The Doctor does what any mother would do
"Si'arila?" the Master said, unsure of what he had heard.
"They're gone, someone has taken my babies," the Doctor said quietly, almost too quiet for the Master to hear.
But what he did hear was the creak of the cot as the Doctor's hand bit into the wood.
"Some va'isha has taken my babies...our babies."
The Master was up and over to the cots and they were empty and his temper flared but before he could erupt, the cot under the Doctor's hand suddenly splintered and an animalistic snarl seemed to come from the depths of the Doctor.
The Master looked at him and he flinched.
The Doctor's eyes were black but there were flecks of gold flashing through them.
"I'm going to kill them."
"And we will, but we have to find them," the Master said.
"Oh, I will find them, because they forgot one thing."
"The bond...you can feel them."
"Yes."
The palace was in uproar as soldiers streamed through the palace and at their head the Lord Master and the Lord Doctor.
The soldier's kept their distance lest they get caught in the murderous rage that was emanating from the two in front.
They were used to the Lord Master's rages but what scared them was the Lord Doctor, who'd never raised his voice and seemed mild-tempered.
What they felt coming off him scared even the most hardened soldier...it was rage...pure animalistic rage.
And God help whoever it was focused on.
The midwife and her assistant slipped through the gate.
"Hurry!" the midwife said.
They began walking as fast as they could as they could hear the uproar in the palace. It was still a good few miles to the rendezvous and they knew that not to make it was to seal their fate.
So the midwife made a decision that had she known it would seal her fate.
The Doctor suddenly stopped and a look of despair crossed his face.
"I can't feel them anymore."
The Master's face darkened and he snarled to the waiting soldiers. "Tear this place apart...find them."
He turned away then and back to the Doctor, who had once again gone still and silent, but he could feel the rage coming off him and he knew that it wouldn't be pleasant when they caught them.
He placed a hand on the Doctor's face. "We will find them, Doctor."
The Doctor looked at him and the Master took in a sharp breath...the Doctor wasn't there anymore, death had taken his place.
"Oh, we'll find them and they can bury what's left of the trash that stole them."
A commotion down the corridor caught both their attentions as a soldier barged his way through the ranks of men.
"My Lords, it was the midwife and her assistant, they've been spotted outside the west gate, heading for the wastelands."
"The wastelands?"
"Vagrai, flesh peddlers," the Doctor snarled and before the Master could even think of stopping him he was off.
He turned to his generals and snarled. "Gather the troops and head for the Vagrai stronghold...raze it to the ground. Bring me Salzaar and kill everyone else. Myself and the elite guard will go after the Lord Doctor."
The Master headed off with the elite guard in tow, anxious to make up the advantage the Doctor had on him; he wanted to witness the retribution his lover would bring on the abductors of their children.
The Doctor had made good his advantage and had gone straight for the stables.
The Hasoryx that were stabled there raised their heads and began hissing when they felt the rage coming off the person that had entered.
He didn't bother with a saddle, he just threw on a bridle on one and kicked it in the belly and with a roar it shot out of its stall and out into the stable yard.
"Open the gates!" he roared and soldiers rushed to do so.
The Hasoryx bolted through the gates just as the Master and the guard burst into the stable yard.
The Master bellowed orders and soon he and the guard were following...if they'd gone by the west gate, then Hasoryx were the best things to use...swift and deadly and surefooted out in the wastelands.
He urged his mount to go faster, his thirst for vengeance now in full flow.
The Doctor kicked his mount once more as it powered its way up a large hill and he pulled it up sharply.
The moons were starting to rise and he could now see across the rugged landscape that was the wastelands.
At first he saw nothing but a gust of wind caused the Hasoryx to shift suddenly and sniff the air.
He looked in the same direction and in the distance he saw them.
With a snarl that matched his mount, he kicked it into action and galloped down the hill.
The Hasoryx made short work of catching the fleeing figures and the Doctor hauled it to a halt in front of the now terrified women.
But the first thing he noticed is that their arms were empty.
"Where are they!" he roared.
The two women said nothing so he dismounted and moved towards the women and reached for the nearest, the midwife's assistant.
He grabbed her by the throat and began squeezing.
"Where are my children?"
"You shall not find them!" the midwife shouted and with a cry lunged for him, a dagger glinting in the moonlight.
He snarled and without a second thought snapped the assistant's neck and dropped her like she was piece of garbage and met the midwife head on.
It was not hard to overpower her; he could have stopped a herd of mammoth at this moment.
He cared not that he crushed her wrist as he grabbed her arm and wrested the dagger from and as he did he saw the tattoo on her arm.
He narrowed his eyes. "You're a Vagrai, where are my children?"
"If I show you, will you spare my life?"
He blinked. "Spare your life...you took my children. I could rip it from your mind, why should I spare your life?"
"Because you will need me to show you the exact place. You do not know the wasteland."
The Master pulled his mount up as they came upon the body of the assistant, her neck at that angle that showed her means of death.
"He's found them, but where are they?"
"There are tracks going to the east, my Lord!" one of the guards called. "One Hasoryx and two people."
The whole group turned and this time set of at a steady pace, following the tracks, deeper into the wasteland.
The Doctor heard them before he could see them and shoved the midwife forward.
He removed the bridle from his mount and cut the reins and used them to bind the midwife's wrists and ankles.
He moved forward towards a rocky outcrop and the crying became louder. It was coming from a small opening in the outcrop and he stepped inside.
The cave was small and smelt of an animal...a Sorssax; they'd hid his children in the den of a notorious child killer.
Then he saw a tiny figure and raced over and found Tejhan...he was shivering and cried even harder when he saw his mother, but where was Ashena?
He scooped up Tejhan who fell quiet when he felt the warmth of his body as if knowing he needed to be quiet.
Fear gripped his hearts...had she been devoured already? Then he heard it, the smallest of whimpers.
He moved further into the den and he heard another whimper, but it wasn't that which made him turn; it was the growl of the occupant of the den...and it had its paw resting on top of Ashena.
He slowly backed away and placed Tejhan in the safest place he could find and he thanked Rassilon he'd taken the dagger from the midwife; she was dead when he'd rescued Ashena.
He moved forward again, crouching low, eyes never leaving the green eyes of the Sorssax.
It seemed to sense his intent and with a growl it unsheathed its claws partly and Ashena let out a squeal of pain.
And that did it, with a snarl to match any Sorssax he moved and the Sorssax moved too.
The Master saw him first and he urged his mount forward.
The first thing he saw was the blood...he was covered in it and then he saw one small figure on the sand and as he got closer he saw it was Tejhan who was wailing.
Then he saw that his lover was holding another tiny figure...Ashena and she was not moving and she was covered in blood.
"Please, no," he whispered and threw himself off his mount and approached.
"Si'arila?" he said.
"I was too late," the Doctor said, his voice sounding hollow.
It was then that Ashena decided to cry but the Doctor didn't seem to notice.
"Too late."
The Master moved closer.
"Let me take her," he said gently and took her from him; not that he noticed.
The Master stood up and let out a sigh of relief, there was a set of claw holes on her body but they weren't deep.
"Call the shuttle and make sure that bitch gets back to the palace."
He reluctantly handed Ashena to one of the guards and moved back to the Doctor. He knelt down and said carefully.
"She is not dead, you were no too late. There's nothing with claws that can match a mother protecting their child. Efi Si'arila."
The sound of the shuttle broke the silence.
"Come on, let's get you back to the palace, your babies need you."
The woman who had called the meeting read the report; whoever their rival had been had failed.
She sighed, there was no choice now. She looked at the figure in front of her.
"Bring them here, bring me Torchwood."
Author's Note:
Translation.
va'isha- bastard
efi- easy
Si'arila- beloved