Everything was a whole lot brighter than he had expected. His arm stung as if it was on fire, and he looked down to see there was no ground beneath him. Using his good arm, he rubbed at his tear soaked face. He couldn't grasp that he was probably dead. The idea that he could ever die at all was overwhelming. He blinked and a stream of tears flowed through. That was when she appeared; his salvation.
He had seen her before, the weeping woman from Gallifrey.
"You have been redeemed Master. You are free to choose your own path now. This is a place before the Time Lock seals in the Time War. You must act quickly or be sealed in with us forever. "
The Master felt little relief that he was not yet doomed to stay forever in this bright Hell. He still had so many questions, but knew he would never have any answers. The silence between them was deafening, until he realized there was silence. Finally there was a silence in his mind of eternal drumming.
Still facing the woman he began to step backwards from her. After only a few steps he found himself in a walled area. The colours seemed to fix themselves, more of a relief to him than anything.
To his disbelief he was surrounded by a wall of TARDISes. It had been a long while since he had piloted his own ship. It was sad to think that once the Time Lock set in, that no one would ever use these ships again. He ran his hands along a metallic door belonging to one of the ships, trying to feel if it was the ship for him.
Behind him he could hear screams and panic. The Time War was upon them, there was no time to be picky. He ran to the center of the hall and spun himself around. He ran up to the one he landed at and swung open the door. His very own TARDIS, escaping from the Time War.
He programmed it with great speed and little care as to what his destination was, as long as it was long and far away from this time. The TARDIS jerked about and sent the Master sailing towards the walls. He laughed and let himself fall, with a thump onto his sore arm. He still hadn't taken a moment to inspect the damage, but it would have to wait, for now he had landed.
He stood at the door just a moment, trying to decide what he would do. At least he was free of the Time Lords, free to roam the Universe…free to like The Doctor.
He took a deep breath and opened the door to a dark night. Just his style. It was muggy and did not smell at all pleasant. He smoothed out his hair, thinking he must look like a right mess. Actually, he probably looked like he fit right into this squalor. He looked back at the TARDIS to see the chameleon circuits had disguised it as a large outdoor dumpster.
"Classy." He muttered disapprovingly. He stepped forward and stepped in gum. Fantastic. And something was moving in this distance…extra fantastic.
He felt conflict if he should investigate or not. He hadn't planned to run into any creatures. The sound of trashcans banging together filled the quiet, and urged him forward. He was just too curious to walk away.
He knew he would regret it, but he walked ahead and looked down at the form.
"Dammit."