Chapter 2

Life Goes On

Danica curled up in a ball in the far corner of the bathroom attached to the bedroom, trying not to listen to her father attack Lucy. She could still feel the tingling on her cheek where Lucy had slapped her. It was the first time Lucy had gotten physical with her. Sure, she called Danica names, but she had never laid a finger on her, too afraid of what the Master might do.

This time, however, Lucy had lost it.

Danica didn't know why, but Lucy had come storming into the room and has attacked the first thing she saw.

Her.

Now, Lucy was facing the consequences.

Then, the noise stopped, all except Lucy's small whimper. The door opened and her father came in and took Danica into his arms.

"Shhh…" He soothed. "It's alright. She'll never lay a hand on you ever again."

Danica nodded, trying to wipe away her tears. The Master released her and she said, "I'm gonna go on a walk."

The Master nodded and let her, but soon after called a servant to follow her and tell him where she went.

She has been going on walks quite often recently. He wanted to know what she did during these "walks".

Not too long after, the servant came back and showed him a door he didn't remember. He had designed the place, so he must have put it there, he just didn't remember where it went. He thought about it, delving deep into his mind, and finally remembered.

Jack Harkness's cell.

The Master had waited until he was sure Danica has left before entering through the main door to Jack's cell.

"I see you've been chatting with Danica." He stated.

Jack froze for a second, before saying: "I don't know who you're talking about."

The Master glared at Jack. "I know you know her. I know she's been in here. What have you told her? Stories of your little Doctor?"

"Nothing." Jack said. "We just talk."

The Master pulled out his laser screwdriver and shot him dead, then stood, waiting, for him to come back to life.

When Jack came back with a gasp, he approached him.

"What. Have. You. Told. Her?" He growled.

"Nothing." Jack said, once again. "We just talk. She doesn't like it when you and your wife fight. I calm her down."

The Master glared at him. Calming her down was his job, not this freak of nature. In a rage, he shot Jack once more and left. He would do more to the freak, he was sure, but not tonight. Tonight, he would get rid of the door.

With the use of his laser screwdriver, he sealed the door, never to be opened again. He walked back to his room and smiled at seeing that Lucy had either woken up or been moved.

At least she was gone.

The Master laid by his daughter's side as she slept and he thought over his plans. Everything was going perfect so far. Russia was completely set up, and so were a few other countries.

"I have the world for you, my love," he whispered to the sleeping child next to him, "but soon, I will give you the universe. I promise, my darling. I promise. And you will feel no more harm."

He slowly got up and started to walk towards his bridge, stopping by Jack's cell to torture him more.

Oh, how he loved to do that. The man who had comforted his daughter. His! Well, he had showed that freak of nature his lesson, and there was still so much more to teach. He danced out onto his bridge, looking forward to torturing the Doctor more. He had figured out what the Toclafane were, and it killed him.

Speaking of the Toclafane, he should probably badly introduce Danica to them. At least one or two. They would tell the others. Just to make sure she was safe from them mistaking her as an intruder. He was surprised she hadn't run into one yet.

"Come on, Doctor," he whined at his old enemy, "give me some response. Anything!"

He frowned when the Doctor did nothing, then decided to try at a different angle. His one, true weak spot.

His companions.

"I was torturing Jack earlier. I absolutely love to hear him scream before he dies. Then, he comes back so I can do it all again!" He said with the glee of a child on Christmas morning.

The Doctor glared at him.

"Don't touch him." He rasped out.

The Master waved his comment aside.

"Believe it or not, but he actually deserves what he's getting."

He started to dance around more, doing what he could to torture the Doctor.

He was so caught up in this, however, that he missed the pitter-patter of small footsteps.

"Daddy?" A small voice asked, stopping the Master in his tracks and gaining the attention of the Doctor. From what he knew, there were no children on the Valiant.

The Master went over to her as fast as he could, trying to keep the Doctor from seeing her, but the damage was already done. The girl's striking red hair reminded him of a very old companion of his, Cinder.* Her blue eyes shared many traits of some of his other regenerations. One of his most recent was the one just before his current one. The one with the big ears.

"Why are you here, my love?" The Master asked her quietly.

"Lucy came back to the room. She looked angry, and I got scared." She replied, her tone hushed, like her father's.

The Master took her in his arms and carried her out of the room. This was not before, however, she had peeked her head over her father's shoulder, seen the older Doctor, and gave him a wave. He gave her a wave back before they had left the room.

Perhaps, the Doctor pondered, the child wasn't gonna harm his plan, but maybe help it. If, that is, he got the chance to talk to her.

He would come up with something. Eventually.

The Master had led her to a place he knew she would like.

With a dramatic flourish, he opened the doors and said, "Welcome, my love, to my library."

Danica gasped, taking in the sheer size of it. It looked bigger than she had ever seen.

"I can read all these books?" She asked.

The Master nodded. "Any of them you want. All of them, if you truly want to."

She bound into the cavernous room after he said that and immediately went to work. The first book she picked up was "Jumanji". She quickly devoured it. After that, she read 3… 5… 10… 20 books. She had soon built up a stack around her. She did realise it was far past the time she was to go to bed, but she was so enraptured in her current book, she didn't really care. Before she knew it, she was out cold.

When she woke up, she woke up with a gasp. She could feel the tears falling down her cheeks, but she didn't care. She ran out of the library, still clutching her most recent book, and just ran. She didn't realise she had reached the bridge until the old man from before asked, "What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath, her blue eyes - full of tears - fearfully looked up at him. She glanced back at the ground quickly, watching her right big-toe trace patterns on the metal floor, which was cool to the touch.

"I was told not to talk to you." She said, barely above a whisper.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath once more, then looked up at him with confusion.

"You're scared," she said, "but why? Are you scared of me?"

He shook his head, looking ever so tired.

"No, I'm not. I'm scared of what might become of you. The Master is a bad man, and-"

"Not he's not!" She shrieked, looking at him as if he had spoken blasphemy. "Why does everyone say he's not good?"

The man looked at her, and felt his hearts breaking. She felt this, too, through her empathy. It had developed recently, within the last week or so.

"Mister, why are you sad?" She asked, childlike innocence in her tone.

The man smiled at her. It was forced, but it was a smile.

"I'm not sad," he said, "I only wish you weren't here. The Master's gonna hurt a lot of people - more than he already has - and I don't want you to watch."

He shook his head.

"I never caught your name," he said, "I'm the Doctor."

"Danica." She said.

The Doctor started up a conversation with her, about all the places he's visited and about all his companions, and she was pulled in from the start. They talked till the sun started to rise. She carefully slipped back to the bedroom, and fell asleep once more in the Master's arms.

Hi! Thanks for reading Chapter 2. Sorry it was a little bit shorter than the last chapter. Next chapter, I'm moving on to canon events, aka "The Last of the Time Lords". (I think that's right. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry.)

*Cinder was the companion of the War Doctor in at least one Prose. (Or PROSE. I'm not entirely sure which it is.) look her up on the wiki.

BowtiesDeerstalkers: Thank you SO much. You have no idea how much your review meant to me. Your review might not have critiqued my story, but it encouraged me to write, and you inspired my devious plan on what the Master did to Jack. At first, I honestly wanted him to find out on the last day of the Year That Never Was, but because of your review, I sorta wanted to have the Master torture him, because, despite being a loving father, he's still a sadistic bastard. (Sorry about anyone who doesn't like strong language. It's the only word that truly encompasses his asshole-ness.) Have a virtual jammy dodger. → (o)

I got a lot of follows and favorites, but it'll you could just take maybe a minute out of your day and review, it would make me really happy. I might even post quicker.

Thank you to all who read this story. It means a lot to me. I'm sorry, I'm getting really sappy. But, anyway, I'm sorry for taking tim out of your day.

Bye,

Other*