Obligatory Disclaimer: So, I don't own Doctor Who. It belongs to the brilliant minds who created it, and I love them everyday for it. I do own the Quis, the Aquincum, and Keara.

As Always, Thanks To:

SawManiac211, Brownbug, Lexy Summers, Fionn Rose, Karole Fiction, Superwhoavegelock. PromiseMeCourage, and lynn2008 for the favorites, following, and reviewing!

Enjoy.

───────────────┤Silentium├───────────────

Chapter Six:

Beaten, Hungry, Tired

"Have I finally died?"

She barely got the words out, groggy whispers only to reassure herself she was actually alive. She knew she was awake, fully aware that she was now as conscious as she was going to be. But she still had to force her eyes to open. One eye was swollen shut anyhow, and light barely seeped through.

There was a humming in the background, so low at first that she barely noticed, and grew louder with each passing second. The heartbeat in her eyes had returned with full force, thumping so hard that it hurt to even shift her line of vision.

Keara Ashland's headache worse than ever before.

She could feel her arms twitching lightly from time to time, her legs throbbing in pain. Her body was weakly sprawled across the cold floor. She felt even worse than before now that it had registered in her mind just how truly damage her body was.

Forcing her body to move, Keara slowly sat up. Her skin crawled, it felt as though she were on fire. Her tongue danced along her teeth out of instinct. The taste almost made her smile. Almost. There was a film of blood there, her mouth so dry that it came off in flakes that barely dissolved on her tongue.

She glanced around the room. It was different than the church that she last remembered being in. This room was large, much more so that even the diminutive church that they had been in before. The walls were a scorched metallic color, something that looked like it had been torn out of the wild imagination of a sci-fi writer. The buzzing noise had become so much louder.

Keara glanced up. Something was causing her eyes to ache, and her temples to throb. Lights. God awful, bright lights. Artificial. That would explain the buzzing, she thought somberly to herself as she inhaled deeply.

She gagged.

"What is that horrific smell?" She exclaimed, before heaving once more. Truthfully, she was thankful that she had nothing in her stomach as it would have been on the ground.

"Its your arm."

The young woman opened her eyes and looked around. Leaning against the wall behind her was the Master, narrowing his eyes down at her. His eyes, though blank and emotionless, trailed over her carefully, coming to rest on her left arm. Keara followed his line of vision, her eyes instantly widening at the sight. It was black. As black as the Master had been when she and the others had originally found him.

"Trying to get a tan," There was no humor in his voice, "It doesn't suit you, pet."

"What happened?" Keara gasped, clutching the arm to her side. It hurt, but not as badly as it should have. The nerves were already damage, that much she knew. Never the less, it hurt and she couldn't stop the small sob that caught in the back of her throat.

"Lucy has seemed to found a wonderful new sense of humor," The Master hissed, "She knew your body would be able to heal itself, so she decided to give you something fun to wake up to."

Keara looked up at him, her eyes burning with curiosity, "Heal?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed," He laughed. When he saw that her face held no amusement, he stopped. "The Quis wont allow you body to die. Not if it can stop it. It would die along with it. Haven't you ever noticed how cuts and bruised just seem to go away?"

"The broken ribs you gave me are still there," She added bitterly. The Master simply smiled, letting his head come to rest against the wall beside him. He looked her up and down, studying her closely. He gently took her arm in his grasp, and allowed his fingers to trail over the blackened flesh. A small wince escaped her, but the pain was only minimum.

There it is again, she chastised herself. No matter how much he made her mad, beat her, made her feel lower than him in every way, that smug smile made her stomach flip like she was a damn teenager.

Its stupid, irrational, and moral wrong! No man should ever hold power over me! No man ever has before. With a sigh, she shook the thoughts away and glanced around the room for something to hold her interest. But she couldn't stop over thinking it.

No one seemed to make her flame burn anymore. No one made her feel desire. Of course, Keara was no monk. Men came and went, all of political, business, and pleasurable reasons. But no one caught her eye, not really. She had nearly been married once, when she was eighteen. She had even become pregnant. She didn't love the man, was even truly attracted to him. And in the end, she ran away, something she never did. Everything had ended badly, just as they always did for her.

Glancing back at the Master, she found that his eyes were still fixated on her. It was strange, how much he effected her. His hair, blonde, messy, but elegant all the same. He wore jeans that seemed to be perfectly tailored for him, though he had stolen them. A black shirt that clung to his lean chest. Simple work boots. But most of all, she could she the hatred in his eyes.

Oh, that never ending hatred! There was so many things, so many emotions swirling in his eyes, but above everything was hate. That ruthless man, the Master as I now know him, always looks at me with hatred in his eyes. Hatred, passion, discontent, all held withing the iris of his eyes. All for me. Why, I didn't want to know.

Keara looked up at the man, now crouched over her, his eyes still holding a dark look. Harold Saxon... The Master towered over her with a hard gaze. His face blessed with a smile that could break even the strongest of wills. She couldn't look away.

He holds hate for me. Holds everything he had when he was striking me and even so, he seems warmer. As though, perhaps, he has softened. Soft but with a razor edge. He's teetering on a tight rope. Its like he's deciding if he wants to be the monster that I've seen or the man I haven't.

She bit her lip in worry, turning her attention back to her arm. No! Too long had she fixated on him that moment. Too long had she thought about his dominance, his need to control. How he'd tried to nearly kill her! To use her as bait! She had pondered too long on the fact that his mere words, his soft touch had nearly stricken a cord within her. One that she didn't know was good or bad. All she knew was that he made her angry... Which wasn't numb. Something she had been for so long.

The thoughts were pushed far outside of her mind. She was hungry, starving. It had undeniable worsened since she had woken. There was something inside her, the Quis perhaps, that was even hungrier, though for food she doubted. Keara exhaled, then took another deep breath, reminding herself not breathe through her nose again. The smell was simply too horrid.

"Wheres the Doctor?" Keara asked, trying not to heave once more, "And that ginger, Amy?"

"Up above. Lucy's herded us on her bloody ship and is questioning them," The Master replied calmly, taking a seat next to her. His body heat rolled off of him just as it had when he'd been burnt. She wouldn't deny it, dressed in tattered pants and a thin camisole, it felt nice. "Seems she has plans for you and I. Doesn't seem to like us much. I cant imagine why."

Keara laughed, genuine and soft, despite the fact that he'd basically told her that she was on Lucy's hit list. Honestly, she hadn't even expected to wake up. She hadn't even wanted to wake up. Yet, there she was and she had to escape.

Beaten, hungry, tired. How am I supposed to escape in this condition? It is possible. I can fix this. The Master isn't lying, my body is healing, just very slowly.

Keara let her mind wonder over the possibilities. Perhaps, I could take a prisoner. Someone like that git, Lucy. Yes, a good strategy, one that had worked for the Master when he took me hostage. But would the Aquincum really come to the woman's rescue?

But the real question: Could I take Lucy?

She was a short, but well toned woman in her late twenties. She used to take karate and kick boxing classes. If she could get my hand on a gun, she knew she could handle it very well. But, healing or not, she was severely injured.

Lucy, on the other hand, was taller and looked equally muscular. She was older, by probably ten years or so but she still looked capable. Plus the whole thing about her having the Aquincum, weapons, and that little detail about not being "Some lowly human anymore" gave her the upper hand.

The Master.

Yes, he was an ill-tempered, seemingly strong willed Time Lord that most likely couldn't be trusted, but he appeared to actually want to kill. Especially someone who held the keys to his chains. Keara glanced over towards him and found him eying her curiously.

"What?" She whispered, finding it almost hard to breathe. Her muscles were feeling stiff and the room seemed to slowly swirl. The Master mumbled something but her mind just couldn't translate it into understanding.

He moved closer, raising his hand to her face, brushing her raven black hair away from her eyes. She didn't even flinch, the action only barely registering. She could feel her body beginning to shake, rocking with uncontrollable tremors.

The Master ran his hand further back, grazing against her ear, before bring it back into view. He looked at his fingers for a moment, a scowl ceasing his lips, before pushing her hair completely away from her face.

"Your ear's bleeding," He whispered, looking angered, "You're going into shock."

He sighed, running his non-bloody hand through his hair. Her eyes allowed her to focus, but only fractionally. The hunger, not for food, was growing. Never had she felt it before, didn't know what it was. All she knew was that the thing inside her needed something.

Is there even a way to feed it?

"Sometimes, I hate being a fucking Time Lord," Keara heard the Master mumble. Glancing up at him, focusing as best she could, she saw him bit down on the flesh of his own arm, so hard that it drew blood to the surface. Raising the bloody arm to her lips, he shook Keara lightly with his other hand.

"W-what?" She mumbled, staring at the arm as it dripped blood.

"If you sink your teeth into me, I'll snap your neck," It wasn't a threat. Just a fact. She looked at his arm, then in his eyes. He must have saw confusion because, with a sigh, he replied, "You're a Quis, born of Gallifrey. Your body is trying to heal itself but doesn't have the strength. You have two options: One, you eat an entire living creature, roughly your same size."

"And two," It was only a whisper, but he heard it.

"A Time Lord's body is a miracle," He replied, almost as if rehearsed, "My blood should be able to sustain you enough to live."

There was a momentary pause and Keara tried to make her mind process everything. The Master, this sickly ruthless, devious monster, was trying to help her? He was willing to let her drink his blood. Her head swam at the idea, as the smell of the liquid hit her nostrils.

It made her want to gag, the copper aroma overpowering her senses. But there was something else inside her, something that wasn't completely disguised by the idea. It was the part that was winning out.

───────────────┤Silentium├───────────────

"Your ear's bleeding," The Master whispered, trying to keep as calm as possible, "You're going into shock."

He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. She looked at him, her eyes already beginning to glaze over, becoming unfocused. In honesty, the Master thought she was likely to die at any second

"Sometimes, I hate being a fucking Time Lord," He grumbled to himself but Keara took notice. She glanced up at him, her eyes widened and scared. He stared at her, his plans of escape already beginning to crumble. Should she die, the Master doubted he'd have the strength to escape Lucy, the Aquincum, and whoever was pulling the strings.

Knowing Lucy as well as he did, the Master knew she couldn't be the brain behind all this. The Master doubted he'd be able to handle it in the condition he was. Even with the Doctor's and his companion's help, he was still a newly regenerated Time Lord. He needed every disposable person he could get.

With a heavy sigh, he bit down on the flesh of his forearm, enough to ensure that it would produce a fair amount of blood. With the orangish red liquid flowing freely now, the Master shook Keara.

"W-what?" Keara near slurred. Her eyes didn't meet his, instead looking at the red elixir as it dripped from the his arm. He could see her body shaking, trembling.

"If you sink your teeth into me, I'll snap your neck," He stated, flatly. Keara's face contoured in a grimace, her features hard and the Master knew she was skeptical, "You're a Quis, born of Gallifrey. Your body is trying to heal itself but doesn't have the strength. You have two options: One, you eat an entire living creature, roughly your same size."

"And two," She added quickly, and this caused the Master to smile.

"A Time Lord's body is a miracle," He repeated the words that he'd heard so many times over his life. As a Time Lord, he knew just how important he truly was, just how high above the rest of the universe he sat, "My blood should be able to sustain you enough to live."

There was a delay in her actions and he could see how confused she truly was. Keara was wrestling with a moral dilemma. The Master watched her, closely and without hesitation, he let his eyes comb over her body. Even broken, she held a look of utter defiance.

Defiance. She needed to be broken. Beaten. Whipped, until she could no longer find the strength to move. But, even with the pulse of the drums driving him forward, he had restrained himself when they'd been alone, when he'd struck her over and over, despite the fact that she'd angered him so. Despite how much the drums wanted her dead.

And then there was the drums themselves. Something that was always there, something that had always been there. A constant presence since he was eight, everyday for nine-hundred plus years. When he stood by the Quis, they were but a soft thump in the back of his mind. No louder than the beat of his hearts. And when he touched her, well, they left him entirely.

He knew he needed her. In more ways then one. Pushing the fact that she relieved the drums aside, she could help him escape. The Master knew she would never trust him, not completely, but she had to at least have his back. He had to make her think she was more than an escape plan.

Honestly, the Master didn't know how to go about it Should he be blunt and tell her that he needed her alive to help him escape? Or should he play with her unstable emotions as a female? Build his relationship with her to ensure that when it came time, she'd risk her life for him.

In the end, the Master decided he'd do whatever it took to survive.

Keara seemed to stir, inhaling sharply. Slowly, she latched herself to his arm, like a child to their mother. She drank carefully, lapping up the meal, but slow enough to seemingly enjoy it. The Master watched her, noting that she still trembled. She was showing such restraint. Something the Master didn't understand.

The Master knew he was playing a deadly game. Quis, when feeding, often did not stop quickly. Especially when feeding off a Time Lord, they were greedy. Quis would feed as long as they could, drinking all their host's stomachs could handle. The Master had known several Time Lords who had been drank completely dry in his younger days.

But Keara was slowly drinking, and the Master did not know if that was a good sign or a bad sign. Quis may heal the pain of others, they may calm souls and protect minds, but they were blood thirsty creatures when it came to their own hunger and survival.

Suddenly, after less then a minute, Keara released his arm. The Master gave her a questioning look, but she just shook her head, as if finally coming to her scenes.

───────────────┤Silentium├───────────────

"Why are you..." Keara was completely out of breath. The entire time she had drank, the drums pounded wildly in her head. Comforting her, urging her to drink until she was alright, until she was completely full. It had take everything in her not to listen to them. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" His voice was cool, though his brow was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Keara could tell that letting her feed from him had taken more out of him than he'd ever lead on.

"You let me drink your blood," Keara was on her feet before the Master could even react. "It's swimming with... with..."

With what? Artron energy? How on Earth do I know that?

Her mind was racing, her stomach lurching this way and that as she began to pace. "What if I didn't have the self-control that I do? What if I had drained you dry?"

The questions just popped into her head. It was the parasite, the Quis, talking. It wanted more. To actually drain the Time Lord of every bit of energy it held. But Keara refused to allow it to control her. Besides, it was apparent that the blood was doing it job. Just a few mouthfuls of that oddly colored blood that she had drunk had done wonders for her body.

"But you didn't," The Master sounded satisfied with himself, as if that excused everything. The Master wiped his bloody wrist on his already dirty shirt. Keeping her burnt arm clutched to her side, she stared at the man who was still seated on the ground. She was grateful, even if she was showing it. By the look on the Time Lord's face, she could tell he knew that.

Already, she could feel her pains begin to numb, the aches subside, the hunger dying away. Sighing, she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and locked eyes with the Master.

"What would you have done?" She was mad and the Master could tell. She looked weak but she was full of fire at the same time.

"There wouldn't have been much I could have done," He replied coldly, "Are you finished or would you like more?"

"No more."

"If you're sure about that," The Master replied, continuing to wipe away the blood. Keara began to pace again, trying to keep her fair distance from the man. Each step made her feel better as her blood began to flow. "It looks like some of your cuts are already healing."

Keara stopped pacing as the Master let his back rest against the wall behind. Raising her hand to feel the cut above her eye, she already knew it was nearly gone. This irritated her further, and her face became a mask of anger.

Is this his way of winning people over? Pushing their bloody buttons like a ginger ball bag? Oi! I cant believe I thought he was being nice to me! That he was actually concerned! All he does is make snarky comments! Is that his only way of civil conversation?

That thought made her soften her expression, and she went to sit beside him once more, propping herself against the wall behind us.

Perhaps it really was his way of talking. Perhaps he couldn't hold a normal conversation. He was the Master, after all. How many planets had shriveled under his power, how many Daleks fell in battle to him, how many thousands had he killed aboard The Valiant?

Keara stopped her thinking, her eyes going wide. What am I talking about? Daleks? The Valiant? Are these memories? His memories? Everything seems so clear, as if they were memories of my own. Everything laid out... Why can't I get them in the right order though? Gods, this isn't right.

Turning to face him, Keara glanced at the Master, and he returned her scrutinizing gaze. At the moment, seeing everything he had done, everything he'd killed, she knew he was an absolute monster.

A killer like no other. Someone that would slit my throat in my sleep just to watch the blood pool on the ground. He is evil. He's monstrous. He cant be trusted. I know he is probably the most evil thing to ever exist. He will never stop until the universe is his.

At the moment, Keara wanted to follow him to the end.

"Keara," The Master began.

"Master," She sighed, unable to look away. He took a deep breath, through his mouth as her arm still hadn't fully healed.

"You're going to help me escape."

Keara looked at him, her face blank as the wall they leaned on. She supposed he was expecting an immediate response but received only silence. His face seemed genuinely amused.

"I suppose that was not really a request, was it?" She replied, her jaw tightening as she asked the question, yet a smile played on her lips.

"Yes... and no," The Master replied with a sly smirk, "It'll be so much easier to trust one another if you agree."

"And, if I agree, I would benefit too. I mean, I'd never let you escape without me," Keara spoke plainly, making sure her words sunk in. She'd be damn if he left without her.

"Exactly. I win, you win, and who knows, maybe we can even get you Lucy's head as souvenir on the way out," He chuckled.

"Agreed then but get this through your bloody head right now," She replied, trying to sound as dangerous as possible, "I'm not someone that you're going to want to double cross, understood?"

"I'll remember that," The Master replied, completely at ease. "You should rest. I'm sure Lucy'll be down soon enough."

With that, the Master moved away from the wall, and laid back. He let his arm, the uninjured one, come to rest behind his head. His eyes closed. Keara was no longer important.

───────────────┤Silentium├───────────────

Author's Note: Uh, this is really just a filler chapter for now. I sorta had some writers block but I couldnt let you guys wait any longer. The next chapter will be out sooner because its mostly written! We'll get further into the plot, and we'll get some more of the Doctor and Amy! So, uh, review and stuff like that! Virtual Fish Custard for everyone who does! And just so you know, I believe Time Lord blood IS, in fact, red with a orange tone it.

NEXT CHAPTER: Now You Know How I Feel