Chapter 6

Corridors became a blur as Rose ran, she didn't stop until she reached the lift, and then she got in and slammed the door and activated the controls, breathless as the lift descended.

Then she got out in the Futuristic zone and looked left and right, recognised the ageing console and she dashed past it, then went down the corridor where wires sparked violently, and eventually came to the hidden door that led back to the garden.

She hit the switch and the door slid back.

Rose stepped out, dropped the pipe and ran up the path towards the house, calling to Ace as she ran.

"Ace!" she yelled again, and as she reached the front door, it opened sharply and Ace stared at her.

"What's the matter, Rose?"

"Harry Saxon...he's got the Doctor in the Tardis engine rooms!"

"What?" Ace felt her heart begin to race as a flicker of panic ran through her and not for the first time, she wished on the day the Professor had left her here with the final version of the Doctor, he had also handed back her baseball bat and her nitro nine...

Rose's eyes reflected fear as she paused to catch her breath.

"And there's more... he's armed, he's got a laser pistol...and I heard him say his name was the Master."

Her face paled as she looked at Rose.

"Ace?" she asked, "Who is he?"

"A very evil man, a life long enemy of the Doctor. I'm guessing you haven't met him until now or the name would mean something to you – maybe you and your Doctor will run into him eventually, he's dangerous, Rose...Oh God, I wish I had my baseball bat! Why did I leave it with the Professor?"

Rose looked at her with a bewildered expression.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but we need to help the Doctor before that lunatic kills him!"

Ace stepped back and Rose entered the house.

She looked up and down the hallway and then back at Ace.

"You must have something we can use to defend ourselves?"

And Ace shook her head.

"The Doctor doesn't carry a gun. I'm out of nitro nine and..."

She paused, and then as she realised something she started to smile as she felt a spark of hope.

"Wait...I'm wrong about this! I know where my stuff is, it's right where I left it!"

"With the Professor?" Rose said, feeling confused.

"The Professor is the name I gave to the Seventh Doctor. You're with the Tenth, but although the Tardis console room has changed a lot, it's still the same Tardis...so my stuff must be in there somewhere!"

"Have you forgotten how many rooms are in the Tardis?"

"No, but I do remember where a storage cupboard used to be, I always used to chuck my rucksack in there... we just have to go back to your Doctor's Tardis and find it!"

Rose shook her head.

"You go back, I'm grabbing that length of pipe I ripped off the wall in the Ocean Zone and I'm going back to the maze... do you know where the tunnel is that leads to the Tardis engines?"

Ace nodded.

"Ed showed me the hidden door a while back."

"Then get your bat and meet me there," Rose said, "And don't bring the nitro nine – you can't go throwing explosives about near the Tardis power core, you'll kill us all."

The look in her eyes hardened.

"I just want to kill one person," she said, "That bastards got the Doctor, no one does that to my baby's father and gets away with it!"

Rose looked at her in surprise.

"You're pregnant?"

Anger still blazed in her eyes.

"When I get my hands on the Master," said Ace, "He'll wish he never came here, he'll wish he never met me!"

And then she held out her hand.

"Give me the Tardis key."

Rose reached in her pocket and handed her the key.

"Be careful."

"Don't worry about me," Ace said, "It's the Master who should be worrying, I'll beat him to a pulp!"

And then they left the house together, Rose heading back to the hidden door to the maze and Ace leaving by the back gate, to where the Tenth Doctor's Tardis was standing in woodland close by.

The pain in his shoulder was fading to a dull ache as Ed tried again to loosen the tie that bound his wrists. He worked slowly as the Master continued speaking, fixing him with a hard stare that didn't waver.

"I know you're hoping I'll change my mind," the Master said as he stood before him with the gun in his hand, "But I decided to kill you a very long time ago. You must have known I'd catch up with you eventually. After all, I am better than you, it's just that you've been lucky too many times. And now your luck, like your lives, has run out."

And he leaned against the rail and looked at Ed and smiled.

"This is it, Doctor. One squeeze of this trigger and you're gone, no regenerations, no more chances... this is your last life and you can't come back from this."

"I always tried to help you!" Ed said as he felt the tie slip loose, "I always stood up for you, protected you when no one else cared! You know why you're haunted by the sound of drums, you know the real reason!"

"Save your explanations for Ace," the Master said quickly, "I don't have time -"

"You don't want to hear the truth!" Ed shouted, "You despise me because I'm everything you ever wanted to be and everything that was denied to you from the start!"

The Master stared at him, and then his grip on the gun tightened.

"Fine words from one who turned his back on his responsibilities and ran away in a Tardis!" he said accusingly, "You can't hide from who you are, Doctor! I know the truth, I know what you gave up and why you ran, trading absolute power for a life of adventure as a vagabond of time and space! I'm not insane, you are!"

And then he laughed, and he turned his back on the Doctor as he stood looking over the rail and down into the deep, distant engine room below as his gaze became mesmerised by the flicker of light behind the protective barrier.

"You owe me, Doctor. You owe me the truth and much more besides...I'm taking everything from you, I might even take Ace -"

The words were knocked from his lungs as Ed broke free and slammed against the Master, who grabbed for the rail as he fell forward, facing the dizzying drop to the power core. He raised his laser pistol and as the two men struggled he fired, hitting the barrier as sparks glanced off the rail. Ed had his wrist in an iron grip and he slammed it against the the rail and the Master cried out in pain as the pistol clattered to the floor of the metal walkway.

"You won't win!" Ed said as he struggled with him, "You never do!"

The Master continued to struggle, then he got free and landed a punch on the Doctor but Ed grabbed him again and hit him back, and the Master laughed as blood ran from his nose.

"Oh look at us fighting like children again! Brings back memories..." And he aimed another punch and Ed moved sharply, and the Master's fist missed him by a fraction.

"We don't have to fight -"

"YES WE DO!"

The Master glanced down and saw the pistol a short distance from there they struggled.

"Yes we do!" he said again, and the two men continued to trade punches as they struggled together on the upper walkway above the power core.

Ace turned the key and hurried into the Tenth Doctor's Tardis.

As she entered the console room she looked around, searching for the sight of something familiar, but saw nothing of the Tardis as she recalled it to be.

She gave up on the console room and hurried into the Tardis corridor, where she breathed a relieved sigh:

Here, little had changed...

She recognised a familiar doorway and grabbed at the handle and the door swung open. As she looked inside she felt a painful wave of nostalgia; here was her rucksack still packed with nitro nine, her baseball bat beside it – and something she had not expected to find, almost hidden from view in a dusty corner, the Professor's question mark umbrella...

Her heart ached as she recalled the Professor, and then she remembered he was just another face the Doctor had worn and he was very much alive, living on through each of the regenerations that had followed... And her lover, the last Doctor, was in danger and she knew she had no time to waste on thoughts of the past.

Ace grabbed the baseball bat and ran from the Tardis and out into the woods, heading back towards the garden and the entrance to the maze.

Pain still throbbed in his shoulder as Ed fought with the Master on the walkway above the power core. Both men were bruised and bleeding from their battle, their clothing was torn and neither man was ready to give up, because to give up the fight would mean death for one of them.

"I will stop you!" Ed said breathlessly as he deflected a blow from the Master's fist. He had him by the collar and of his shirt, aimed a punch and the Master shifted sharply, and then as he grabbed him, the Doctor gave a cry of pain as his back hit the wall and a pipe fractured and steam hissed out.

"I win this time!" the Master said as he held him there and rage glittered darkly in his eyes, "You were always destined to lose to me eventually!"

And he slammed him against the pipe again.

Ed drew in a weak breath and fought against pain as he focussed on the Master.

"We don't have to destroy each other."

"It's too late!" the Master said darkly.

Ed staggered back, barely able to stand as he leaned against the wall and tried to catch his breath.

The Master was smiling, already tasting a sense of victory as he picked up the laser pistol and then leaned against the rail, and then he looked at the bruised and wounded Time lord.

"You're on your last life. No more regenerations, you're finished!"

Ed drew in a slow breath and fought against pain and weakness as the battle with the Master took its toll and exhaustion began to take over.

"It doesn't have to end like this," he pleaded, "Stop this! Stop it now while we still can!"

Amusement danced in the Master's eyes.

"Too late for you, but not for me, Doctor."

As he spoke, the Master leaned heavier on the rail. And Ed said nothing as the steel, weakened by the laser shot, began to crack...

"Today is the day you die forever, Doctor," the Master added.

"Perhaps that's true," Ed said in a hushed voice, "But I keep hoping you're going to do or say something to redeem yourself before its too late...I really want you to do that, but if you can't, I want you to know I still forgive you."

Confusion briefly clouded the Master's eyes, and then he continued to speak:

"Just think," he said, "I'll have a very powerful Tardis when I've finished ripping yours apart and stealing the other Doctor's police box. Think what I can do to the whole of time and space!"

"I am thinking about it," Ed replied, and he looked at the Master and watched as he continued to lean on the cracked rail:

The Master would never change.

And he had to be stopped at any cost...

Ed drew in a slow breath as he gathered up the last of his strength. He thought of Ace and their unborn child and the fact that he would never see her again. But considering the cost if he did nothing and let the Master win was unthinkable.

"You're right," he said as he blinked away tears, "I will die today. And I'm sorry, I truly am."

"For what?" the Master said.

And suddenly fire blazed in the eyes of the Doctor.

"For this!" he yelled, and he ran at the Master, colliding with him as the rail split and snapped, and then the two men fell together, far down to the steel floor below.

Ace ran to the maze entrance where Rose was waiting for her.

"What's the plan?" Rose asked as the dashed down the steps and along a corridor and into the Futuristic zone.

"There is no plan," Ace told her, "We just go up there and save him!"

"But what about the Master, he's holding a gun!"

Ace gripped the bat tighter.

"He won't be when I've broken his arm!"

They headed for the lift that would lead to the Aztec zone and then beyond it, the tunnel that would take them to the Ocean zone and the entrance to the Tardis engine room.

They reached the lift and got in, and Ace hit the controls and the lift ascended to the next level.

Pain ran through his body as Ed opened his eyes.

Breathing was agony and movement was almost impossible.

He looked up at the broken railing far above and guessed he had paid a heavy price for saving the universe from the Master's evil intentions – if there had been any other way, he would have taken it, but there had been no other choice...

"I'm sorry, Ace," he whispered, and then he slowly turned his head to see the Master on his back and motionless, his features lit up by the glow of the nearby power core.

Ed took in a painful breath and summoned the last of his strength to reach for his hand.

"I still forgive you," he said weakly, but the Master remained still as death, and then Ed's hand slipped from his grasp.

"I forgive you," he said again, as the glow from the core continued to reflect on the Master's face, "But I can't forgive myself for this, I'm so very sorry..."

And then as pain ran though his body he felt a last wave of weakness wash over him and he thought of Ace, and how there would be no regeneration, no chance to survive this fall and live to see their child born.

But he had stopped the Master, at least the universe was safe, and that meant Ace and his child would also be safe, because the threat was gone now...

And that was the Doctor's final thought as he slipped into deep unconsciousness and his breathing began to slow as his shattered body began to give up the fight to survive.

The light flickered from the power core as the Doctor and the Master lay on the metal floor near the heart of the Tardis engine, both Time lord's bodies were broken from the fall.

And then a fiery mist began to swirl about the Master's features.

And Idris stood over him and glared down at the Master.

"No," she said, "You're not going to do that!"

And she placed her hand on the Master's chest, drawing off the power that would have seen his body through one more regeneration.

As the fires within her swirled and reflected in her eyes, she heard the Master give a groan of pain as he face began to grow pale.

Then she turned to the Doctor and fell to her knees.

"My thief!" she said as her voice choked with tears, "It's not too late...let me help you..."

And she leaned over him, pausing to wipe blood from his cheek, and then she spoke again softly:

"You can't handle another regeneration...but just enough energy will repair the damage, Doctor."

And the she leaned closer and their lips touched and flickering firelight passed from Idris to Ed, who drew in a slow, deep breath. Idris smiled as she watched his cuts and bruises start to fade away, and then she got up and turned around, looking upward as she heard Ace shout to the Doctor.

"Oh no!" Ace cried in panic at the sight of the Doctor and the Master on the floor far below, "Oh no, no...Ed?"

Then she gave a sob.

She and Rose were climbing quickly down a ladder further down the walkway, Ace was hurrying as tears filled her eyes.

She reached the bottom and dropped the bat and ran over to the Doctor, and then Rose jumped the last three rungs of the ladder and landed, and she turned and hurried over to join them.

Ace gave a sob as she looked down at the Doctor, who was still on the floor with his blood stained shirt torn.

"Please don't let him die!" she wept.

Idris looked at her in surprise.

"He won't die. I prevented it."

"I saw you kiss him," Rose added.

"You kissed him?" Ace exclaimed as she wiped tears from her face, "What's going on, I don't get any of it?"

"The Doctor had to push the Master off the ledge high above, he had to stop him. He was going to tear me apart and steal the other Doctor's Tardis to make his own more powerful. A man like that, in control of the most powerful time machine in the universe, it could have been disastrous. So the Doctor stopped him. They fell together from the walkway. He was dying and so was the Master. The Master started to regenerate, so I stole his regeneration and used part of it to heal the Doctor's wounds." Then Idris smiled, adding, "I also repaired the damage to his memory. When he wakes, Ace, he will be the man he used to be, before the great battle. Now you'll get to meet all of the Last Doctor and his vast knowledge of the twelve galaxies."

Relief shone in her eyes.

"Thank you!" Ace said gratefully, and then Idris recalled something else and glanced to Rose then back to Ace.

"And I was transferring the regenerative energy, not only kissing him..."

Then she looked down at Ed who was yet to wake up and she smiled.

"Although I could have transferred it by a simple touch, but I chose to kiss him to make the transfer... look at him, can you blame me?"

Ace laughed softly.

"You just saved his life, you can kiss him any time you like!"

Then Idris stepped back and looked down as something sparkled in her hand.

"What's that?" Ace asked her.

And Idris smiled as her eyes sparkled with warmth and emotion that made her eyes glaze with tears.

"That," she said in a hushed voice, "Is what's left of the regenerative power. A spark of magic, a pinch of stardust, life itself in my hand... The Doctor will be waking soon, I must go now."

And she melted into ribbons of glowing energy that zipped about the engine room, and then she was gone.

Ace fell to her knees beside the Doctor as Rose stood watching, she turned her head and glanced over at the Master, who was on his back and still and pale – but his chest rose and fell weakly, and he coughed and blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

"He's still alive."

"I know, I'm so grateful to Idris..."

Ace was beside the Doctor, she stroked his hair as she looked down at him, waiting for him to wake.

"Not Ed, I mean the Master!"

"Okay...what ever.." Ace murmured as she continued to fix her gaze on Ed, "I'm with the Doctor right now, I just want him to wake up and be okay,..we'll worry about the person who caused all this later."

"But he's struggling to breathe...someone should be with him..."

"Don't ask me... why don't you comfort him?"

Rose remained standing beside the Doctor.

"I'd rather not," she said in a hushed voice.

And then Ed opened his eyes and sat up.

He blinked several times and then paused for thought, realising his memories were no longer like broken shards of glass; everything was back as it should be with nothing missing now...

He looked down at his torn and blood stained shirt and recalled the shot from the pistol and placed his hand on his shoulder and felt no trace of a wound.

"How did I survive, and why do I feel as if I've had a partial regeneration?"

Ace wanted to hug him, but he was looking at her like he was demanding that answer right away.

"Idris saved you," she told him, "The Master was about to regenerate so she took his regeneration and used some of it to heal your wounds. I'm not sure what she's doing with the rest of it, she's gone now."

Ed got up quickly and Ace and Rose looked surprised.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Rose asked.

"I'm fine," Ed replied, and then worry clouded his eyes.

"But I'm not happy about this...Idris stole his final regeneration and -"

"If she hadn't stopped him, he would have left you to die and carried on with his plans!" Ace reminded him, "She did all she could to help you, she saved your life."

"But at the cost of his," he replied, looking to the Master, who lay bleeding on the floor.

And then he saw him struggle to breathe.

"He's still alive!"

"Yeah, we know," Ace replied quietly as her and Rose exchanged a glance, both deciding this was a very awkward situation...

"So help him!" Ed said to them, and they both looked back at him with reluctance.

"But wouldn't it be better to let him...well, I don't mean just let him die, but look at him – he won't last much longer...sorry, it had to be said." And then Rose fell silent as she looked away, feeling guilty for doing nothing.

Ace had got up from the floor and looked over to where the Master lay weakly coughing as blood ran from his mouth.

"I make her right," she said quietly, "Idris took his last life because he would have used it to destroy the universe as we know it. He's dying, let him go."

Ed looked over at the Master.

Ace felt confused as she expected to see hatred reflected in his eyes and instead saw deep compassion.

"No," Ed said to her, "I can't do that. We must help him."

Ace stared at him in disbelief.

"You what? He came here intending to kill you and use your Tardis for spare parts, he probably would have killed me and Rose too...and you want to help him?"

"Yes I do," Ed replied, and he walked over to where the Master lay bleeding and looked down at him.

"Doctor..." Ace began, but he gave no reply as he continued to look down at his wounded enemy.

"Doctor...don't do this...please, he doesn't deserve help!"

"Ace," he replied as he kept his gaze fixed on the Master, "I will explain everything later. But not now, there's no time. We need to get him out of here. I'll take him to Usscora and while we're there you can see if your Doctor is well enough to leave yet. But don't tell him about the trouble we've had with the Master, because he's yet to meet him as Harold Saxon - their battle is yet to be, and we must not tinker with the time line."

And then he lifted the Master into his arms and carried him across the room to a lift beside the power core.

"This is the fastest way out of here," he said, and he went inside, and Ace and Rose exchanged a puzzled look, both wondering why the Doctor was so keen to help his worst enemy, and then they followed him inside and the lift began to climb upwards, towards the surface once more.

As the lift ascended, Ace watched as the Doctor continued to hold the Master, tilting his head to ease his breathing, and she wanted to ask why he was so desperate to save his life but instead she remained silent, knowing now was not a time for questions, because the Master's body had been shattered by the fall, and for some reason known only to him, the Doctor was desperate to save him...