Payback

Author Note: This is the Sequel to Never Alone and sees a future version of the Doctor in his Fourteenth regeneration, who has now left with Tina, looking forward to a happy future, because he assumes 'most of my enemies are long dead'. But after the Tardis comes under attack, he soon comes to realise that one of his enemies are very much alive – Missy has regenerated, once more reverting to male form – and wearing a face from the past – the face of the Master he battled in his Tenth lifetime...

Summary:

Sequel to Never Alone. The Doctor, now in his Fourteenth regeneration, has left Earth and the year 2016 far behind as they leave in the Tardis and he promises to show Tina all of time and space. But their happiness is short lived when the Tardis comes under attack – proving the Doctor wrong after he had claimed to Tina that they ought to be safe because most of his enemies are long dead...

After believing to have fought off an invisible attack on his ship, the Doctor out runs the unseen enemy and lands the Tardis on a peaceful, unspoilt planet where he assures Tina they will be quite safe, although Tina is more concerned that the Doctor has a seemingly minor injury that he can't account for, and since the hostile encounter, has started to act strangely, suffering nightmares and hallucinating, and talking of an old enemy returning from the dead.

When the Tardis is attacked for a second time and the scans reveal nothing, the Doctor once again takes the ship into deep space, believing nothing can possibly follow – but then his worst fears are proved right when the face from his nightmares finally enters into reality as the Tardis is taken over by the Master – who has regenerated since his life as Missy, and has chosen to once more use the face of Harold Saxon. As the Master takes the Doctor and Tina prisoner, can the Doctor find a way to defeat his old enemy once and for all, or will the Master, who sees this as the ultimate revenge, win this final battle?

Rated: M

Warnings: Some violence, some scenes and discussions of an adult nature, dark intense plot and some scenes of a sexual/romantic nature. A rollercoaster of a story, my usual standard for those who know my fics.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but passion for this fandom!

Chapter 1

"All of time and space!" the Doctor had said, and then he had snapped his fingers and the doors had closed and the blue box had taken off, rushing out into the vastness of time and space, out into the dark wilderness where the stairs glittered and the depth of the darkness was endless.

Tina had laughed as he hit a button and a viewing screen had opened giving a wide view of space peppered by stars. Then he looked to her and his dark gaze reflected starlight as it shone into the console room.

"This is it," he said as he stepped closer to her, "You and me, and all of time and space. We have a whole universe to enjoy and I want to show you the beauty and wonder of it all."

Tina smiled and the starlight made the faint lines around her eyes seem to lift away.

"I'm already feeling enough wonder when I look in your eyes,"she replied, "I get it now, I can feel it even more – all that eternity out there, you're a part of it."

That deep and age old look of wisdom faded as his eyes sparkled playfully.

"But I don't look old as time?"

She laughed.

"Of course not!"

He ran his hand through perfect hair.

"And I'm looking okay considering this is regeneration number fourteen?"

"You know you look fantastic!"

He smiled.

"And you still look as beautiful as you did on the day I first saw you," he said softly, then he pulled her close as they stood framed by the view of starlight, and they shared a kiss that lingered. Then he broke off from their kiss and glanced to her bags.

"This way,"he said, turning for the corridor.

The corridor was long and winding and as she looked ahead, more of it stretched on.

"Where are we going?" Tina said, and her voice echoed in the vastness of the corridor.

"We're here," the Doctor replied, and he stopped at a nearby door and turned the handle. The door swung open and she looked inside, seeing a large room with soft lighting that had dimmed from many spotlights on the ceiling, the walls were covered with panelled wood that seemed very old, and were covered with swirled carvings that looked intricate in design. The furniture was all dark ebony wood, and also carved intricately. There was a tall wardrobe over one side of the room and a smaller one beside it, a dressing table and a padded sofa that looked antique.

On the other side of the room was a fireplace where a fire burned low, and the wall around the large fireplace was also covered with carvings – but these were metallic and blended into a wall that was covered with paper that looked decidedly gothic. Next to the fire place was a large rug that covered most of the floor, and close by was a row of book cases and an old leather recliner armchair.

But the area near the fireplace was not what drew her attention – over the other side of the vast room was a majestic four poster bed, she hadn't seen the likes of it since a trip to a stately home many years before, and in the firelight it looked as if this place had stayed this way for centuries.

"Wow," she said, looking about the place again as she turned to a nearby table and set down her bags and her camera, "This place is like something out of a mansion! Is this room where you live?"

"This is just the bedroom," he replied, "There's a door over there that leads to the en suite bathroom, too."

She looked at him in surprise.

"Don't tell me the bathroom is as big as a tennis court!"

He smiled.

"It's white marble – and I've got a jacuzzi!"

She smiled too.

"I'm getting used to this. I suppose this place is even bigger than I first thought, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a swimming pool on this ship somewhere."

"There is!" he exclaimed, "And a library, and an orchard and a garden...it's got everything!"

"You'll have to give me a guided tour," she said, "I need to see more."

And she stepped closer, and his smile faded as the look in his eyes deepened and all trace of amusement left him. He took hold of her hand.

"Come with me," he said quietly, and led her over to the bed.

As they sat there together and the firelight reflected, the Doctor looked into her eyes, and she looked back at him, getting lost in that feeling that deep in his dark gaze, she felt as if she could be touching the sense of agelessness that he reflected. Although this new regeneration was much younger than the man she had first met, one look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know – he really was as old as time itself.

"You can feel it, my connection with time," he said to her.

"Yes I can," she replied, and she reached out and placed her hand on his cheek, and for a moment neither spoke as their gaze locked. Then he leaned in closer and placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her in as their lips touched.

He didn't break off from their kiss as she ran her fingers through his hair and he stripped off his jacket and let it fall to the floor, then he loosened his tie and slipped it off as she opened the buttons on his shirt and ran a path of kisses down his slender, firm body.

Tina caught her breath as he pulled her down on to the softness of the bed, and as she kicked off her shoes and stripped off her clothing, he turned on his side and gave his belt a tug, unbuckling it with impatience.

As he rolled on top of her, he took hold of her hands and pinned them gently down as he looked into her eyes, and in that moment she swore she saw time itself burning in his eyes. Then he kissed her cheek and his lips brushed against her hair as he whispered into her ear softly:

"I've lived many lifetimes, I've known many loves, and I've also known loss. I will not lose you, Tina. I can't change the fact that you're human with one lifetime but I promise, you will be with me for the rest of your days."

"That's good enough for me," she said, and then he took her in his arms, and as she closed her eyes, she felt as if she was being held by time itself.

Much later, after the fire had burned out and stood dark and the lights had brightened a little, the sheets were creased and barely wrapped about them as they lay together, and Tina laughed as the Doctor continued to relate a tale that, until now, had seemed too dark to consider sharing:

..."So after all those years of capture, I was free, I had my Tardis back and the Cyber Fleet vessel went boom behind me...and I just walked off in search of a mirror, because I'd just regenerated!"

"And you didn't know who you were until you looked?"

He laughed.

"I was rather happy when I did see my reflection...I think..." playfulness sparkled in his eyes once more, "What do you think, Tina?"and he pushed the covers down to his waist and she ran her hand up his body, letting it rest on the centre of his chest where she felt the beat of his twin hearts.

"I definitely like it!"she promised him, and then he kissed her.

"I'm glad you get it,"he said as his smile faded, "It's the sort of thing I once thought only another Time Lord would understand...regeneration, change. Going from one body to the next, I die and another man takes over. But I'm planning on keeping this body for a long time. I don't want to think about battles and loss...I've had too much of that."

Suddenly his mood had darkened, and it reflected in his eyes.

"I've lost lives in the past because of enemies," he said, "I don't want to lose this one."

Tina turned on to her side and took hold of his hand as she looked into his eyes.

"So keep away from enemies."

Hearing her say that lightened his mood at once.

"I was referring to a very long time ago," he replied, "All my enemies are dead now – well, most of them. I don't think there's anyone left who bears a grudge towards me."

"Good," she replied, "because if they did, they'd have me to deal with."

The Doctor pulled her closer.

"Don't worry, Tina" he said softly, "My days of fighting are over. The universe is a peaceful place now, I have no one left to worry about."

And she smiled as she heard those words, then closed her eyes and slept for hours in the Doctor's arms.

Much later they were back in the console room, and Tina stood and watched as the Doctor ran his hand thoughtfully over the controls.

"Where to first?" he asked, and then he looked up from the console and met her gaze, "The past, or the future? We can go anywhere."

She thought about it and started to smile.

"Can we go back to the Eighties again? I could go back as I am now and really enjoy myself – with you."

"It doesn't work that way," he replied, "I can't risk travelling so close to the year I met you in my former life, it could endanger the timeline. Remember, there's another version of you back there – and there are certain rules, the timeline has to be protected."

Disappointment reflected in her eyes.

"But I thought you said we could go anywhere?"

"We can!" he said excitedly, "Anywhere in the universe, forget earth for a while, Tina – we have a whole universe to explore!"

"You choose," she said.

He turned a dial and threw a lever.

"No, I just let the Tardis decide!" he announced, and as the blue box sped through a whirling vortex she gave a gasp and looked at the screen in wonder. She had reached for his hand without realising it, and he held on to it as she took in the beauty of the time vortex.

"It's amazing!" she said.

"I know," the Doctor replied, "Time is beautiful."

And as they stood there watching the journey through the vortex, they looked at each other and smiled as their hands remained linked.

"This is wonderful." Tina said.

"And this is how life will be from now on, " he replied, "Wonderful..."

And the Tardis jolted violently, tearing their linked hands free from a shared grip as the Doctor fell against the console and Tina was knocked to the floor.

She looked up in terror to see the whole room shuddering, the sight of it blurring as the walls shook and warped.

"Doctor?" she said in alarm, and sat up as the floor shook and the walls trembled again.

He was already clinging to the console as the ship shuddered and lurched violently, bouncing off the side of the vortex and spinning out of control. Now the sight on the screen was terrifying as the tunnel rushed violently onwards and the Tardis bounced about like a ball bearing in a pinball machine.

The Doctor looked to the screen then down at the controls as he heard Tina call him again.

"We're under attack!" he called back to her as the ship began to groan as the shuddering increased. He hit some controls and looked to a monitor, and his dark eyes clouded with confusion.

"What?" he said, "This can't be right..."

And the shuddering stopped, - and so did the Tardis.

He looked to the screen again as Tina got to her feet.

"Impossible..." he whispered.

"What's happened?" she asked as she joined him.

He was still looking to the screen, then he turned away and faced her, wondering if he ought to explain or simply apologise for dragging her into a situation that never could have been predicted.

"The scanner says there is nothing out there. But something just took down our shields and locked on to us and we have stopped in the middle of the Time Vortex. This ought to be impossible."

"What do we do?" she asked.

Then the Tardis doors crashed open, and as she saw nothing but the vortex swirling beyond, Tina gave a shriek as she looked in horror at the sight of it.

"The enemy ship is cloaked and has a shield. We're not going to die," the Doctor said quickly, and then he looked about the room, seeing nothing as again, the scanner on the console told him nothing was there.

"Have you got a gun?"

She had spoken breathlessly, looking to him with fear in her eyes.

"I have a sonic screwdriver."

"I think we need more than that, Doctor!" Tina exclaimed, and she too looked about the room, searching for a weapon but seeing nothing of use.

"We need a gun or something -"

"Shh!"

She fell silent, listening as the Doctor looked intently to the open doors.

"What is this?" he whispered under his breath, but no sound could be heard as the open doors showed nothing but a view of the vortex.

The Tardis creaked and groaned in protest at being held in the vice like grip of the invisible enemy ship, and then as sparks began to fly from the console and the stink of burning wiring filled the air the Doctor lunged forward, trying to turn off active controls that were being attacked by something he couldn't see. As he turned a dial and leant over to reach for a lever, Tina gave a gasp.

"I think something just -"

A circuit exploded on the console and the Doctor was thrown backwards, something went pop and stung at his temple as he felt a pressure about his throat, then he hit the floor and blinked away burring vision as the Tardis shuddered again, and the doors slammed shut.

"Doctor?" Tina was at his side, and he was sure she had said his name several times before he realised she was there.

"I'm fine," he said, and grabbed her hand, thankful for her help as he got up from the floor.

He leant against the console for a moment, getting his breath back, then he quickly worked some controls and breathed a relieved sigh to see lights coming back on.

"I have no idea what just happened," he said, "But it's let go of us and it won't be catching us again!"

And he threw a lever and hit buttons. The Tardis began to speed through the vortex, rushing along so fast the view outside became a dizzying blur of colour.

"They won't catch us now," the Doctor said.

"You're bleeding," Tina told him. He saw concern in her eyes, and reached up and touched the place on his temple where he had felt a small, sharp pain.

He brushed away the blood on his fingertips and dismissed it.

"It's nothing, I must have hit my head when we stalled."

Then he turned his attention back to the controls, and the Tardis left the vortex, drifting once more in open space where stars blazed against inky night.

"I'm sorry if that scared you," he said as he looked to Tina and saw she was not yet over the shock, "Maybe I was wrong when I said my enemies are dead. They are probably dead. But that doesn't mean we won't encounter hostile life forms occasionally."

"You mean it wanted to kill us? How can you be sure its really gone now?"

He frowned as he looked to the monitor – again, it was stating clearly that there was nothing unusual or uninvited on board the ship.

"I can't even tell what attacked us," he said, "It was cloaked so well even the Tardis scanner couldn't find it...the Tardis couldn't understand it? That can't be right..."

Then he felt an ache and put his hand to his temple.

"We should be quite safe where we are now, I'm going for a lie down."

As the Doctor lay on his bed on top of the covers, he closed his eyes and said no thank you as Tina hovered nearby and anxiously asked if he needed painkillers.

"It was nothing, just a glancing blow...I must have hit my head on the console,"he told her.

"But you didn't," she said, and he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"I must have done!"

She sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I felt something brush past me...like a person...then as the console blew and you got thrown back... you didn't."

He wanted to sit up, but his head was still aching.

"What do you mean, Tina?"

She thought about it, recalling what she had seen – the Doctor thrown back, and freezing there for a moment, as if held by an unseen force as something punched a hole in his temple...

"You kind of fell back and froze there...then there was this tiny hole and a trickle of blood. That's when you fell to the floor."

"I couldn't have hit my head on nothing!"

"Maybe something attacked you. Something invisible...like...a ghost?"

He gave a sigh, this conversation was reminding him of one he had shared with her two lifetimes back...

"Tina, there are no ghosts! My theory on this is, we must have run into an alien vessel in the vortex and it decided to board us and investigate. I have no clue who or what they were or why they did it – but the universe is vast and even I don't know of every species out there."

Then he closed his eyes again.

"Let me rest," he said to her, "I just need to get over this headache and I'll be fine."

She leant over him.

"Where's the kitchen?"

"Two doors away."

"I'll find it," she replied, and then she kissed his cheek and left the room.

Now he was alone, the Doctor gave a sigh as the light dimmed and eased his headache. Then as he rested and began to drift off into a deep sleep, every ache from the bone jarring collision with the unseen vessel left his body as his ability to heal rapidly kicked in, and all that remained behind was a slight ache at his temple, where he had a tiny wound that seemed insignificant, yet he could not account for it.

Then as he drifted deeper into a peaceful sleep, something broke through that peace. As laughter drifted closer and closer and became louder, the Doctor saw the face of an old enemy as he leaned in close, his eyes blazing with malice. Then the laughter stopped, and he spoke darkly:

"Fourteen lifetimes, Doctor? You should have been dead long ago!"

The Doctor gave a gasp and sat up sharply, blinking away sleep as in his head, the face remained close, there in his mind's eye, as he heard the voice clearly, a voice he thought he would never hear again:

"There you are...new face, new lifetime...And here am I, new regeneration with an old favourite face of mine...Here's the game plan, Doctor: This is personal. I'm going to destroy your life and everything you hold dear. I'm everywhere now. What's wrong, not happy to see me? You'll be seeing so much more of me soon. This is going to be a great reunion..." then his voice darkened further as he added, "See you very soon, old man!"

The Doctor blinked and the image was gone. He drew in a shocked breath as his face paled and he looked about the room, but saw nothing out of place and heard only the familiar hum that ran through the Tardis.

"It can't be...you're dead, you must be dead!" he said in hushed voice as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

It couldn't be true:

He had just seen the Master, not Missy but once again the Master, and once more, he was wearing the familiar face of Harold Saxon...