A/N: I watched Utopia last night and woke up with this ficlet in my head.
Spoilers: Up through Utopia
It had to be him. Of everyone I thought had died, it had to be him who survived the inferno. It makes sense; how many times before had I witnessed him cheat death? Of course it was him. But I didn't want it to be. When she told me about the watch, I tried to think of everyone else who could possibly have escaped, everyone whom I had not personally seen die. There was quite a list, but I knew, just knew, in the pit of my stomach, that it was him.
I don't know why I told him not to open the watch. I already knew he had; I could sense him. For years I'd been praying to feel the presence of another, and now that I had, I prayed for it to go away. So I screamed a warning that would do no good, because I had to scream. My hearts were racing, from adrenaline, panic, and pure fear. I hadn't felt fear like that in a while.
He went into my ship. I screamed, threw myself at the door, but he kept me out. No, my hearts screamed, no, not her, not my ship, please! All the things he'd ruined and taken away through the years...he couldn't take her too. He couldn't. I needed her! But he took her, slipped into time with her, left me standing there. He taunted me before he left. He always does that. "Use my name," he said. Did he know I'd figured out who he was? Of course he knew. It was him. He knows me better than anyone.
Him. My foil. My rival. My nemesis.
The Master.