A/N: Hiya! Sorry for such a long wait on the update, and this chapter is kinda short so sorry for that ahead of time. But I hope you all enjoy it anyways! Thanks for all the support everyone!
Chapter 7- When All is Said and Done
It happened faster then she thought possible. The Master fired his laser screwdriver directly at her just as Jack broke free of the guards holding him. Jack came in contact with the Master just as Clara's knees hit the floor, the Doctor struggling against the loosening grips of the guards holding him. The laser screwdriver fell from the Master's hands and Jack's gun falling from his back pocket, both landing in front of Clara just as his elbow came into contact with Jack's face, springing himself free and onto his feet.
Clara fell onto her side, her hand grabbing the gun and bringing it up to aim at the Master just as he was rushing over to retrieve his laser screwdriver. She didn't really mean to, it was the heat of the moment and the pain of the blast burning through her that caused her to pull the trigger. The bullet hit the Master, who stopped his movement to look down at the wound just as the Doctor got free and rushed over to him.
Everyone in the room went silent. Jack rushed over to Clara, prying the gun from her hands with ease and cradling her to his chest. "It's okay Clara, everything is going to be okay." He brushed her hair out of her face and tried to keep her awake.
The Doctor held the Master in his arms and looked down at the wound. The Master coughed slightly as he looked up at the Doctor. "Always the woman. Look at that, dying in your arms…happy now?"
Looking into the man's face, the Doctor covered the wound and shook his head. "You're not dying don't be stupid, it's only a bullet, now regenerate."
Smiling a bit, the Master shook his head. "No."
"One little bullet, come on." The Doctor urged, seeming more anxious with his words.
"I guess you don't know me that well." The Master said, his breathing becoming a bit shallower. "I refuse."
"Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please." The Doctor pulled him closer to his body, cradling him. "Please! Just regenerate!"
The Master let out a small chuckle as he looked up at the Doctor. "And spend…the rest of my life imprisoned…with you?"
Taking a few deep breaths, the Doctor felt the Master slipping away, his eyes becoming a bit glassier. "But you've got to. Come on. You and me all the things we've done. Axons, remember the Axons?" The Doctor was emotional at this point, a tear slipping from his eye as he held onto his dear old friend. "And the Dalek's. We're the only two left…there's no one else. Regenerate!"
Smiling as wide as he could with what little energy he had, the Master took in a shallow breath. "How about that. I win." He said, turning his head slightly too look over at Clara who was in the same position he was in, in pain and dying in someones arms. "And so do you Clara." The Master looked back up at the Doctor, the pain finally taking over and his breath becoming more forced.
The Doctor held onto him tight as he glanced over at Clara who didn't look any better than the Master at this point. He looked back at the Master as he took in another shaky breath. "Will it stop Doctor? The drumming?" The Master asked. The Doctor didn't have an answer for him and just held him as the Master took his last breath and died in his arms.
Jack looked over to see the Doctor setting the body in his arms down respectfully. Martha was checking for a pulse on Clara, finding a faint one as she grew paler as the seconds passed. "Doctor! We're losing her." She said.
Rushing over, the Doctor pulled Clara from Jack's arms. "Clara?! Clara stay with me. Come on, stay with me. You don't end here we both know this. You can't!" He was already an emotional wreck and now losing Clara whom he didn't really even know was tearing yet another hole in his hearts.
Clara's eyes opened slightly, her lips pulling into a small smile as a tear slipped. "Doctor." She said just above a whisper. "I'm so…sorry."
Shaking his head, the Doctor brushed a hand through her hair as he openly cried. "Don't be sorry Clara. You saved my life. You saved us all." He cradled her closer as he stood up. "I'm going to get you back to the TARDIS. You just hold on."
Shaking her head slightly, Clara leaned her head against his chest. "I don't think…I can make it."
The Doctor looked to Jack who grabbed one of the guards by the collar of his suit and lifted him up in the air. "Where is the blue box?! Where is it?!" He yelled, the man clearly frightened and pointing. "Lead us, quickly!" He placed the man on his feet and rushed over to pick up the Master's limp body, nodding at the Doctor.
They all followed the man down a flight of stairs and into the functions of the ship. He pointed down the long metal bridge which at the end stood the TARDIS. The Doctor could hear her crying at what the Master did to her. The paradox machine was now slipping from her since the Master died. Martha ran forward and opened the door for everyone to enter. The Doctor rushed past the console and into the hall, making his way toward the medical room. Kicking the door open, he placed Clara on the bed softly and set to getting what he needed.
Since entering the TARDIS again, Clara felt her energy coming back slightly. Then the headache started again and she knew her time in this time line was done. "Doctor." She said with more energy than the last time. He noticed the strength her call had and rushed over to her side, taking her hand. She smiled at him despite the pain it caused in her head. "My time here is done. You're saved."
The Doctor shook his head and gave her a small smile. "You're going to be just fine. I'm going to make you better."
Clara shook her head and smiled at him. "No Doctor, I'm going now. You'll see me again. For now just keep running." Her hand slipped through his as her body left him at that spot, falling once more through his time stream.
She felt her energy returning as the time stream fed it to her. It didn't take long for her to land. Clara sat up quickly, noticing that for once she hadn't landed in the TARDIS. No, this was Earth. It looked like a construction junk yard. There was mountains worth of broken up rocks and wood planks everywhere. Standing, Clara brushed herself off and started walking, warming herself as best she could. It was absolutely freezing so Clara guessed she must have landed around the holidays. The sun was up and shining brightly and a group of seniors were making their way through the area. It seemed a bit off and weird for them to be in this type of area. After all, what would a bunch of old people want here? Deciding not to interrupt them, Clara turned and started walking the other direction.
As Clara walked further through the site, hoping to find an exit soon, she came across a food truck. There was someone there, hunched eerily over the window area and moving with incredible speed. Stepping behind a mound of rocks, Clara peaked carefully to see what it was. There was already the sense that whatever was going on there was not good in any way possible.
The figure slowly retreated from the window area and turned around wiping away at his face with the sleeve of his black hoodie. Clara quickly looked away and put her back flat against the rocks. There was no mistaking it. Though he looked so much more raged and wore a hoodie and jeans rather then his usual suit; Clara knew that face anywhere.
She moved as quietly away as she could and made sure she had put a good distance between herself and the Master before breaking out into a run. There was no way to know which way you were going, but she continued to run anyways. Where was the TARDIS? Where was the Doctor? Once again Clara was stuck in an area with that mad Time Lord.
It wasn't long after that Clara heard a whirling sound and from out of the blue, the Master landed in front of her. She skidded to a stop so fast she nearly toppled over backwards. Trying to catch her breath, she stared at the man with wide eyes, wondering how he had managed to land so forcefully in front of her. He was breathing just as heavily, not something common. Time Lords didn't lose their breath as quickly as humans did.
The Master kept his eyes fixed on her as he took a few steps forward. He grinned; Clara couldn't help but gulp at that evil grin. He kept coming closer until he stood a good few inches away from her. Lifting his hand to eye level, the Master finally took his gaze off of her to look at his hand as it started glowing slightly.
Clara saw what looked like electricity starting to shoot out of his hand. She took a few steps back, but the movement caused the Master to snap out of his daze and took a few steps forward. "Honey, I'm home." He said with that grin still on his face. "So, you lived then."
"As did you." Clara answered, trying to keep her strong composure. She kept her eyes on him, never looking away for a second as he stalked her.
The Master walked around her in his usual habit way. "No, I didn't." He whispered to her when he had gotten behind her and came in too close for comfort. He continued his stalk as he spoke. "Luckily I had loyal followers. One I actually managed to have a bit of fun with. My imprint tainted on her lips, they were able to use my DNA to bring me back with the secret book I left for them. But one in there wasn't positive about it and intervened. I now have...faults." He held up his hand once more an quickly put it down.
Turning on the spot, the Master looked up and around. Clara felt that was her chance to run, but she didn't. There was something keeping her to that spot. Unsure of what it was, she just knew to stay there. "What is it?" She asked, though she wasn't sure why.
He looked back at her and took a deep breath, smelling the air. "He's here."
Clara immediately knew he meant the Doctor was here. But there was still something wrong. There wasn't that same fear installed in her from before. The Master, even though he was absolutely mad, there wasn't that same powerful presence. He should have been done with her by now. Killed her off. But he didn't. And it didn't seem like he wanted to. Whatever it was, Clara was going to find out what it was. Because this suddenly seemed so much bigger, and she knew it wasn't just the Doctor that needed saving. So did the Master.
