Disclaimer: This story takes place after EoT, spoilers will be mentioned here at there. Warning for slash pairing.
Of course it had all started as a dream. An awful, horrible dream that she had woken up to. The buzz of constant activity was dead, as it had been for the past two turns, leaving only the soft, residual hum of the city outside. Feuville was dying, the entire planet was dying outside her window, and all she could think of was 'How?' How had the Gammas found their only weakness, how could it be that the whole of Galtahh was facing such an unending and horrific end?
The howls. Such a normal occurrence, but this...
Everything was quiet, dead quiet in fact and it was chilling her to the bones. And such a young face, only eight or nine turns old, facing it all on her own.
'Please, don't go out there'
She picked up a torch from her bedside table, pulling back the drapes into the lit world that had only so long left.
Scratching at the door, in a flash of bright white and oily black, snarling and screaming and-
"STOP!"
Never before had he sat up as fast, skin cold with sweat, hearts racing in his chest. He found it difficult to swallow as the lights in the bedroom came up finally, dousing the room in amber light and chasing away whatever darkness had settled. And never before had he been so unnerved by such a dream, not this one. No, no, this was powerful, this was calling him.
"...nnnh. The bloody hell's goin' on..."
The Doctor frowned, turning his head to the blonde lump beside him, sprawled out on the bed like some sheet stealing octopus and shoved him slightly, only earning him a groan and a slap to the head.
"Nothing. Nightmare..."
"Wimp"
"Arse"
"Hmm" the Master sounded pleased. "S'not what you called me last night" but despite that, he shifted slightly and pulled the Doctor close against him, nuzzling up against him. "Now shut up and go back to sleep..."
The Doctor sighed and hesitantly wrapped his arms around the other man but he was distracted... Something about that dream had felt... wrong. He didn't like it and he couldn't shake it from his mind. the horrifying image of being devoured. Worse still, he couldn't shake the feeling of sheer terror that had consumed him watching that little girl... It just felt too real to be a nightmare - and he knew nightmares better than most.
The Master was sound asleep again in seconds, grip loosening on him a little, his mouth falling open. For a moment, the Doctor just watched him. It was nice watching him sleep. Relaxing...
But he sighed either way, running a hand through the other's hair, pressing a kiss to his forehead as he slipped expertly from his grip, rising from the bed and onto his feet. As always, the atmosphere was cold to combat the natural core temperature of the Time Lord system, but it was colder than usual. Must be saving on energy. Or slowly being dissolved into a black hole, but because of a certain lack of dying, he assumed that was not the case, and pulled a dressing gown around him, shuddering slightly. There was more to that nightmare than what was going for him, and he was absolutely determined to find out why, even if it meant leaving the Master and facing his grumpy wrath later. So awkwardly, he shuffled out to the console room (which was quite a walk, mind you), and stood in front of his machine, staring. Thinking.
"What was that about..." he mumbled, dropping into the jump seat in front of the navigation screen. And he knew what he was looking for, that one word resounding in his head like an echo.
"Alright you, let's see what you've got on...Gammas..." he mumbled, furiously typing into the keyboard of the vintage press, watching the screen flash him everything from Greek lettering to wavelengths to a restaurant on Magtr'dege. Nothing hit nerves though, nothing rang clear in his head that he could connect with the images still burning their way through his head, and it was eating him alive like a virus. Though it was more curiosity, he was compelled to find an answer, some way to explain this awful dream that he'd seen. The Doctor sighed, and leaned on the console.
He started slightly when he heard the Master's voice from the doorway, moody and sleepy. "You're not allowed to abandon me when I'm cuddling you," he huffed as he watched him, eyes clouded with sleep, his hair static. "Swear it's in the Shadow Proclamation or somethin'..."
The Doctor simply laughed, though sounding a bit forced, and turned to face the other. "I'm sure it is, love" he rolled his eyes and moved towards him, pulling him close and resting their foreheads together, closing his eyes tightly, thinking... Something was wrong. Nothing added up and he didn't like it, and usually when things didn't add up that meant subtraction, diving or multiplying, and math had never been his strong point. That dream had felt so... so real. It was almost as though it was planted in his mind, a call, a signal... He shivered, trying to shake the feeling and thought from his head, remaining focused at the task at hand, which was finding the origin of the dream. "Doesn't feel right, Master," he whispered as he felt the other wrap his arms tightly around him. He melted into the embrace, obviously still shaken from the ethereal encounter with mind demons.
"It was just a dream," the Master reassured him, rubbing his back soothingly, kissing his cheek. "You're fine."
"It wasn't just a dream," the Doctor retorted, feeling the irritation rising in his throat. Sighing, he pulled away from the other Time Lord and moved back to the console, trying the search again in vain. At least it felt like he was doing something then... He had to do something...
It was almost as if he'd given up hope, sitting back in the jumpseat, ignoring the mass that had joined him as he stared at the screen. Of course in his rush to figure the meaning, the creatures, time had been disregarded, and soon both had returned to their normal sleep pattern, the Master leaning on the Doctor who was leaning on the Master, and they were at peace. At least, until the TARDIS rang a bell or tooted a whistle and had sent the pair reeling and falling out of their seat and fully awake, and the Doctor fled to the screen, taking in the information.
"...it actually found something?" the Master asked, peering over his shoulder.
"Gamma Wolves" he muttered, pouring over the screen. "Ancient race of native inhabitants to the planet Galtahh. Presumed extinct, though recent sightings have prompted the planet into eternal simulated day light. Brings bad luck, kiss of death..."
"Sounds like your kinda of date" the other chided from the floor, managing to sit up properly while the Doctor shot death glares in his direction. "Look, it's probably nothing. You've been there before or something and you're just having a flashback. Isn't that what happens?"
"Only in movies, and no, I haven't. Over population doesn't permit visitors, we'd be thrown right back out. They hardly have a decent food supply as it is, a tourism trade would just invite famine in"
"Tourism? Why would anyone want to go there in the first place? It sounds boring"
The Doctor smiled, directing his attention to the screen. "Galtahh. The Planet of Lights. Everything glows there, powered by electricity created by magnetic field deep below the surface. And we are going to pay them a visit, whether they want us to or not"