CHAPTER FOUR

A/N: So Davin, and the Parents, have arrived in the story! Will they be able to stop the Child's latest plan, particularly for the Tenth Doctor, and the female Master from LOTTL? Can the good guys get to the source and stop the mysterious Child before it is too late for the last Doctor?

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The Child stared at his latest acquisition. He had set his retrieve button to bring yet another aspect of the Master, though this one was feminine. His nose wrinkled in disgust.

"A girl!" The child wailed to the Nanny Bot. "Why does the Doctor surround himself with girls most of the time? Females are so…disgusting!"

"Females are necessary for a variety of reasons…for one, a continuation of human and humanoid species. For another…they seem to be more interesting to the male of the species," the Nanny Bot explained.

The Child looked at the pinstriped Tenth Doctor, and he looked at the female Master, asking the Nanny Bot, "Can a Time Lord who was male regenerate as a female?"

The Nanny Bot searched her computer banks before replying. "Theoretically, it is possible…however, that is not what occurred with this Master." She pointed to the female Master. "Apparently, he died from a gunshot wound in the body before this one. His spirit possessed a ring which a woman picked up at the site of his cremation, and he is occupying this female's body for a time."

"Really?" the Child asked excitedly, mischief dancing in his eyes. "I have an idea." The boy stared at the form of the Tenth Doctor, then at the female Master once again.

The Tenth Doctor yawned as if waking from a long sleep as he found himself in a gigantic ball room. He looked around, trying to investigate his surroundings, when all of a sudden, a petite, blonde female materialized in front of him. His Time Lord senses recognized her instantly.

"So," the Tenth Doctor accused, "you're the one who's behind this, Koschei!" He appraised the female Master as he said, "I see you've gone back to body stealing again, haven't you?"

The female Master said nothing, peering at him with hatred in her eyes. He angrily advanced on her, snarling, "What have you done with my companion? Where is Martha?"

The Master's response was to roll her eyes. She said, "Theta, for once, I am as much in the dark as you are! I am not responsible for this!"

"Now, why don't I believe you?" the Tenth Doctor asked coldly.

"I don't give a rat's bum what you believe," the Master replied, "I am telling the truth. I don't know where Martha Jones is, and if I did, you don't think that for one moment, I'd tell you, do you?"

The Time Lords' ears perked up as they heard music piping into the ball room. As much as he hated to admit that the Master might be telling the truth, the Doctor sighed, saying, "We'd better find out what's going on!"

The music sounded like something out of a silent movie. Before he could make a single move, the Tenth Doctor found his legs moving to the music in perfect rhythm. The Master stared at the Time Lord, wondering if he'd finally gone insane.

"Doctor…" the Master said incredulously, "are you dancing?"

The Doctor's arms and legs moved wildly, going this way and that, as he said, "I appear to be! I can't stop it! It's as though my arm and leg muscles have a will of their own!"

Both Time Lords grew pensive as they heard child like laughter coming from all around them. The Tenth Doctor continued to spin, twirl, and pirouette for the omnipotent boy who controlled him.

In the room where the view screen was, the Child was clapping, saying, "Not bad, eh, TC?"

"Yes, but Master, don't you think the Doctor needs a dance partner?" the Nanny Bot pointed out.

"Why not?" the Child agreed. He snapped his fingers. In the ball room, the Master's short red dress switched instantly to a long, red gown, her hair in falling in soft waves down her back. She moved closer to the Doctor, grabbing his arms. Suddenly, the Doctor found himself leading the Master in a waltz, his pinstripes changing to a tuxedo.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" the Master shrieked at the top of her voice. She executed a perfect dance move, snarling, "Someone has a very sick sense of humor!"

"Sicker than yours?" the Tenth Doctor rejoined, dipping the Master.

The evil Time Lord snapped, her red lips curling into a horrible sneer. "If anyone ever gets wind of this, I'm finished as a credible villain!" The Doctor snorted in response, lifting the Master perfectly. He placed the Arch villain down, and they swayed in a hula like move as the music switched to a Hawaiian tune.

She and her old enemy continued gyrating to several different types of dance tunes, but when the music finally ended, both were returned to their cages, completely frozen.

"What is wrong, Master?" the Nanny Bot asked as the Child looked depressed.

"I'm bored…again!" the Child said. "I want another Doctor to play with, and gaze at." The Child set his view screen, coming up with an image of the Sixth Doctor, and his companion, Peri Brown.

"Ooohhh!" the Child squealed. "This one's fat and cuddly! He'd make a good teddy bear. I always wanted one of my very own…and she…" he said, staring at Peri, "would be a great Kewpie doll, like Raggedy Ann, or something!"

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The Sixth Doctor strapped Peri in, then set about trying to discern what was making the TARDIS lurch like it just had.

"Is it one of those space storms you keep going on about, Doctor?" Peri asked, her American accent becoming more pronounced.

"No, my dear Peri, it is NOT one of those types of storms!" the Doctor snapped, using anger to override his fear. "In fact, there is no type of interference of any kind! There is nothing going on out there…at least as far as the TARDIS' databanks can tell!"

Peri felt strange. She started looking down at her legs. Were they covered in blue and white striped socks? Was she wearing black shoes, where before, she had been wearing sneakers? The Sixth Doctor glanced back at his companion, then cried, perplexed, "Peri…your clothes!" Peri looked down, and saw that her shorts and top had changed to a polka dotted dress—blue with white dots. Her hands were covered with gloves, and as she felt her face, she saw some red paint come off in her hands. She felt her hair, which, for the moment, felt the same. She breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt herself growing…thin, as if her whole body was changing.

"Doctor…what?" Peri cried, astonished. She then disappeared, hearing the Sixth Doctor's cries.

"PERI!" The Sixth Doctor screamed. He tried to calculate Peri's location, but felt strange himself. He looked down at his hands…were they covered with…fur? The fur felt like the vinyl or felt tipped fur on a toy teddy bear. The Sixth Doctor disappeared, and then found himself in a massive bedroom, with a gigantic bed. The bed had toys on it of every description, like something out of the Disney movie Toy Story, but the toys appeared to be almost…real. The Sixth Doctor's eyes spied a mirror. He tried walking normally, but found he could only waddle to it. Staring at his image in the mirror, the Sixth Doctor's eyes grew wide with horror at what he saw.

In the glass, where he expected to see the image of his normal, curly blond haired self, he saw a chubby bear several inches shorter than his normal height, wearing a coat of many colors with a cat pin on its lapel reflected in it. His blue eyes now looked like buttons, and his lips were sewn on in a bow like expression. He waddled away from the mirror, burying his face in his hands (which were now paws) as much as he was able.