Unfortunately for the Master, what David had said to Colin to get him to stay in the saferoom was that he was sure that Elisabeth's projector could be a potent weapon, and that only Colin could modify it to make it so. So when David shined it in the Master's good eye, it combined with Sarah's outburst to provide just enough distraction for the Doctor to launch himself into the Master, knocking all three of them to the floor and sending David skidding across it.
From out of nowhere, Norman jumped on the Master's face and bit his already broken nose as hard as he could.
Six surprised young voices cheered as the cephalopod jumped back into the flower bed and made spitting noises.
While the Master was writhing on the floor in pain, Sarah Jane leapt over him and grabbed David up in her arms. "My poor baby, are you all right?" asked Sarah as she ran her hands over his face to make sure he was unharmed. She hugged him tightly to her and kissed him when she was sure he was alright.
"Eew! Mummy stop, I'm fine. Nothing can hurt Wonder Man. Didn't you see me defeat Captain Evil with my super ray? Now put me down so I can rescue daddy!"
"I think that you better stay put for now Davy, and let daddy be the hero this time." She held onto David tightly and looked over towards the Doctor's direction, where he had a knee in the Master's back and one arm twisted at what seemed like an impossible angle as he struggled.
DR stood staring at them, a cylindrical object in his hand, his thumb poised over a button.
"Tori take Davy and the rest of the children and go back to the saferoom until we come for you, and this time stay there," Sarah said firmly.
Victoria did as she was told, dragging a protesting David with her, leaving the four of them alone.
DR stared at the object in his hand. It looked something like his father's sonic, but a bit more menacing. He pointed it at the floor and pushed a button, and all three adults spun their heads to look as the laser bolt scorched the floor. "I wonder," he said, his voice just a little bit shaky, "what would happen if I pointed this somewhere more useful." He leaned down and pointed it in the Master's face.
The Master stopped struggling and looked up at DR. "This is more like it, one of your children with a weapon in his hand and not afraid to use it," he smirked at the Doctor. "Go ahead and try it, I hope you shoot yourself with it you little bast-"
"Language," the Doctor said sharply as he cinched up the Master's wrists with some stray wire he'd had in his pocket. "DR, give it here," he said, holding out his hand to his son.
DR looked down at this man who'd menaced his family. Even with the man under his father's control, DR still felt the tight knot of fear in his stomach, and it made him angry. How dare this man invade their home and threaten them? How could this man hurt his brother? He shook with rage as he remembered his feeling of helplessness. But not now. Now he had the power. All he had to do was press one little button.
"DR," the Doctor said again, gently. "He's not worth it."
'Not worth it?' he thought. 'He's a monster and he has to be stopped.'
"He's just a man," the Doctor said, as though he'd heard his son's thoughts.
DR took another look at him and realized his father was right. He was just a man. His hair was still standing straight up and covered in grease and oil, his nose was absurdly swollen, both eyes were black and blue, one of his teeth was hanging out of his jaw by a thread, and he was covered with cuts, bumps, and scratches. The cactus needles sticking out of his side and arm completed the picture. "With pleasure," he said, handing his father the weapon. "He's hardly a threat, now is he?"
"Go ahead twerp, underestimate me, I love it when people do that." The Master turned and grinned up at the Doctor. "This poor excuse for a Time Lord does it all the time, don't you Theta?"
The Doctor ignored him for a moment. "Sarah," he said quietly, "please take DR and stay with the children."
Sarah put her arm around DR and then looked at her husband. Their eyes met and she knew that now was not the time to disagree with him. "Who is this man," was all she said.
"This man," he said, "is the Master."
Sarah knew who the Master was from the stories the Doctor had told her about him. She stared down at the Master now in surprise and terror. This purely evil creature had her children in his power. "I thought you told me he was dead."
Before the Doctor could answer her, the Master smiled sweetly at Sarah Jane. "Like I said, I love it when people underestimate me. I sincerely hope you do too."
Sarah shivered and looked back at the Doctor. "I don't want to leave you alone with him. He's too dangerous."
"It's all right," he said, "I'll be along shortly."
Sarah saw a darkness in the Doctor's eyes that she had never seen before. It was just as frightening to her as the way the Master looked at her, but for an entirely different reason. "I think it would be best if I stayed here with you."
The Doctor closed his eyes and sighed. "Please, just go."
She sighed too, then nodded. "Come along DR, your father knows what he's doing." She glanced over her shoulder at him with love and concern in her eyes as she headed out of the room.
As they walked, DR kept looking back towards the garden. "Are you sure it's all right to leave Dad with that guy?"
She wasn't sure, but she certainly wasn't going to tell DR that. "You're father knows what he's doing. He's dealt with the Master numerous times in the past, and he always manages to defeat him."
DR stopped short. "If he always manages to defeat the Master, what's he doing here now?"
"It's a long story, but the gist of it is that your dad and the Master have a rather ... unusual relationship. They used to be best friends when they were growing up."
"Dad was friends with that guy? But he's ... he's barking mad. And dangerous." He started back towards the garden. "I know Dad likes to give people the benefit of the doubt, but ... he tried to kill Davy."
Sarah took him by the elbow and stopped him. "I know, but I'm sure if you talked to your father about it, he'd say that the Master wouldn't have killed Davy. Your father believes that there's some good still in him, that there's a part of the Master that's hurting and that's why he strikes out at people the way he does. He has killed people before, and I'm sure he will again, but he's different with your father, your dad knows how to get through to him."
"Well, he sure looked like he was going to kill David," DR said. "I was ..." He looked away from her, a perfect imitation of his father. "I was pretty scared."
Sarah Jane gave her son's shoulder a squeeze. "I'll let you in on a little secret," she smiled warmly at him. "I was terrified, and so was you're father. It's not as much fun being grown up and the one in charge as you thought it would be is it?"
DR shook his head slowly. "Everything seemed to be going just fine, and then it all fell apart and he had Davy and I didn't ..." he stopped, trying to keep from crying. "I didn't know what to do," he said, tears beginning to fall.
Sarah put her arms around DR and just held him while he cried. 'Poor dear,' thought Sarah Jane, her hearts going out to him. 'He's at that between age. Too old to act like a child and too young to keep from being one.' "It's alright DR, grown ups don't have all the answers either. I'm afraid I have to point out to you, though, that none of that would have happened if you had all stayed in the saferoom the way you should have."
DR nodded, still crying into her shoulder. "We tried, but it was more than four hours and you still weren't there and the cloister bell was still ringing, and ..." he trailed off, realizing that it was futile, and that that wasn't really what was bothering him anyway. "Mum, was I wrong to want to kill him?"
Sarah thought about the way she felt when she saw the Master's hands on Davy's throat. She stroked DR's head and hugged him closer to her. "Killing is never right if it can be avoided DR, but I completely understand why you felt that way. I think now that you are getting older, your dad and I need to sit down and have a long talk with you about a lot of things."
He thought about what she was saying, straightening up and wiping his face on his shirt. "Do you think... I could ... maybe ... you know..."
She finished his question for him. "Go back to being a fourteen year old boy?" She gave him a motherly smile as she rubbed his shoulder. "I think that's a wonderful idea. You know, being a big brother is a very important job too, and I think you're marvelous at it." She smiled even wider and put her arm around his shoulder again. "Come on, let's go check on the rest of the family, shall we?"
The Doctor watched DR and Sarah leave, then sat down heavily next to the Master. "Just us now," he said quietly.
"So what? I suppose you want me to be happy to see you, to give you a big hug or something don't you," the Master snapped. "Well it's not going to happen," he screamed loudly next to the Doctor's ear.
