He had finished work and was on the way to the local community centre to watch the broadcast from the Daleks, when he saw her in a crowd of people.
He called out to her and she turned in his direction. Recognition flashed in her eyes as she saw him. They pushed though the crowds of people towards each other and met at the side of the street. They stepped off the main path and on to an almost deserted side road.
Sarah looked so different from the last time they had met, her hair thin and greying, her face wrinkled, looking thin and weak but the biggest difference was her eyes. When they had first met, Sarah's eyes had sparkled with life and shone with excitement at the world. Now they looked dull as if her spirit was gone.
They did not bother with introductions.
"They do things to you," she began. "They break you. Room 101…" The Doctor nodded.
"The worst thing in the world. You'd do anything to avoid it. Anything. You have to offer someone one else because you can't face it yourself. Afterwards you tell yourself that you didn't mean it. You try to believe it was a lie and you just said what they wanted to hear."
"But that isn't true and afterwards you feel differently about everything."
They both knew that, if they wanted, they could escape in the Doctor's TARDIS. The Doctor spent most of his time working for the Daleks in his TARDIS. However, the thought of leaving was terrifying and horrible. They belonged here working for the Daleks.
"My shift starts soon," said Sarah.
"And I must be at the community centre for the latest broadcast." Without another word they turned and rejoined the crowded main street. Sarah headed in the opposite direction to the community centre. The Doctor followed her with the intention of walking her to the end of the street at least. They both knew that they would never seek out the other and even if they did meet again, by some fluke, they would not stop and speak again.
A crowd of people pushed between Sarah and the Doctor. Suddenly the Doctor wanted nothing more than to be away from her and never see her again. He turned and headed for the community centre.
The community centre was packed, as always, but the Doctor got a seat because he was of special use to the Daleks. He was nervous about the war. Things had not been going well and the Sontaran were putting up a real fight.
He looked at the newspaper that every citizen was given free and studied the star map. The Sontaran were advancing towards the Daleks. However, the Doctor suddenly realised, if the Daleks were to send in a small bunch of skilled fighters from behind, the Sontarans would be completely cut off. That would mean that the final few planets that still resisted the Daleks would be cut off from each other!
The Doctor concentrated as hard as he could on this imaginary army who could win the war for them. He tried to imagine the species the Daleks would use for this special force, as if imagining them would somehow make them real.
The broadcast started sharp at 6:00pm. A Dalek filled the screen and shouted "HAIL THE MIGHTY DALEKS!"
"Hail the mighty Daleks,
Hail the mighty Daleks,
Hail the mighty Daleks!" chorused everyone in the room in response.
"THE WAR GOES WELL!" boomed the Dalek. "WE HAVE SENT A SMALL ARMY OF VESOIFORMS TO ATTACK THE SONTARANS FROM BEHIND. THEY HAVE CUT OFF THE SONTARANS RETREAT…" A single tear ran down the Doctor's face as he listened to this joyous news. After all these years he finally understood. He was finally healed…
He loved the Daleks.